State Library of Kansas

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The State Library of Kansas is a department within the state government of Kansas. With locations in Topeka, Emporia and Independence, Kansas, the Library serves as the agency within state government which:

provides library and information services to the legislative and executive branches of state government

offers research assistance to the public through a large collection of material on Kansas government, politics and political history.

serves in a leadership role in providing assistance in the development, organization and management of local libraries.

coordinates statewide information services programs.

provides specialized services to visually impaired or physically disabled Kansans.

promotes and encourages reading, education, literacy and the cultural role of literature and libraries in Kansas.

1 Locations
2 Kansas Center for the Book
3 Kansas Talking Books
4 Research and Information Division
5 Books
6 External links

[edit] Locations

The research collections and most of the staff of the State Library of Kansas are located on the third floor of the Kansas State Capitol at 10th and Jackson Streets in downtown Topeka, Kansas. The Library's Talking Books Library is located in the lower level of the Student Union, Emporia State University, Emporia, Kansas. An office for Special Projects is in Independence, Kansas.

[edit] Kansas Center for the Book

The Kansas Center for the Book is a state affiliate of the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress. The Kansas Center for the Book affiliated with the national Center for the Book in 1987, and was hosted and headquartered at the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library from then until 2005, when it moved to the State Library of Kansas. It is now a non-profit, tax-exempt program of the State Library.

[edit] Kansas Talking Books

The Kansas Talking Book Service, headquartered in Emporia, Kansas, provides books, newspapers and magazines in braille and recorded format with playback equipment to any Kansas citizen unable to use standard print because of visual or physical impairment. The program is coordinated through the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress.

The Service heads a network of Kansas Talking Book subregional libraries located in Great Bend, Iola, Manhattan, Norton and Topeka, Kansas.

[edit] Research and Information Division

The Research and Information Division serves the research and reference needs of state government and the general public. The Division, located in Topeka, has a collection of over 250,000 titles including books, magazines, current newspapers, U.S. federal documents, Kansas government documents, Kansas legislative material and a newspaper clippings file dating back to the 1920's. Research assistance is provided for walk-in, telephone and email questions. Interlibrary loan service is also available providing material within the library's collection to people around the world.