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| Kansas State Law Library | |
|---|---|
| Name | Kansas State Law Library |
| Established | 1861 |
| Type | State law library |
| Location | Topeka, Kansas |
| Director | Chief Law Librarian |
| Collection size | Over 1 million volumes and electronic resources |
| Website | official website |
Kansas State Law Library
The Kansas State Law Library serves as the principal legal information repository for the State of Kansas, located in Topeka near the Kansas State Capitol. It supports the Kansas Supreme Court, the Kansas Court of Appeals, state agencies such as the Kansas Department of Transportation, the Kansas Department for Children and Families, and legal professionals across the state. The Library provides historical and contemporary primary sources including territorial records from Bleeding Kansas, legislative materials from the Kansas Legislature, and judicial opinions involving landmark cases like Brown v. Board of Education.
Established in 1861, the Library's origins coincide with Kansas statehood and legislative organization during the era of Bleeding Kansas and the American Civil War. Early holdings included territorial statutes and reports that documented conflicts such as the Sacking of Lawrence and legal disputes tied to the Lecompton Constitution. Over decades the collection expanded through acquisitions related to regional events like the Dust Bowl and federal initiatives including the New Deal programs. The Library moved into modernized facilities adjacent to the Kansas Judicial Center and adapted to legal reforms shaped by cases like Miranda v. Arizona and federal statutes such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The Library maintains extensive print and digital holdings: state statutory compilations including the Kansas Statutes Annotated, municipal charters from cities like Wichita and Overland Park, territorial records, session laws from the Kansas Legislature, and appellate opinions from the Kansas Supreme Court and the Kansas Court of Appeals. Special collections include archival materials related to figures such as Brown v. Board of Education plaintiffs, correspondence from judges like John Marshall, and records tied to the Transcontinental Railroad routes through Kansas. Federal materials include United States Reports, Congressional Serial Set volumes, and regulatory texts from agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency and the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Library subscribes to databases offering access to cases from the United States Supreme Court, regional circuits, and administrative agencies, plus historic newspapers covering events like the Haymarket Affair and the Oklahoma Land Rush.
Reference services assist judges, attorneys, legislators, and the public with legal research involving sources such as the Kansas Open Records Act, the Kansas Open Meetings Act, and precedent-setting decisions from courts including the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. Training programs include continuing legal education seminars tied to topics like Fourth Amendment jurisprudence, public workshops on landlord-tenant law referencing statutes affecting cities like Salina, and outreach for self-represented litigants informed by materials from the Legal Services Corporation. Interlibrary loan, document delivery, and digitization projects support access to rare items such as territorial proclamations and bar admission records linked to historical figures like Clarence Darrow.
Located in Topeka, the Library provides public reading rooms, computer terminals with licensed access to platforms containing decisions from the United States Supreme Court, and workspaces for attorneys preparing briefs for state courts including filings for the Kansas Supreme Court. Its archival storage preserves fragile items such as legislative journals from the Kansas Constitutional Convention and pleadings from litigation involving estates of settlers along the Santa Fe Trail. The facility complies with standards exemplified by institutions like the Library of Congress for preservation and offers remote reference services paralleling those at the New York Public Library.
Governance is guided by statutes enacted by the Kansas Legislature and oversight involving the Kansas Judicial Council and the Kansas Supreme Court administration. Leadership includes the Chief Law Librarian, administrative staff, and a board of advisors composed of representatives from the Kansas Bar Association, the American Bar Association, academic law libraries such as the University of Kansas School of Law Library and the Wichita State University Libraries, and state archival institutions like the Kansas Historical Society.
The Library partners with academic, judicial, and nonprofit organizations including the University of Kansas School of Law, the Washburn University School of Law, the Kansas Bar Association, county law libraries in Shawnee County and Johnson County, and national entities such as the Federal Depository Library Program. Outreach initiatives reach rural communities affected by agricultural policy debates tied to the Agricultural Adjustment Act era, support veterans through collaboration with the Department of Veterans Affairs, and coordinate digitization with bodies like the National Archives and the American Association of Law Libraries.
Noteworthy outputs include bibliographies of Kansas legal history, guides to statutes and administrative rules, and curated digital exhibits on subjects like the Brown v. Board of Education litigation and territorial-era court records. Initiatives have produced research guides for emerging topics including internet law influenced by cases from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, archival digitization projects modeled after the Digital Public Library of America, and community-oriented legal literacy campaigns aligned with the goals of the Legal Services Corporation and the Access to Justice Commission.
Category:Libraries in Kansas Category:State law libraries of the United States