The William T. Young Library, located on the campus of the University of Kentucky in Lexington, is named for William T. Young, a prominent local businessman, horse breeder, philanthropist and alumnus of the university, who began fund raising efforts with a donation of $5 million. The facility serves as a central library for the university's social sciences, humanities and life sciences collections and acts as a federal depository and a public library for the state of Kentucky. It holds the record amongst public universities in the nation for the largest book endowment.HistoryThe history of the library dates back to the mid-1970s when then-University President Otis A. Singletary and successor David Roselle urged the state of Kentucky to fund a research library yearly between 1975 and 1989. This came after an addition to the Margaret I. King Library was completed, however, funding for the new library never materialized due to budget cuts from the state.In 1990, then-President Charles Wethington pledged to the faculty and students that building a new library would be "top priority;" however, he was met with much resistance from state leaders. The university initiated a massive fund-raising campaign 1991. The top donor who kick-started the project was Lexington businessman and horse breeder William T. Young who gave $5 million; the university would later raise $21.5 million.In 1992, the university received state approval to spend $12 million on design and site preparation; however, the General Assembly in 1994 did not approve the capital project. In order to start the project, Wethington established an unusual funding method: the city of Lexington would sell $41 million in bonds, and the proceeds would go to the University of Kentucky Alumni Association and Athletic Association, a semi-independent organization that would become the owner and builder of the library. The annual debt service on the library bonds is currently being paid from $3.2 million it receives annually from the Athletics Association.
