Get to Know... Pogue and Wrather

Murray State's Special Collections & University Archives, housed in historic Forrest C. Pogue Library, were established in the late 1960s to provide access to information about the cultural history of the Jackson Purchase region and to act as the repository for the official and unofficial records that document the history of the university. Collections include Regional Histories, Manuscripts, Oral Histories, and the Digitized Collections found in Murray State's Institutional Repository, Digital Commons. Of note is the Rare Book Collection, the War & Diplomacy Collection (donated by Forrest C. Pogue), the Science Fiction Collection, and the Jesse Stuart Collection. These collections and archives are intended to support research, teaching, and public awareness of our regional heritage.

Murray State's oldest building - and recently beautifully renovated - Wrather West Kentucky Museum, started out as the Administrative Building in 1924. At that time it housed a myriad of activities and offices, from pep rallies to science labs, and in 1975 was added to the National Register of Historic Places. 1982 brought renaming in honor of longtime Murray State administrator and alum M.O. Wrather. Today the Museum's mission is to "highlight and promote an understanding of the social, cultural and economic development of West Kentucky and the Jackson Purchase." In addition to its historical permanent exhibits, the recently renovated museum is host to campus and community events as well as traveling exhibitions from around the nation. A very exciting development is that Wrather will be host to a Smithsonian collaborative exhibit entitled "FOOD" in fall 2024!

If you're interested in an instructional session for your students or community group on how to conduct historical research with our special collections and archives, let us know. Contact our fine staffers at Pogue or Wrather for more information:

Pogue Library

Open M-F 8am - 4:30pm

270-809-6152

msu.specialcollections@murraystate.edu

Wrather West Kentucky Museum

Open M-Th 12pm - 4pm

270-809-4771

msu.wrather@murraystate.edu

Dr. Sean J. "Jeff" McLaughlin

Director, Special Collections & University Archives

smclaughlin1@murraystate.edu

270-809-4295

The Murray State University Libraries serve as the student-centered learning commons of the university community and as a resource that bolsters the regional economy and culture. We provide traditional and evolving services, collections, instruction, and spaces to empower our diverse learners.