Macdonald–Kelce Library

Funding for the construction of a new $1.3 million library was raised quietly by David M. Delo, University of Tampa President (1958–1971), in the late 1960s through the Tampa Library Fund campaign. Having fallen short of its goal, additional funding was sought and obtained in the amount of $427,661 through a federal construction grant under the Higher Education Facilities Act of 1965.[12] In May 1968 Merl C. Kelce, chairman of the board of Peabody Coal Company of St. Louis and recipient of the 1961 Horatio Alger Award, donated an additional $250,000 to the Tampa Library Fund to cover the final expenditures. Up to that time Kelce's gift was the largest single contribution in the history of the University of Tampa.[13] The library was dedicated on October 19, 1969, presided over by Delo.[14] The total cost for the construction, repairs, remodeling and landscaping of the newly constructed Merl Kelce Library amounted to $1,519,108.[15]

The architectural design of the building broadly falls under Mid-century modern, but may have been regionally influenced by the Sarasota School of Architecture, also known as Sarasota Modern. It is an open-plan structure, with large planes of glass that imbue the interior spaces with natural illumination. A distinctive feature of the building is its facade, a series of five Moorish arches, placed over the entrance that echoes the Moorish style of architecture of its neighboring iconic building, Plant Hall.

Macdonald–Kelce Library facade with Moorish arches

Plant Hall

The three story, 49,000 square foot facility was designed to house more than 200,000 volumes and provide seating capacity for 650 persons.[16] The library has undergone two notable renovations. Under the direction of the President of the University of Tampa, Ronald L. Vaughn (1995–) a fundraising campaign called "Take UT to the Top" began in 1999. Its purpose was to raise enough funds to renovate structures on the University of Tampa's campus, which included $3.6 million for expansion and renovation of the Macdonald–Kelce Library.[17] A 2003 donation by the Jaeb Family made interior design and technology upgrades possible, which were named in their honor, "The Robert and Lorena Jaeb Reference & Technology Center".[18] In 2016 the library was closed for the summer while interior renovations took place, which included new lighting fixtures, interior upgrades and a new HVAC.[19] The library currently features two computer labs, contemporary study carrels, two collaborative study rooms, private study rooms, a classroom for faculty teaching, a library instruction room, a curriculum room that supports an educational teaching instruction program, and additional computers and book scanning stations.

The majority of materials in the Macdonald–Kelce Library are housed in the bookstacks on the second floor and use the Library of Congress classification system. In order to create more space within the library for its escalating student population, many of the bound, print periodicals and microfilm are stored in an off-site storage facility. The library has roughly 320,000 titles with respect to its physical holdings. Beginning in the late 1970s Director Acosta moved the library into the direction of new technologies which included making an online catalog.[20]

The archives and special collections are housed on the second floor of the Macdonald–Kelce Library. The collection holds the University of Tampa's archival documents (e.g., administrative, departmental, committee, institutional et al.) but also artifacts and information pertaining to the University of Tampa's and west-central Florida's history.[21] Among the more salient items within its collections are scrapbooks and diaries of opera star and Broadway and Hollywood actress Blanche Yurka (1887–1974), and a large collection of papers from Florida's United States Representative, William C. Cramer (1922–2003).[22]

The collection began as a joint venture between the Suncoast Chapter Association of the United States Army and the University of Tampa.[23] It was formally recognized by the Governor of Florida Reubin Askew on November 6, 1973 at the University of Tampa. The room housing the collection, located on the North end of the first floor, was dedicated on August 22, 1977.[24] Established as a resource for scholars of American military history, it is "one of the largest private libraries of books and documents on military subjects in the Southeast United States.[25] Contrary to its name, it "contains works that reflect military as well as semi-military topics (e.g., peace, medicine, fiction) in geographic areas other than Florida."[26]

Originally, there were classrooms housed in the Florida Military Collection and even the local public television station would periodically broadcast from there.[27]

The library also curates the University of Tampa's institutional repository, which is "a digital service that collects, preserves, and distributes the intellectual output of the UT community."[28]

The Macdonald–Kelce Library is a selective Federal Depository Library. It has made a commitment to retain and make accessible to both the university community and to the general public at no fee selective resources of the United States government. In addition to the core collection of government documents, it retains roughly 30% of the resources of the United States Government Printing Office.

Under Director Pethe the library offers access to over 200 databases and a digitized archive of the university's scholarship. The Macdonald-Kelce Library Digital Collections includes three unique collections: The Digital Exhibits, the Institutional Repository, and the UT Publications.

• The Digital Exhibits: One of the current Digital Exhibits is the “Historical Holiday Cards at the University of Tampa,” which houses a collection of cards from the 1950s through the 1980s. These cards are centered around the winter holidays from December to January and are card that were issued to the campus community by the UT Presidents.
• University of Tampa Institutional Repository: The repository is a digital service that collects, preserves, and promotes academic scholarship created by the university. The repository collections include faculty publications, graduate theses and dissertations, lectures and events, special collections, syllabi, undergraduate research, and university publications. One special collection from the repository is the “Tampa Book Arts Studio Blog,” which began in 2008. The collection has over 10,000 items emphasizing letterpress printing from private and independent presses. It is also tied to a few other collections related to books, art, and famous presses, including the Lee J. Harper Collection and the Dobkin Collection of 19th Century Letter Writing Manuals.
• UT Publications: The University of Tampa Publications is the digitized database for the student newspaper, yearbook, alumni magazine, and staff-faculty newsletter. The archives hold documents dating back to 1931 when the University of Tampa was still called Tampa Junior College.

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