Kenneth Spencer Research Library

Check the blog each Friday for a new “That’s Distinctive!” post. I created the series because I genuinely believe there is something in our collections for everyone, whether you’re writing a paper or just want to have a look. “That’s Distinctive!” will provide a more lighthearted glimpse into the diverse and unique materials at Spencer – including items that many people may not realize the library holds. If you have suggested topics for a future item feature or questions about the collections, feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of this page.

This week on “That’s Distinctive!” we will be highlighting photos from University Archives that show views of campus throughout the years. The University Archives houses over a million photographs along with departmental records, personal papers, university publications, and much more. Over 35,000 photos within University Archives have been digitized and can be browsed online. Many more photos of campus over the years can be found by using the search term “campus.”

If you are following the holidays we have correlated with previously and are still in the Valentine’s Day mood, check out our 2013 “Civil War Valentine” post by Whitney Baker, Head of Conservation Services at KU Libraries. It focuses on a handwritten poem titled “A Valentine” from one of Spencer’s regional history collections.

These items are meant to show that the library houses many things that many people may not realize. From books, to manuscripts, to maps and ephemera, if you can think of a topic, we likely have something related. Have a topic in mind? I have three unplanned weeks between March and April so please feel free to leave ideas/interests in the comment box below and I will see what items we may hold.

Tiffany McIntosh
Public Services

Each week we’ll be posting a photograph from University Archives that shows a scene from KU’s past. We’ve also scanned more than 34,800 images from KU’s University Archives and made them available online; be sure to check them out!

We love KU basketball! This week’s photograph is pumping us up for the last few weeks of the season, specifically KU’s game against Oklahoma on Monday. Rock Chalk!

KU’s Daisy Hill residence halls the night before the Homecoming game against Oklahoma, 1976.
The building at the bottom of the photo appears to be Wescoe Hall. University Archives Photos.
Call Number: RG 71/1 1976 Prints: Student Activities: Homecoming (Photos).
Click image to enlarge (redirect to Spencer’s digital collections).

Caitlin Donnelly
Head of Public Services

Each week we’ll be posting a photograph from University Archives that shows a scene from KU’s past. We’ve also scanned more than 11,400 images from KU’s University Archives and made them available online; be sure to check them out!

Construction nears completion on McCollum Hall, 1965. University Archives Photos.
Call Number: RG 0/22/45 1965: University General: Buildings: McCollum Hall (Photos).
Click image to enlarge.

As part of the goal to transform undergraduate education on the KU campus, two new residence halls opened on Daisy Hill in 2015. To make way for the new halls and a parking lot, McCollum Hall will be razed next Wednesday, November 25th. This selection of photographs highlights the fifty-year history of the building and those that lived there.

Aerial view of Daisy Hill and Iowa Street looking north (top) and southeast (bottom), 1968.
McCollum Hall is the t-shaped building. Lawrence Journal-World Photo Collection,
University Archives Photos. Call Number: RG LJW 0/24/1 Daisy Hill 1968:
University General: Campus: Areas and Objects: Daisy Hill (Photos).
Click images to enlarge.

Opened in the spring semester of 1965, the dormitory was planned as the fifth and last along Iowa between 15th and 19th streets in the area known as Daisy Hill. The hall was originally built as an all-male dorm to house 976 students. It has since become a co-ed dorm, dominating the Daisy Hill skyline. Thousands of students have called this hall home while at KU.

McCollum Hall residents read newspapers in the main lounge, 1965.
University Archives Photos. Call Number: RG 56/15 1965: Housing:
McCollum Hall (Photos). Click image to enlarge.

Students in McCollum Hall, 1967. University Archives Photos.
Call Number: RG 56/15 1967: Housing: McCollum Hall (Photos).
Click image to enlarge.

A student carries clothes into McCollum Hall, 1978/1979.
University Archives Photos. Call Number: RG 56/15 1978/1979:
Housing: McCollum Hall (Photos). Click image to enlarge.

Students in their dorm room at McCollum Hall, 1993.
University Archives Photos. Call Number: RG 56/15 1993:
Housing: McCollum Hall (Photos). Click image to enlarge.

McCollum Hall was named after two noteworthy Kansas brothers, Elmer and Burton McCollum, who are among the University’s most distinguished graduates and the nation’s men of science. Elmer (1879-1967) discovered vitamins A, B, and D while Burton (1880-1964) developed many of the processes for finding underground oil with sound waves. The two brothers worked their way from impoverished youths on their family farm to remarkably successful and parallel careers, graduating together from KU in 1903. They never forgot their early struggles to earn an education. Burton designated that half his estate be used to aid deserving students and the University. The generosity, tenacity, and brilliance of the McCollum brothers made their name a natural one for a campus building.

Elmer McCollum, undated photograph. University Archives Photos.
Call Number: P/McCollum, Elmer (Photos). Click image to enlarge.

Portrait of Burton McCollum by Kansas City artist
Daniel MacMorris. The painting, along with one of his brother Elmer,
previously hung in the lobby of McCollum Hall. University Archives Photos.
Call Number: P/McCollum, Burton (Photos).
Click image to enlarge.

JoJo Palko
KU 150 Research Archivist
University Archives

Each week we’ll be posting a photograph from University Archives that shows a scene from KU’s past. We’ve also scanned more than 5,300 images from KU’s University Archives and made them available online; be sure to check them out!

With KU’s Stouffer Place apartments set to close at the end of June, this week we’re sharing some early pictures of the complex, which housed married students and students with children. It opened in 1957.

Ellis B. Stouffer (1884-1965), for whom the complex was named, with his wife Anna and
daughter Jean, 1950s. A mathematician, Stouffer also served KU as
Dean of the Graduate School (1922-1945) and Dean of the University (1945-1951).
University Archives Photos. Call Number: RG 0/22/86 1950s Negatives:
Campus: Buildings: Stouffer Place (Photos). Click image to enlarge.

Stouffer Place residents, 1950s. University Archives Photos.
Call Number: RG 0/22/86 1950s Negatives: Campus: Buildings: Stouffer Place (Photos).
Click image to enlarge.

Aerial view of Stouffer Place looking north, 1950s. Nineteenth Street runs
across the bottom of the photograph; Iowa Street is shown on the left.
Daisy Hill is undeveloped, with only a couple of farm houses.
University Archives Photos. Call Number: RG 0/22/86 1950s Prints:
Campus: Buildings: Stouffer Place (Photos). Click image to enlarge.

View of Stouffer Place from the east, 1959. The truck is likely heading down
Naismith Drive. Note the construction on Daisy Hill. University Archives Photos.
Call Number: RG 0/22/86 1959 Prints: Campus: Buildings: Stouffer Place (Photos).
Click image to enlarge.

Daisy Hill residence halls behind Stouffer Place, 1960s.
University Archives Photos. Call Number: RG 0/22/86 1950s Prints:
Campus: Buildings: Stouffer Place (Photos). Click image to enlarge.

Aerial photograph of Stouffer Place looking east towards campus, 1963-1964.
University Archives Photos. Call Number: RG 0/24/A 1963/1964: University General:
Campus: Aerials (Photos). Click image to enlarge (redirect to Spencer’s digital collections).

Caitlin Donnelly
Head of Public Services

Melissa Kleinschmidt, Megan Sims, and Abbey Ulrich
Public Services Student Assistants