After the war, Carpenter received a bachelor of arts degree in English Literature from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He then attended the University of California, Berkeley where he received graduate degrees in literature and library science. Upon graduation, he served as an administrative assistant to the library director and head of the rare book library at U. C. Berkeley. In 1962, Carpenter was hired as a librarian at the University of Nevada, Reno. While there, he served as the assistant director and head of the Special Collections Department. He retired in 1981.
Always interested in printing and fine books, Carpenter and his wife, Pattricia (Pat) Healey Evans, founded the Black Rock Press at the University of Nevada, Reno in 1965 with the purchase and donation of an 1837 Columbian handpress, which they donated in 1971. Carpenter taught printing classes at UNR and directed the activities of the Press until 1986. In 1998, the Black Rock Press printshop was renamed the Kenneth J. Carpenter Printing Studio.
In addition to his work in the library and the Black Rock Press, Carpenter was also active in the Faculty Senate and served as an Executive Board member for the University of Nevada, Reno Chapter of the National Society of Professors.
