Norman and Charlotte Strouse were among the library's earliest benefactors. Head of the successful J. Walter Thompson advertising agency and a passionate book collector and learned amateur bookman, Mr. Strouse donated his personal collection of rare and unusual materials by and about nineteenth century man of letters, Thomas Carlyle, and his era.

Strouse continued to maintain the collection and the accompanying UCSC Carlyle lecture series throughout his lifetime and, upon his passing, bequeathed an endowed fund to support the collection in UCSC Special Collections in perpetuity. The Strouse Carlyle lecture series continues to thrive. Lectures are published in the prestigious Carlyle Studies Annual.