U.S. Rep. Dennis Moore donates documents to KU

U.S. Rep. Dennis Moore shows photos to KU Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little and Dean of Libraries Lorraine Haricombe, right. Moore is donating his congressional papers and documents to the Spencer Research Library.

Kansas University Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little watches as U.S. Rep. Dennis Moore signs away papers, documents and VHS tapes during a press conference Monday, Nov. 22, 2010 at the Kansas Union. Moore's donation of congressional papers will go to the university's Spencer Research Library.

Other works at the Spencer

Kansas University’s Spencer Research Library already serves as the home for other congressional repositories.

The public can find papers from:

• Sen. James Pearson, R-Kan., who served from 1962 to 1978.

• Rep. Wint Smith, R-Kan., who served from 1947 to 1961.

• Rep. Larry Winn, R-Kan., who served from 1967 to 1985.

• Rep. Jan Meyers, R-Kan., who served from 1985 to 1997.

U.S. Rep. Dennis Moore, D-Kan., will donate boxes filled with his schedules, photos and other documents to Kansas University’s Spencer Research Library so it can be studied.

Still, there’s a lot of material to peruse. Daily schedules, press clippings, audio recordings of stump speeches and letters from constituents — some kind and others not so kind, Moore said — are all included from Moore’s 12-year career in Congress.

Every time the congressman — who is retiring, effective in January — appeared on television, staffers would press record and save the video tape, all of which are included with the documents.

Moore joked that most of the students attending KU probably wouldn’t even know what to do with a VHS tape.

He said he hoped the material would become useful to a researcher or a student of history or government. He said he hoped the documents would provide some context for his career in the U.S. House.

“But even more than that, I hope they provide some context for our country and the challenges we have faced in that time,” Moore said.

Lorraine Haricombe, KU’s dean of libraries, said she didn’t yet know the total size of the collection, but it will be significant enough to require some time to catalogue and index the material so people can navigate through it. She said the library’s users are always looking for unique primary source materials such as Moore’s collection.

“It’s a collection they can’t buy anywhere,” she said. “It’s a collection they can’t find in any other library.”

KU Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little thanked Moore for the material.

“This is just the latest manifestation of Congressman Moore’s support to KU,” she said, referencing his speeches on campus and work to secure federal dollars for the university.

Moore is a KU alumnus. He studied political science and earned a bachelor’s degree in 1967 before earning a law degree from Washburn University in 1970.