During the 1960s, the need for a library department to house the University's rarest and most unique research materials arose with the acquisition of several important collections. K-State Libraries created the Special Collections Department in 1967. Twenty years later, the university formally acknowledged the need to collect and preserve its institutional records by establishing a university archives within special collections. In 1997, the department was named in honor of Richard L. D. and Marjorie J. Morse for their long-term support and the establishment of the Consumer Movement Archives.
Since its establishment, the Morse Department has become a vital epicenter for research pertaining to the consumer movement and cookery, Kansas and K-State history. Many of these materials have also been digitized to improve preservation and access to the collections, and can be found below.
K-State Libraries’ digital collections may include images and text reflecting various forms of oppression, including but not limited to offensive language or negative stereotypes. Instances of bigotry reflect the attitudes, perspectives, and beliefs of those that created and participated in them and should be considered records of the era in which they were produced. The collection period includes the modern day, as born digital resources are collected regularly. They are presented here without censorship as evidence of past activities.