History: Kent Library  was completed in 1939 and named after Sadie Kent, the University’s longstanding librarian.  The authors’ names displayed on the outside of the building were chosen by Southeast's reknowned English professor H.O. Grauel.  

Building Use: Kent Library’s 166,000 square feet houses more than 800,000 volumes, microfilm and various collections.  The library has been designated as an Official Government Records Depository.  Kent houses the Writing Center, student computer labs, the Instructional Materials Center, the Rare Book Room, the Center for William Faulkner Studies, classrooms and study areas.

The Library also houses Textbook Rental. This unique program allows Southeast students to rent their textbooks each semester. The fee is $18.42 per course, regardless of the number of books required. Students can return the books at the end of the semester or they may choose to buy them.

Fun Fact: On the right wall of the library a large mural, created by Jake Wells, depicts four areas of development in Cape Girardeau. Jake Wells was an alumnus and head of the art department at the time of the murals creation. In the upper left hand corner of the mural, the outline of a ghost on horseback, said to be a Spanish Conquistador, can be found. Wells denied adding the image, but many believe it symbolizes Cape’s initial founding by the Spanish.

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