Monday-Friday
9am-5pm
785-864-4663
109 Smith Hall
1300 Oread Avenue
Lawrence, Kansas 66045
Virtual Tour
The Moore Reading Room (MRR) is located in Room 109 in Smith Hall on the University of Kansas Lawrence campus. The MRR is open Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm, during fall and spring semesters, and Monday-Friday, 9am-1pm, during breaks and summer sessions.
The collection contained in the Moore Reading Room is made up of thousands of volumes exploring the religious practices and experiences of people around the world. The development of the MRR collection began in 1901 when the Kansas Bible Chair was established by the Kansas Christian Women’s Board of Missions and the women of the First Christian Church of Lawrence to facilitate the study of the Bible at KU. Private donations of books and funds allowed the collection to grow and evolve. From the mid-1960s through the mid-1970s, an annual endowment from the Episcopal Church provided funding for book purchases. Current acquisitions are selected by members of the Religious Studies faculty and purchased with funds from an endowment made possible by the generosity of private donors.
Dr. William J. Moore, for whom the reading room is named, was appointed dean of the Kansas School of Religion and the director of the Kansas Bible Chair in 1960. Under Dr. Moore’s direction, Smith Hall—newly built in 1967—was designed with the book collection in mind. In their history of the Kansas Bible Chair, The Bible on Mt. Oread, Dr. Moore and co-author Dwight F. Metzler remembered that “from the start of the planning [of Smith Hall] the library was considered the most essential element in the new building.” The integration of the impressive “Burning Bush” stained glass window, designed by Jacoby Studios in St. Louis and gifted by Mr. and Mrs. L. Allyn Laybourn, into the design of the reading room speaks to the importance of both the collection and the reading room’s role in providing scholars with a place for quiet contemplation. The William J. Moore Library was officially dedicated on November 10, 1978, in honor of Dr. Moore.
The Hermes Peace and Justice Library is located on the second floor of the Moore Reading Room. This eclectic collection of books and other materials was established in 1985 to promote the study of peace and social justice issues. Named for social activist Michael P. Hermes, the Hermes Peace and Justice Library was an outgrowth of the Community Peace House, an experiment in providing shelter for the homeless and meeting space for community organizations. Following the closing of the Community Peace House, the library was relocated first to the Plymouth Congregational Church and then to the Social Service League. In 2001, the library was moved to its current location in the Moore Reading Room.
University of Kansas students, faculty, and staff, as well as members of the general public, are welcome to check out circulating items from the Moore Reading Room with the presentation of a KUID or other valid form of identification. Borrowers must also provide current contact information when checking out materials from the MRR.
Books may be returned to the checkout desk in the MRR during business hours, or placed in the return slot to the right of the doors to the MRR after hours. Please do not return MRR books to any other KU library.
In addition to regular circulating materials, the MRR also offers a variety of reference materials, periodicals, and audio/visual materials.
Reserve materials may be requested at the checkout desk. Loan periods for reserve materials are determined by the faculty member placing the item on reserve, but are generally two hours/overnight (i.e., if material is checked out within two hours before closing time, it is due back the next day when the MRR opens.) Please note: Some reserve items cannot be taken out of the MRR.
The MRR staff send overdue book notifications via email or regular mail for patrons who do not have email. The first notice is sent when the book is due. The second notice is sent following the two-week grace period. A third notice is sent when the book is three months overdue. If the book is not returned before it is four months overdue, the maximum overdue fine will be assessed and, if the borrower is a KU student, an enrollment hold will be placed on his or her account.
The Moore Reading Room offers: