Federal Information

State of Kansas Federal Depository Library

The State of Kansas Library 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 2nd 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, our Online Public Access Catalog, Atlas, is located on the first level and can be accessed from the public computers. Atlas indicates federal documents owned by the State Library or by other depositories in the system.

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, Atlas.

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 
• 1940s Census -- National Archives' link to browse census records
• National Financial Capability Month -- Several posts with advice for financial situations from usa.gov's blog

Frequently Used Sites

• Welcome to GPO Access: Official Federal Government Information -- The first place to go for government information
• Frequently Used Sites -- Compiled by Vanderbilt; includes Thomas, GPO Access, and Monthly Catalog
• Thomas -- Provides access to legislative information from 103rd to current congress
• U.S. Congress -- Includes the U.S. Constitution and analysis
• FirstGov -- Provides keyword searching and pre-selected topics from government websites
• Federal Agency Web Sites -- Compiled by LSU
• DOE Information Bridge -- Search for full-text Department of Energy Report literature

Frequently Used Laws

• Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
• The Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990
• Family and Medical Leave Act
• Fair Labor Standards Act
• FLSA Regulations
• Title VI, Civil Rights Act of 1964
• Age Discrimination Act of 1975
• Title IX, Education Amendments of 1972

Laws not listed

• United States Code -- Laws currently in force
• Public and Private Laws -- Also known as Slip Laws, available from 1995

Historical Documents

• United States Core Documents -- GPO's collection of government documents that define the society of the United States

Other Important Sources

• Ben's Guide to U.S. Government for Kids 
• GPO's Online Publications -- Browse online government publications