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Ask a research question

For help with your research questions we invite you to visit our research room in person for free, where our knowledgeable staff members can provide you with guidance. If you are not able to visit in person our staff members can check our card catalogs, indexes, and guides (as time permits) to determine if we have resources on your topic. Please contact us by:

Email: KSHS.reference@ks.gov

Phone: 785-272-8681, ext. 117

We are able to conduct some additional research for a fee.

How to submit a request for research

Requests submitted by mail should include payment and be addressed to:

Kansas Historical Society
Reference
6425 SW 6th Avenue
Topeka KS 66615-1099

Please include your full name, mailing address, phone number and email address (if available) with all requests. Our staff responds either by email or U.S. mail in the order the requests are received. We check our email every weekday, but because we receive a large volume of mail, it can sometimes be several weeks before we can respond to requests. Please read our frequently asked questions page as well.

Please do not submit credit card information in an email request, since we cannot ensure the security of your information. If you would like to charge your research request to a credit card, please contact our reference staff by phone at 785-272-8681, ext. 117; or ask for information about using our online store.

Staff research fee - payable at time of request

$25 per request; for newspaper searches, we need to know the date and place

Kansas Historical Society reading room in Topeka, Kansas

For additional charges for copies, postage and handling, if applicable, please see our photocopy services page. All copy work will meet current copyright law and preservation standards.

You will receive a reply to your request whether we find anything or not. The charge for staff time will apply even if no information is found. For requests that require more research than our staff can provide, we may direct you to a private researcher. Kansas residents can request to borrow our microfilm on interlibrary loan through their local library. 

Examples of research our staff can perform:

  • Searching for a maximum of one name or event in Kansas newspapers when provided with:
    • name of person and type of event
    • date of the event
    • location
  • One company's articles of incorporation or two corporate annual reports. Large requests are billed a research fee for each half hour of research, plus postage, handling and tax if applicable. Rush requests may not be possible. For more details on these records, see our corporation filings and annual reports page.

Please do:

  • Include your name and address in the letter and make sure it's legible.
  • Use only standard abbreviations and those recognized by the U.S. Postal Service.
  • Ask a specific question.
  • Ask for information on a specific individual, not an entire family.
  • If writing to a specific individual on the staff, include the person's name in the address on the envelope.