About the Library
About Kemp Library
Kemp Library supports the mission and vision of the university by providing information resources and services to all students, faculty and staff.
Visit Our Collections page to learn more about the library's collections. Please consult our Donation Policy if you are considering making a donation to our collections.
If you are not already part of the current ESU community (Faculty, Staff or Student), you can become a "Friend of Kemp Library" and get library privileges.
Visit Our Team page to see a staff directory.
Contact Us for more information.
History of Kemp Library
The following timeline of the history of Kemp Library is based on two documents provided by Professor Elizabeth Scott, Archivist and Special Collections Librarian. More on the history of Kemp Library is being discovered and will be added to this page as documents are unearthed in the archives. Please visit the University's Archives and Special Collections for more information.
Timeline of Kemp Library: 1893-1921
- 1893
-
East Stroudsburg State Normal School Opens. A “Library and Reading Room” of basic reference books and periodicals is made freely accessible to all students. The room was located in the Main Building (Stroud Hall).
- 1898
-
Trustees approved Principal Bible’s Proposal to employ Miss Schumacher to the charge of the library
- 1903
-
The library’s collection grows from 900 to 1300 volumes with the help of Kemp’s report to the trustees who allowed him to expend a “certain sum for books every month, thus making it possible with the help of a vigilant faculty to keep well up with the market and keep the library alive and fresh”
- 1905
-
Oakes Hall opened. “The library was transferred to the second floor, front side, of this building.” Margaret Broadhead presents a number of valuable works to the library.
- 1906-1911
-
The library grows steadily bringing the total collection to 2,740, with 110 periodicals
- 1912-1920
-
The library grew “fitfully and weakly” due to financial stringencies due to limited state subsidies
- 1921
-
Principal Baker reported holdings of 5000 volumes in the Normal School Library. For the first time, a qualified librarian – Miss Edith Brown- was in charge of the library. Books were now classified by the Dewey Decimal System.
- 1925
-
The library is located in Oakes Hall and contains 7834 volumes on "crowded wall shelves".
- 1925-1945
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The library is located in Stroud Hall, where the "books and periodicals...increased with each mail."
- 1949
-
A new stack room is added to the library in Stroud Hall because the collection contains 22,000 books and 4000 volumes of periodicals.
- 1960
-
A new building with "up to date features" is erected to house the library and officially named "Kemp Library" after E.L. Kemp. This building houses the library collection until 1980. It is currently Rosenkrans Hall.
- 1980
-
Kemp Library building is opened at its current location at Smith and Normal Street.
Contact Us
Contact Information
- Campus Address
- Kemp Library
- Phone:
- (570) 422-3465
- Fax:
- (570) 422-3151 (Fax)
- Title of Department Leader
- Interim Director
- Name
- Megan Smith
- E:
- msmith130@esu.edu
- Phone:
- (570) 422-3588
