Louis A. Kenney Papers MS-0393
Jennifer Hollander
Special Collections & University Archives
06/09/2008
5500 Campanile Dr. MC 8050
San Diego, CA 92182-8050
askscua@sdsu.edu
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections & University Archives
Title: Louis A. Kenney Papers
Creator:
Kenney, Louis A.
Identifier/Call Number: MS-0393
Physical Description:
3.71 Linear Feet
Date (inclusive): 1914-1992
Date (bulk): 1950-1992
Language of Material:
English
.
Scope and Contents
The
Louis A. Kenney Papers document Kenney's years as University Librarian at San Diego State University. The collection dates from 1914-1992, and has
been divided into four series:
Correspondence,
Professional Files,
Printing Ephemera, and
Scrapbooks.
The
Correspondence series includes Kenney's ingoing and outgoing correspondence from 1960 to 1980, as well as his dissertation. Included in
this series are memos regarding the budget; various complaints and concerns from faculty and staff; information on meetings
and new employee appointments; requests for forming cooperative relationships with other libraries; and memos regarding the
library's move to a new building in 1971. The series is arranged chronologically.
The
Professional Files series documents a broad range of Kenney's life from his doctoral dissertation to his retirement from the San Diego State
library in 1980. The series dates from 1950 to 1992, with some undated materials. Included in this series is a copy of Kenney's
PhD dissertation,
The Censorship Edicts of Emperor Charles V in the Low Countries, 1515-1550, as well as a copy of a rare 1540 edition of
Ordenung und Mandat, a primary document used for his dissertation; and three folders of correspondence regarding the library's
Edward A. Block Memorial Collection from 1965-1973. Also included is Kenney's Campanile Club plaque, one of his nameplates, and a copy of a 42nd Infantry Division
history/yearbook, ca. 1943. There is no filing order.
The
Printing Ephemera series includes various materials collected by Kenney during his tenure as University Librarian.
The
Photographs and Scrapbooks series includes photographs of the 1939 New York World's Fair and Kenney's wartime service in Europe, and three scrapbooks
that document Kenney's travels after the war and contain postcards he collected. The loose photographs primarily document
Kenny's wartime service and include photographs taken by Kenney and souvenir prints he purchased. The wartime photographs,
which mostly date from the summer of 1945, include photographs taken in cities and towns in France, Germany, Austria and Scotland.
The aftermath of the war is shown through several photographs of buildings destroyed by bombing. Also included are a group
of photographs Kenney took while attending the New York World's Fair in 1939, as well as a shot of Kenney's relatives in Los
Angeles. The first scrapbook was compiled by Kenney while on a trip through Italy with school friends in 1950. It includes
postcards and photos of Kenney and his friends from Florence, Milan, Assisi, Rome, Amalfi, Pompeii, Sicily, and numerous other
locations in Italy. The second consists of postcards from Hawaii, Tokyo, Kyoto, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and the Chinese countryside.
It also includes some cards depicting the US Pacific Fleet, and the Japanese silk and tea industries. The third was compiled
by Kenney while on a trip through France and Switzerland with school friends in 1949. It is unclear if this is the same trip
in which he visited Italy. The album includes photos and postcards from the Queen Elizabeth cruise ship, Paris, the French
countryside, Zurich, Bern, and the Swiss countryside.
Arrangement Note
I. Correspondence, 1960-1980
II. Professional Files, 1950-1992
III. Printing Ephemera
IV. Photographs and Scrapbooks, 1914-1950
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
The copyright interests in these materials have not been transferred to San Diego State University. Copyright resides with
the creators of materials contained in the collection or their heirs. The nature of historical archival and manuscript collections
is such that copyright status may be difficult or even impossible to determine. Requests for permission to publish must be
submitted to the Head of Special Collections, San Diego State University, Library and Information Access. When granted, permission
is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical item and is not intended to include or imply permission
of the copyright holder(s), which must also be obtained in order to publish. Materials from our collections are made available
for use in research, teaching, and private study. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including
but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials.
Source of Acquisition
Louis A. Kenney
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, folder title, box number, Louis A. Kennedy Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, San
Diego State University Library.
Biographical Note
Louis A. Kenney was born February 28, 1917 in Dorchester, NE. He received his BA from Nebraska State College, Kearney in 1939
and completed a BS and a MS in Library Science at the University of Illinois, Urbana. He was drafted by the U.S. Army in 1941
and served with the 42nd Infantry Division in World War II. He returned to civilian life in 1946 and spent a year studying
abroad in Switzerland from 1949 to 1950. In 1960 he was awarded his PhD in history from the University of Maryland. His thesis
was titled
The Censorship Edicts of Emperor Charles V in the Low Countries, 1515-1550.
Kenney was San Diego State's University Librarian from 1961 to 1980 and played an instrumental role in planning for a new
library building, the Malcolm A. Love Library, which opened in 1971. As a result, the library's collection tripled in size
and Kenney helped to establish the Special Collections department for rare books and manuscripts. He also helped form the
Friends of the Malcolm A. Love Library in 1964 and served on its Board.
