Planning Your Visit to the
State Archives & Library
Hours and Location
9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Tuesday
- Saturday (closed on state holidays). Researchers can request
material from the stacks until 4 p.m. We are located at 6425 SW 6th
Avenue in Topeka, exit 356 on I-70. Map
to the Kansas Historical Society
Welcome to the Research Room!
 When
you first enter the research room, you will see the reference desk directly
in front of you. If you are a first time visitor, the staff will ask
you to read our researcher
policy and present a photo ID to register. This takes only a few
minutes. You will receive a numbered research card which is valid until
the following June 30th.
After registering at the reference desk, we ask you to store your belongings
- purses, backpacks, cellular telephones, etc. - in the locker room
located just outside the research room. This is for your security as
well as ours. You will need a quarter to lock the locker (we have change)
and remove the key, but you will get the quarter back when you unlock
the locker again. You will be the only person with the key to the locker
you choose. You may bring your notebook and personal computer into the
research room with you. You might also want to wear a sweater since
our reading room stays pretty chilly year around. For security reasons,
the reference staff will ask to look through the materials you are carrying
at the end of your visit.
The reference staff will be happy to help you throughout your visit
to the research room. From the reference desk, you may proceed to the
card catalogs or microfilm collections.
 Using
Our Collections
 The
shelving area that contains our books, manuscripts, maps and archives
is not open to the public. In order to use these materials, you must
search our card or online catalog and fill out a call slip for each
item you would like to use. You'll give these to our retrieval desk
staff, who will bring the items to you at the reading tables in the
middle of the room. We do not check out any of these materials; they
must be used in our reading room.
You may also request photocopies
of pages from books or other paper items at the retrieval desk. The
staff make the copies for you. If we have a large number of requests,
we may have to mail your copies to you after you leave.
Our Catalogs
 The
cards for printed material, manuscripts, maps and photograph collections
are in separate catalogs. Each card catalog includes author, title and
subject cards interfiled alphabetically. The drawers come out of the
cabinets so you may sit at the tables to look through the cards. We
ask you not to remove cards from the drawers.
We stopped adding new cards into our card catalogs in 1995. Items
added to our collection since then can be found through the online catalog
system, ATLAS,
that we share with other Topeka libraries. Computer terminals in
the reading room allow you to access ATLAS and other internet resources.
 The
card catalogs for books
and magazines are located behind the reference desk. The blue-labeled
drawers contain Kansas history, places and people. Two more blue-labeled
drawers located away from the others contain Kansas vital records and
cemetery books arranged alphabetically by county. The white-labeled
drawers (or general catalog) contain U.S. and World history, places
and people. It is best to check both catalogs if you are looking for
genealogical material.
 The
manuscript
collection card catalog is also behind the reference desk in the
red-labeled drawers. Here you will find information about our manuscript
holdings, which include items such as diaries, funeral home records
and personal papers of Kansans throughout the state's history.
 The
photograph
collection card catalog is located in the research room across from
the reference desk and is divided into two parts. The catalog on the
left is the old part. The items here are being re-cataloged and put
into the new part, which is on the right. Both sets have green-labeled
drawers. You need to check both catalogs when looking for photographs.
The photographs are categorized by geographic location, subject and
photographer.
When you ask to see photographs we will bring you up
to 20 envelopes at a time. We will give you gloves to use while handling
photographs. Nearly 5,000 photos are also available to view on microfiche.
The yellow labeled catalog drawers contain the map
collection card catalog. Maps are cataloged by place [e.g. Nemaha
County] or topic [e.g. Oregon Trail] and then listed in chronological
order. There is a separate drawer near the bottom of the cabinet for
creators of maps arranged alphabetically by surname.
Microfilm
 The
microfilm collection is self-serve. The reading room staff can help
you find the microfilm reel numbers you need using lists available in
the reading room. Some of these lists are also available on our interlibrary
loan web page. We ask that you pull no more than 3 rolls of microfilm
at a time; when you finish we ask you to return them to the cart by
the microfilm attendant's desk. Since most of our microfilm collection
is available for interlibrary loan, you may find an "out-box" in the
drawer if a roll is on loan to another library.
The microfilm available in our reading room includes:
Library, Manuscript and State Archives Microfilm
 The
microfilmed library material, manuscripts, state archives and local
records collections are shelved in the first and second bays. Library
material includes fragile books, city directories and some military
records. These items will be referenced in the library card catalog
and in finding aids on the open reference shelves.
Manuscripts that have been microfilmed include diaries and business
records. There is a guide on the table that is arranged alphabetically
by collection name.
State Archives microfilm includes material from state agencies as well
as local government records.
There is a guide to the most used state archives microfilm on the table.
For more information on state archives holdings, ask the reference staff
to search the state archives database.
The local records on microfilm
index is on the table as well. It is arranged alphabetically by county.
There is an on-going project to microfilm records in the county courthouses
across the state.
Census Microfilm
  Censuses
for Kansas are
available on microfilm. The Kansas census guide is arranged by year,
then alphabetically by county. Indexes on microfilm are listed at the
beginning of each year.
The Kansas Historical Society has a complete collection of
U.S. census records for 1790-1850. The guide for out-of-state
census microfilm is arranged by year, then alphabetically by state
and county. Printed census indexes are on the census index table behind
the microfilm attendant's desk.
Kansas Newspapers On Microfilm
 Kansas
newspapers on microfilm are the largest collection in the research room.
Guides to the newspaper microfilm are arranged alphabetically by town,
and thereunder, by title. The newspaper
database on our web site also allows searches by county and year
of publication.
Microfilm Readers and Printers
  We
have 34 microfilm readers available for your use. There are also 4 microfilm
printers near the microfilm attendant's desk. We ask that you search
microfilm on a reader, then move to the printers to make copies. The
printers cost $.25 per page and are self-serve. Change is available
at the retrieval desk. The microfilm attendants are available to help
you retrieve, view and make copies of microfilm.
Open Reference
Just inside the door to the research room is a magazine stand which
contains some of our most recent periodicals. They range in topic from
genealogy to Kansas history to historic preservation.
 The
shelves in the middle of the research room contain various types of
general, genealogical and Kansas reference material. Here you will find
indexes and finding aids to selected state archives and library collections.
There are general genealogical resources, such as The Source,
Map Guide to the U.S. Federal Censuses, 1790-1920 and gazetteers.
The Germans to America and Irish Famine series are available,
as well as Filby's Passenger and Immigration Index and American
Genealogical and Biographical Index. You may browse here while waiting
for materials to be retrieved.
State Archives Resources
 The
bulk of state archives materials are not on microfilm. There are some
guides to the archives collection on the open reference shelves in the
middle of the room. The staff also maintains a database of the archives
collection. Reference staff will search the state archives database
upon request.
Access Assistance
Pursuant to Executive Orders 92-153 and 92-154 the Kansas Historical
Society does not discriminate on the basis of disability in admission
to, access to, or operation of its programs. The Society requests prior
notification to accommodate individuals needing access assistance or
auxiliary aids and services. Please contact the reference staff at 785-272-8681,
ext. 117. TTY users please contact us at 785-272-8683.
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