Using the research room - Our catalogs
Newspapers
Books
State records, manuscripts and photos
Censuses
We have many catalogs and indexes that we use. The reference staff will be happy to answer questions and help you locate relevant material throughout your visit to the research room.
Kansas newspapers
Most of the Kansas newspaper collection is on microfilm that is shelved in the reading room and is self-serve. Use our newspaper database to find the reel number that you need to pull. Please:
- Pull no more than three rolls of microfilm at a time.
- Search for articles on a reader, then move to the printers to make copies.
- Self service microfilm printers cost $.25 per page. Ask for change at the retrieval desk.
- Do not re-file film yourself; return it to the cart at the microfilm attendant's desk when you are finished.
We have access to three digital newspaper websites on the computers in our reading room:
- Chronicling America - free website with selected newspapers up to 1923 from forty states
- Newspapers.com - partial offsite access for Kansas residents who log in through our portal with a state ID
- African American Newspapers, 1827-1998 - only available in KSHS research room
Books
Since 1994, catalog records for books have been added to the online catalog that we share with Washburn University: ATLAS. Older records are in our card catalogs.
State records, manuscript collections and photographs
The Archives Catalog contains records for all of our state record groups and manuscript collections, and many of our photos. There is also a card catalog for photos in the reading room.
Censuses
Censuses for Kansas are available on microfilm and on Ancestry.com on the computers in the research room. The Kansas census microfilm 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 on microfilm 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 beside the microfilm volunteer's desk.
The following links provide additional information about using the research room: