Welcome to the Kenneth Spencer Research Library blog! As the special collections and archives library at the University of Kansas, Spencer is home to remarkable and diverse collections of rare and unique items. Explore the blog to learn about the work we do and the materials we collect.
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!
KU students currently enrolling in spring classes can be glad that the process no longer involves the kinds of scenes shown in this week’s photographs.
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 5,700 images from KU’s University Archives and made them available online; be sure to check them out!
Follow the lead of these KU students and put on your dancing shoes; this Saturday is National Dance Day!
Homecoming dance in the Kansas Union Ballroom, 1956. University Archives Photos.
Call Number: RG 71/1 1956: Student Activities: Homecoming (Photos).
Click on image to enlarge (redirect to Spencer’s digital collections).
Popular pianist and bandleader Frankie Carle provided the music at the dance. Watch him perform with his orchestra in 1947, via footage available through YouTube.
Caitlin Donnelly
Head of Public Services
Melissa Kleinschmidt, Megan Sims, and Abbey Ulrich
Public Services Student Assistants