Kansas State Library

The State Library of Kansas was created in 1861 and based on the Territorial Library, which was first organized in 1855. The Library Board of Trustees, which consisted of the Governor, the Secretary of State, and the State Auditor, supervised the original collections. Originally the library was located in the office of the State Auditor, who also served as the first State Librarian. A separate State Law Library was created in 1863 and was located in the office of the Clerk of the Supreme Court. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court acted as the Librarian of this collection. In 1868 under the approval of the State Legislature, the State Library was formally separated into two divisions, consisting of a Law Division and a Miscellaneous Division. The Board of Directors for the Law Division consisted of the Justices on the Supreme Court. The Library Board of Trustees were proclaimed the new Board of Directors for the Miscellaneous Division. In 1870 the State Legislature essentially repealed the Law of 1868 and created a new Board of Directors for both libraries that consisted of the Governor and the Justices on the Supreme Court, although both libraries remained separate from each other. It now also became the job of the Governor to appoint a State Librarian upon the recommendation of the Board of Directors. Within the State Library, the Stormont Medical Library was established in 1869. In 1900 the State Library was moved to its current location on the third floor of the North Wing in the State Capitol. In 1889 a traveling extension of the State Library was formed to bring collections to rural areas of Kansas. In 1980 a new service designed to assist researchers with census information was established. Starting in the 1990s the State Library has also utilized new technological advances and Internet services to further make its collections more accessible. [State Library of Kansas. "About Us: History." http://www.kslib.info/history.html (accessed January 23, 2009.)] [Wilder, Bessie. Governmental Agencies of the State of Kansas, 1861-1956. Lawrence: University of Kansas Publications, 1957.]