Special Collections and University Archives

The cataloged book collection is especially rich in family histories, local city and county histories, including print resources relating to the Jackson Purchase area of Kentucky. This extensive book collection also includes census, cemetery, and historical records and rosters and other records of the American Revolution, War of 1812 and more. It contains materials especially useful to genealogical research, making Pogue Library Special Collections one of the strongest of its type in the upper south. In addition, the library contains a wealth of titles useful to those researching the American Civil War. All of the cataloged books may be located by searching Murray State University Libraries online catalog.

Jesse Stuart was a Kentucky author who has been compared to Robert Burns. His poems, stories, and novels featured characters based on his native eastern Kentucky experience. Although he spent a lot of time away from his Kentucky homeland, he always seemed to return to it. Jesse Stuart has a Murray State connection with a fellowship bearing his name and from his many writing workshops. The Jesse Stuart Book Collection at Murray State University contains many of his novels, anthologies of his short stories, textbooks featuring his work, magazines and journals that published his work, and foreign language editions. Many of these came from his personal collection and are signed by him. The bulk of the book collection was donated to the library by Jesse Stuart in 1961, but over the years has been added to by donations of books, etc. from his fans.

The Rare Book Collection consists of printed books, monographs, pamphlets and broadsides published prior to 1860. The collection also contains significant first editions of Kentucky authors, limited editions, rare musical scores and oversized art books, books as art forms, autographed copies and other unique publications deemed rare by virtue of age and condition.

The Science Fiction Collection consists of paperback science fiction magazines dating from 1929 to 1981. The collection includes over 350 issues of Amazing Stories, close to 200 issues of Fantastic magazine and complete run of Galaxy magazine containing over 250 issues. The collection was donated by Mark Robinson, a former student and faculty member of Murray State University in 1981.

The Forrest C. Pogue 20th Century War and Diplomacy Collection includes the books and papers of Dr. Pogue, the library's namesake. The collection was donated by Forrest C. Pogue in January of 1989. Dr. Pogue was an official United State Army historian during the Second World War, the authorized biographer of General George Marshall, and the author of The Supreme Command.

The Maps Collection consists of reprinted historic maps of Kentucky, Tennessee, and North Carolina for the time period 1657 to 1993. It includes road (highway) maps, Civil War battlefield maps, post route maps, county maps, and a reprint of This Map of Kentucke by Filson, and The Plan of the Town of Wadesboro in the County of Calloway by Waters.

Pogue Library houses a collection of framed prints by Kentucky artist Paul Sawyier. All unframed Sawyier are prints have been transferred to Wrather West Kentucky Museum.