Federal Documents

State of Kansas Federal Depository Library

The State Library of Kansas is a Federal Depository library and serves as a resource for the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP), which distributes U.S. government publications to the nation's communities through libraries. According to the FDLP's website, the dissemination of congressional documents began in 1813, with approximately 1,250 libraries currently involved with providing access to, and maintaining, federal documents.

The State of Kansas Library is one of 17 selective depositories in Kansas, meaning the library chooses to receive certain documents from the government. Selective libraries choose materials which will best serve their patrons. The regional depository is the Anschutz Library, located on the University of Kansas (KU) campus. The regional library is responsible for keeping all documents it receives from the Government Printing Office (GPO).

The size of the State Library's collection numbers more than 100,000 volumes in the library, as well as other non-print items. The State Library was designated as a selective depository in 1975, although it started receiving U.S. public documents beginning in 1861.

Access

The State Library is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and the federal document collection is located on the second level of the State Library in open shelves.

Documents are arranged by Superintendent of Documents Classification (SuDoc) number. To help search for documents in the State Library's collection, the State Library of Kansas Catalog can be accessed from the public computers.

Photocopiers are available for patrons to use for $.10 a copy.

Circulation

The State Library's federal documents can be checked out by all members of the general public; however, not all circulate. Check out is available for a three week loan period. The option for Interlibrary Loan (ILL) is also available for non-Topeka residents through the patron's local library.

Many documents are available as an electronic resource, and can be found by searching in our catalog.

Additional Information

Current Events

• Drought: United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) page regarding resources and information related to drought
• Employment Situation: Link to Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for current employment information
• 1950s Census: National Archives' link to browse census records