Frequently Asked Questions

The Kansas Historical Society was established in 1875 by the Kansas Editors’ and Publishers’ Association to save present and past records. In 1879 the state enacted legislation that recognized the Historical Society as “the trustee of the state” for the purpose of maintaining the state’s history.

Today the Historical Society operates with four divisions: Administration, Cultural Resources (Archeology, Historic Preservation, and Historic Sites), the Kansas History Museum and Education, and State Archives. The Society serves as the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) and the State Archives.

The Society is headquartered in Topeka, Kansas. Schedule a visit or learn more about the Historical Society.

For help with Kansas Memory, please use our contact form. If applicable, please include your username in your message.

To buy a reproduction, contact our reference staff at KSHS.reference@ks.gov or 785-272-8681, ext. 117. Please see also our price list and our permission and use fees policy.

Research questions may also be directed to our reference staff at KSHS.reference@ks.gov.

Some items featured on Kansas Memory may be available to view in person. For more information, Visit the Kansas Historical Society or call 785-272-8681.

No. Registration is not required to use the site, but additional features are provided to registered users such as saving and organizing items.

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Visit our Password Recovery page.

Need more help? Contact us. Please include your username in your message.

After logging into your account, choose the “settings” gear icon on the top right of the webpage allows you to update your personal information, including your email address. Click the “Update Profile” button after editing the fields in your profile. If you change your email address, an email will be sent to your new address to confirm it. The new address will not become active until confirmed.

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Most materials included in Kansas Memory are primary sources from the collections of the State Archives at the Kansas Historical Society. These collections include photographs, manuscripts (such as letters, diaries, journals, etc.), books and pamphlets, maps and drawings, and state government records (such as governors’ papers, legislative documents, and election returns). In addition, the Museum and Cultural Resources divisions have contributed images of historic artifacts and structures. Click here to browse through all topics on Kansas Memory.

Some materials have also been featured in other digital projects. For example, many materials included in Territorial Kansas Online, a virtual repository for territorial Kansas history, are also available in Kansas Memory.

When citing material from Kansas Memory in a footnote or bibliography, consult an approved style manual (CMS, APA, APM, MLA) and follow the format appropriate to the type of material (book, newspaper, unpublished letter, etc.). Also include the full name and address of the website, and the name of the creator as Kansas Historical Society.

Citations for unpublished materials (letters, diaries, account books, etc) generally include the title and date of the item followed by the name and number of the manuscript or archival collection. Citations for published materials usually include the author and title of the item followed by the place, name, and date of publication.

Bibliography entry for the entire website:

Kansas Historical Society. Kansas Memory. https://www.kansasmemory.gov.

Footnote/endnote for a specific item:
Edna Heim to Clarice Snoddy, August 31, 1938, Clarice Snoddy Coll. #123, Box 1, Kansas Historical Society, Kansas Memory, https://www.kansasmemory.gov.

Most unpublished materials on Kansas Memory derive from manuscript or archival collections held by the State Archives at the Kansas Historical Society. The details section of the item page lists collection information as “call numbers.”

Names of manuscript collections may begin with the names of persons, businesses, organizations, or subjects, and are usually followed by the collection number and box and folder information, as in Joseph Little Bristow Coll. #6, Box 31 Folder 6.

Names of public records collections may begin with the title of a state office or name of a state agency and may be followed by the name of a public official or subordinate agency unit, and thereafter by box and folder information, as in Governor’s Records, Hoch, Box 20 Folder 3.

While secondary sources give a second-hand account of an event (such as in historical articles and textbooks), primary sources are accounts by an eyewitness or the first recorder of an event. Primary sources can take many different forms including photographs, diaries, letters, newspaper articles, speeches, data obtained through original research, statistical compilations, or legal requirements (such as U.S. census records and public records), creative works (such as poetry, music, art), or artifacts (objects used or present at a certain event).

When evaluating sources such as these, it is important to ask questions about the material. For example, it is important to realize that just because an author claims to compose an “eyewitness account” does not mean the account is “true.” Consider what opinions and values the author displays, think about what his or her motives might be for writing what they did, how he or she communicates the message, and compare and contrast that message with the information in other primary sources. Extensive research of this type–incorporating critical analysis of primary sources such as those found on Kansas Memory–serves as the foundation for what you read in history books.

Transcriptions of handwritten materials are intended to reflect the form and content of the original as closely as possible. By recording the materials as written, the transcriptionist seeks to preserve the integrity of the original and its value as a record of historical events and ideas. For this reason, misspelled words, grammatical errors, and possible historical inaccuracies are recorded in their original form.

Mistakes in the transcriptions may also occur because the author’s handwriting may be difficult to read, or because of typographical error. The transcriptions provided on Kansas Memory are intended to be a research aid and should not be considered the authoritative copy of the source.