Kenney was an avid collector of rare books. In 1967, he purchased the
Zinner Collection for Special Collections. Kenney retired from San Diego State in 1980 but remained active with the Friends of the Library
and various other organizations. He was named Emeritus Librarian upon his retirement. He died in December of 1993.
Accruals
9999-124, 9999-211
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Personal Papers
Academic librarians--California--San Diego--Biography--Sources
Academic librarians--California--San Diego--Correspondence
Censorship--Netherlands--History--16th century
Censorship--Netherlands--Early works to 1800
Photographs
Kenney, Louis A., 1917--Archives
Kenney, Louis A., 1917--Correspondence
San Diego State University--Faculty--Biography--Sources
San Diego State University. Library. Department of Special Collections--History--Sources
box 1
Correspondence Series 1
1960-1980
box 1, folder 15
deBellis Library Folder 15
1968, 1969
box 1, folder 16
McConnel, Mrs. Frederick Folder 16
1969
box 2
Professional Files Series 2
1950-1992
box 2, folder 1
Correspondence Folder 1
1981,1982
box 2, folder 2
Correspondence Folder 2
1983,1984,1985
box 2, folder 3
Correspondence Folder 3
1986,1987
box 2, folder 4
Correspondence: Kearney State Foundation Folder 4
1984-91
box 2, folder 5
Correspondence Folder 5
1988,1989,1990
box 2, folder 6
Correspondence-Margit Smith Folder 6
1986-1992
box 2, folder 7
Elizabeth Frazee- Worsley Correspondence Folder 7
1968-70
box 2, folder 8
Block Memorial Collection Correspondence Folder 8
1965-73
box 2, folder 9
Block Memorial Collection Correpondence Folder 9
1965-73
box 2, folder 10
Block Memorial Collection Correspondence Folder 10
1965-73
box 2, folder 11
"Despot Rules Love Library" Folder 11
ca 1971
box 2, folder 13
"Report on the State of the Library" Folder 13
1961
box 2, folder 14
Talks, reports, mixed dates Folder 14
box 2, folder 15
Retirement Folder 15
1980
box 2, folder 16
Curriculum vitae, bio sketches (see also Kenney bio file) Folder 16
box 2, folder 17
Talks to Library Personnel Folder 17
mixed dates
box 2, folder 18
Pictorial History of SDSU, proposed publication Folder 18
1978
box 2, folder 19
Censorship issue talks Folder 19
mixed dates
box 2, folder 20
"Public Relations in the College Library" Folder 20
July 1984
box 2, folder 21
Manpower Research Project Folder 21
1978
box 2, folder 22
The London World Fair of 1851 by Louis A. Kenney Folder 22
1950
box 2, folder 23
The American Democratic Faith and The Pragmatism of William James, Term Paper Folder 23
1955
box 2, folder 24
Doctoral Dissertation rewriting and abridgement Folder 24
box 2, folder 25
Doctoral Dissertation, Fourth Carbon Copy; Dissertation Summary, Reprint of Abstract Folder 25
box 2, folder 26
Doctoral Dissertation Manuscript for Publication (not published) Folder 26
box 2, folder 27
Printing and Censorship in the Period 1450-1550 (unpublished article) Folder 27
box 2, folder 28
Book Review Folder 28
ca 1908
box 2, folder 29
Unmarked Folder containing newspaper clippings Folder 29
box 2, folder 30
Aztec Shops Calendar Folder 30
box 2, folder 31
"Frank J. and Amelin Kenney..." by Louis Kenney Folder 31
box 2, folder 32
Miscellaneous cards, certificates, photos Folder 32
box 2, folder 33
Mental Illness: Book Review Folder 33
box 2, folder 34
Mental Illness: Correspondence, Review, etc. Folder 34
1983-
box 2, folder 35
Photostat and typed of a rare 1540 copy "Ordenung und Mandat". Typed copy in Modern German and original in old German script
(was the final document for his PhD dissertation)
Folder 35
box 2, folder 36
SDSU Library Staff Association Bicentennial Cookbook Folder 36
box 2, folder 37
Library Employee Handbook Folder 37
1996
box 2, folder 38
Security and Emergency Policy Folder 38
box 2, folder 39
General Division Minutes Folder 39
box 2, folder 40
California Faculty Association Folder 40
box 2, item 1
Field Artillery Battalion- 42nd Infantry Division (Yearbook) Item 1
box 2, item 2
Campanile Club Plaque Item 2
1984-85
box 2, item 3
Desk nametag "L.A. Kenney, Director of Libraries" Item 3
box 2
Printing Ephemera Series 3
box 2, folder 41
Exhibit Notices and Catalogs Folder 41
box 2, folder 42
Prospectuses and Announcements Folder 42
Photographs and Scrapbooks Series 4
1914-1950
box 3, item 1
Dr. Louis Kenney and his classmates' trip through Italy Item 1
1950
box 4, item 1
Pacific Cruises Item 1
1914-1915
box 5, item 1
Dr. Louis A. Kenney and his classmates' trip through Switzerland and France Item 1
1949
box 6, folder 1
New York World's Fair, 1939 Folder 1
box 6, folder 2
Los Angeles, 1942 Folder 2
