UUM_Ms0484 Inventory of the Leonard H. Kirkpatrick papers, 1852-1950 Kirkpatrick (Leonard H.) papers Finding aid created by Lora Crouch Manuscripts Division, J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah
295 South 1500 East Salt Lake City, Utah 84112-0860 801-581-8864 http://www.lib.utah.edu/collections/manuscripts.php
© 1987 (last modified: 2019) Finding aid encoded by Jonathan D. Hepworth 2006 Finding aid encoded in English in Latin script. Finding aid based on DACS (Describing Archives: A Content Standard, 2nd Edition) University of Utah Libraries, Special Collections Manuscripts Division
Special Collections 295 South 1500 East Salt Lake City, Utah 84112-0860 801-581-8864 http://www.lib.utah.edu/collections/manuscripts.php
MS 0484 Leonard H. Kirkpatrick papers 1852-1950 Kirkpatrick, Leonard Henry, 1907-1962 1.5 linear feet The Leonard H. Kirkpatrick papers (1852-1950) contain Kirkpatrick's writings on Utah's past and libraries throughout the state of Utah. Leonard H. Kirkpatrick was hired on as the head librarian of the Thomas Library at the University of Utah in 1941 and was an avid promoter of the University of Utah Library. He assisted in making the library an important research institution. Collection materials are in English. Biographical Sketch

Very little is known about the early life of Leonard H. Kirkpatrick (1907-1962). He was born in Arkansas in December 1907. He received his B.A. at Stanford University in 1929 and taught high school in Wyoming and Utah for the next four years. He then returned to Stanford where, in addition to getting a master's degree, he served as Assistant Librarian at the university. In 1936 he arrived at the Utah State Agricultural College (now Utah State University) where he was a librarian. During his stay he married Grace Jensen. In 1941 he took over as Head Librarian from Esther Nelson at the University of Utah's Thomas Library. For the next two decades he dealt with the changes World War II brought to the University of Utah from the sudden drop in students during the war to the explosion of the student population after the war. Always an advocate of librarianship, he was known to have a passion for his work and was a popular speaker. He sought to make Utahns more knowledgeable about the history of their state and made several shrewd purchases for the library, many of which are in today's Special Collections. As the Thomas Library grew more crowded with each passing year, Kirkpatrick began a campaign for library expansion and finally for a new building. His dream of a new library was cut short; just a few months after the Planning Committee for the new library started meeting, Kirkpatrick was killed in a traffic accident in November 1962. He is generally credited with helping turn the University of Utah Library into an effective research organization and promoting libraries throughout the state and region.

The Leonard H. Kirkpatrick papers (1852-1950) focus on materials for a dissertation that Kirkpatrick was writing for the Graduate Library School of the University of Chicago. The materials focus on the early libraries in the state of Utah and the involvement of the LDS Church in establishing libraries in the Utah Territory. There are also miscallaneous articles and lectures that Kirkpatrick wrote, including one on BYU President Ernest Wilkinson who supposedly "prayed" the BYU football team to victory.

Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.

The library does not claim to control copyright for all materials in the collection. An individual depicted in a reproduction has privacy rights as outlined in Title 45 CFR, part 46 (Protection of Human Subjects). For further information, please review the J. Willard Marriott Library’s Use Agreement and Reproduction Request forms.

Collection Name, Collection Number, Box Number, Folder Number. Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library, The University of Utah.

Transferred from the University of Utah Archives in 1982.

Processed by Lora Crouch in 1987.

 Libraries--Utah--History Readers (Primary) Literature Drafts (documents) Notes Articles The History of Libraries in Utah 1 1 The Church as Librarian 1 2 The Territorial Library 1 3 The University of Deseret 1 4 College and University Libraries 1 5 The Salt Lake City Library 1 6 Library Associations and Sunday School Libraries 1 7 City and County Libraries 1 8 Elementary and High School Libraries 1 9 Summary and Bibligraphy Dissertation Research Material and Rough Drafts (1852-1863) 2 1-2 Rough Draft, Church as Librarian 2 3-4 Rough Draft, Territorial Library 2 5-6 Rough Draft, University of Deseret 2 7 Rough Draft, Library Associations and Sunday School Libraries 2 8 Rough Draft, Elementary and High School Libraries 2 9 Research Material, Church as Historian 2 10 Correspondence on Utah Territorial Library 1852-1863 2 11-12 Research Materials on Territorial Library 2 13-17 Research Materials 2 18 Correspondence with Library School, University of Chicago Articles on LDS and Utah Culture (1950) 3 1-2 Calendar Note Books 3 1-2 Notes on Historical Events, Utah and Weber Counties 3 3 Notes from Two Maude W. Stillman Books 3 4-6 Sample Pages from Early American Readers 3 7-10 Notes from Early American Readers 3 11 Outline History of the Mormons 3 12 Account of Early History and Founding of LDS Church 3 13 LDS Church Activity in Germany during Reign of Hitler 3 14 BYU Seminar 3 15 Hand of God in Thanksgiving Football Game 3 16 Account of the Stringfellow Case 1950 3 17 Politics in Territorial Utah 3 18 Mormonism: Its Rise, and Present Condition 3 19 The Massacre 3 20 When Brigham Young Was Wrong 3 21 Utah In the Eyes of the Nation 3 22 The Blacks and the LDS Church 3 23 Notes on Utah and LDS Church 3 24 Kirkpatrick Biographical Material 3 25 Processor's Notes