We present a new spectroscopic library of late spectral type stellar templates in the near-IR range 2.15-2.42 mu m, at R = 5900 resolution, oriented to support stellar kinematics studies in external galaxies, such as the direct determination of the masses of supermassive black holes in nearby active (and non-active) galaxies. The combination of high spectral resolution and state-of-the-art instrumentation available on 8 m-class telescopes has made analysis of circumnuclear stellar kinematics using the near-IR CO bandheads one of the most frequently used techniques for such studies, and this library aims to provide the supporting datasets required by the higher spectral resolution and spectral coverage achieved with modern near-IR spectrographs. The data are particularly well suited for two Gemini instruments-GNIRS and NIFS-but can be easily adjusted for use with any other near-IR spectrograph at similar or lower resolution.