Known colloquially as Willy T., the William T. Young Library rises in front of you on the University of Kentucky campus in Lexington. It is named for William T. Young, a prominent local businessman, horse breeder, philanthropist and alumnus who began fundraising with a donation of $5 million. This building serves as the university's central library for social sciences, humanities, and life sciences collections, and it acts as a federal depository and a public library for the state of Kentucky. It even holds the record among public universities in the nation for the largest book endowment.
The library's story stretches back to the mid-1970s, when President Otis A. Singletary and his successor David Roselle urged the state to fund a research library yearly between 1975 and 1989 after an addition to the Margaret I. King Library was completed. Funding never materialized because of state budget cuts. In 1990, President Charles Wethington pledged that building a new library would be "top priority," although he was met with much resistance.
Notice that this library holds the record among public universities for the largest book endowment in the nation.