The Kansas Historical Society relies on volunteers to transcribe the handwritten documents on Kansas Memory. If you would like to volunteer, please contact us. Volunteer transcriptionists work from home or in Topeka.

The category browse feature (the left-hand column on the home page) allows you to browse for items using everyday terms. Every item in Kansas Memory is linked to multiple categories. Choosing one category returns all items linked to that category. Choosing a second category returns all items linked to both categories and so on. Each category may have multiple sub-categories listed beneath it. The numbers appearing by each category indicate the number of items returned by clicking on that category.

The search engine will locate items by searching five main descriptive fields: title, summary, creator, date, and call number. If a transcription is available for an item, the search engine will also search the transcription.

The tabs feature available on most web browsers enables users to easily navigate between Kansas Memory search results and item view screens. First, browse Kansas Memory to retrieve the search results desired, then open individual items listed in the results in a new tab (control + click on the item). When you are finished viewing that item, just close the tab to return to your search results. This way you can view multiple pages of an item and still easily return to continue browsing your search results.

State Archives Reference Staff handles requests for reproductions of Kansas Memory items. Call 785-272-8681, ext. 117, or email our Reference Staff. Please see also our price list and our permission and use fees policy. Prints are not available.

Kansas Memory and the Kansas Historical Society respect copyright and other laws governing access to historic records. Materials appear on Kansas Memory only after a risk assessment has determined that dissemination via the Internet will not violate the rights of known copyright holders or state or federal privacy laws.

Materials under copyright protection, and for which the copyright holder is known, are made available on Kansas Memory only after the copyright holder has granted express permission or authorization for Internet publication. Many materials have no apparent copyright concerns, such as state government publications and records, and published and unpublished materials that are in the public domain; access to such materials may still be governed by state and federal privacy laws. Other materials may have unclear or indeterminate provenance for which copyright holders are not known or cannot be located. These materials are made available on Kansas Memory for noncommercial educational and research purposes only under an assertion of fair use (17 U.S.C. 107). The “fair use” provision states:

‘Notwithstanding the provisions of section 106, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies of phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyrights. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include (1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes; (2) the nature of the copyrighted work: (3) the amount and substantially of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and (4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.’ [Section 107 – Copyright Law 94-553]

Use of material and/or copies made under the ‘fair use’ provision of copyright law does not imply or include permission to publish the materials used or copied. It is the responsibility of the patron to request and obtain permission to publish materials from both the repository (as the owner of the physical original) and the copyright owner, if the repository does not own the copyright. For more information contact the Curator of Photographs, Center for Historical Research, 6425 SW Sixth Avenue, Topeka, KS 66615-1099; Phone: (785) 272-8681 ext. 283; Fax: (785) 272-8682; Email:KSHS.reference@ks.gov

The presence of digital images of historical materials from the collections of the Kansas Historical Society on the Kansas Memory website (kansasmemory.gov) does not constitute permission to use such images. The Kansas Historical Society requires everyone wishing to use such images outside the context of kansasmemory.gov to complete and return a permission form and pay applicable use fees. The Kansas Historical Society charges non-profit and commercial users fees to support the maintenance of the collections. Use fees will be determined from the information on the permission form. Please read, supply requested information, sign and return this form to the Senior Archivist of Collections, Center for Historical Research, 6425 SW Sixth Avenue, Topeka, KS 66615-1099; Phone: (785) 272-8681 ext. 283; Fax: (785) 272-8682; Email: KSHS.KansasMemory@ks.gov.

Kansas Memory and the Kansas Historical Society respect copyright and other laws governing access to historic records. Materials appear on Kansas Memory only after a risk assessment has determined that dissemination via the Internet will not violate the rights of known copyright holders or state or federal privacy laws. Materials of unclear or indeterminate provenance for which copyright holders are not known or cannot be located may appear on Kansas Memory for noncommercial educational and research purposes only under an assertion of fair use (17 U.S.C. 107).

Use of material and/or copies made under the ‘fair use’ provision of copyright law does not imply or include permission to publish the materials used or copied. It is the responsibility of the patron to request and obtain permission to publish materials from both the repository (as the owner of the physical original) and the copyright owner, if the repository does not own the copyright.

The Kansas Historical Society requires everyone wanting to use materials on a website to complete and return a permission form. Materials obtained from the Kansas Historical Society or downloaded from Kansas Memory for the purpose of website use are subject to the conditions on the form.

Yes, please include the credit line, “KansasMemory.gov, Kansas Historical Society” near the image in your presentation.

To download an image, right-click on the image, select the “save image as” option, and save the image to your preferred location.

To print an item in Kansas Memory, use the print button on the item page.

This will deliver a pdf document suitable for printing. A title sheet with descriptive information will also be included. Items with many pages will be divided into multiple sections. Each section must be printed individually.