Kansas State Library

United States Kansas  Shawnee  Archives and Libraries  

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Contact Information
E-mail: [mailto:infodesk@library.ks.gov infodesk@library.ks.gov]

Address:


 * Capitol Building, Room 312-N Topeka, KS 66612-1593

Telephone: 785-296-3296, or 800-432-3919 (KS Only)

Hours and holidays: Monday - Friday 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.  Closed on major holidays

Parking, map, and public transportation:


 * Parking:  State Capitol visitor parking.
 * Google map:  State Capitol grounds
 * Public transportation:  The Topeka Metro main-hub Quincy Street Station is three blocks east of the Capitol. Bus routes 7, 10, 10S, and 17 take you even closer.

Internet sites and databases:


 * Kansas State Library Kansans, librarians, state employees, about us, how do I . . ask a librarian, digital books, online resources, talking books.
 * Kansas State Library ATLAS catalog online. Search by keyword, title, author, subject, journal title, ISBN/ISSN. Also available in WorldCat.
 * Kansas Periodical Index

Collection Description
Largest book library in Kansas with county histories, ethnic sources, guides, inventories, and family genealogies. This is a main depository of historical documents about Kansas residents.

Alternate Repositories
If you cannot visit or find a source at the , a similar source may be available at one of the following.

Overlapping Collections


 * National Archives I, Washington DC, census, pre-WWI military service pensions, passenger lists, naturalizations, passports, bounty land, homesteads, ethnic sources, prisons, fed employees.
 * National Archives at Kansas City federal censuses 1790–1930; military service indexes, pension indexes, passenger lists, naturalizations, photos, vital records, land, and Indian records.

Similar Collections


 * Kansas Historical Society, Topeka, clearly the best place to start researching Kansas ancestors including newspapers, county records, biographies, genealogies, land records, and railroads.

Neighboring Collections


 * Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Topeka, since 1911 births, stillbirths, deaths; since 1913 marriages; and since 1951 divorce records issued for a fee only to immediate family members or representatives.
 * Shawnee County Clerk, Topeka, births and deaths 1894-1911; marriages 1856-1906.
 * Shawnee County Court Clerk, Topeka, marriages 1856-1906; probate records since 1859; court records since 1858.
 * Shawnee County Register of Deeds, Topeka, land records since 1855.
 * Shawnee County Coroner, Topeka, suspicious deaths.
 * Shawnee County Historical Society, Topeka, meetings, talks, socials, publications.
 * Topeka Genealogical Society Library, 12,000 books, 700 periodicals strong on Shawnee County and northeast Kansas. Also includes almost every U.S. state, and many foreign nations.
 * Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library, obituary index 1800s-1934, genealogy room, local history room, city directories, and yearbooks.
 * U.S. District Court District of Kansas, Topeka, recent civil, criminal, and bankruptcy cases.
 * Repositories in surrounding counties: Douglas, Jackson, Jefferson, Osage, Pottawatomie, and Wabaunsee.
 * Fort Hays State University Forsyth Library, Hays, western Kansas history, oral histories, genealogical and historical societies, Hutterites, Mennonites, Catholics, and Lutherans.
 * Iola Public Library, for all Kansas including family folders, special indexes, and published records for many counties of Kansas.
 * Johnson County Library, Overland Park, both a Kansas and a genealogy collection, mostly books, and periodicals with family folders. Also covers Missouri, Tennessee, and Kentucky.
 * Kansas Heritage Center, Dodge City, cowboys, oral history, Fort Dodge history, the Old West.
 * Riley County Genealogical Society Library, Manhattan, pre-Civil War records are excellent for Kansas. Early settlers are documented by obituaries, family folders, and some good indexes.
 * Wichita Public Library Genealogy Center, has many genealogies with an emphasis mostly on books, periodicals, and special publications for southeast KS, and corners of MO, AR, and OK.
 * Kansas Genealogical Society, Dodge City, has the best set of family folders and genealogical periodicals in Kansas. . Also, clippings, obituaries, and an online catalog.
 * National Orphan Train Complex, Concordia, museum, history, rider registry, research, and events. 66 v. (20,000 records) of orphan train riders, photos, 9,700 name computer database.
 * University of Kansas Kenneth Spencer Research Library, Lawrence, manuscripts, photographs, maps, histories, newspapers, periodicals, film and videotapes that document the "Kansas Experience" of pioneers, railroads, and American Indians. A depository for publications of Kansas and Douglas County.
 * Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas Archives baptism, confirmations, marriages, deaths, parish records.
 * Kansas United Methodist Archives, Baker University, Baldwin City, church records, newspapers, manuscripts, memoirs, obituaries, archives, reports.
 * Mennonite Library and Archives, Bethel College, Newton, Mennonite-related books, periodicals, and genealogical materials.
 * Repositories in surrounding states: Colorado, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma.
 * American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, Lincoln NE, AHSGR ancestor lists, cemeteries, homesteads, an AHSGR German hometowns list, passenger lists, obituaries, surname charts, and Russian village files.
 * Family History Library, Salt Lake City, 450 computers, 3,400 databases, 2.5 million microforms, 4,500 periodicals, 310,000 books of worldwide family and local histories, censuses, civil, church, immigration, ethnic, military, and Mormon records.
 * Kansas City Public Library Missouri Valley Special Collections, The Missouri Valley Room has a great genealogy collection for Missouri and Kansas with biographies, periodicals, genealogies, diaries, photos, scrapbooks, and newspapers of the Kansas City area.
 * Mid-Continent Public Library Midwest Genealogy Center, Independence MO, one of America's best genealogical centers: censuses and indexes, 80,000 family histories, 100,000 local histories, 565,000 microfilms, 7,000 maps, and newspapers. Surrounding states are well represented.