Ask a Research Question

Staff research fee: $15.00 payable at time of request.

There is no charge for requests to check our card catalogs, indexes and finding aids to determine if we have resources available for your topic. Our staff can do a limited amount of additional research for our $15 fee (please see examples below).

You may submit a request by email, with the subject line filled out, to:

reference@kshs.org

If you would like to charge your research request to a Mastercard or Visa Card, please contact our reference staff by phone at 785-272-8681, ext. 117, from 9:00-4:30, Tuesday through Saturday. Please do not submit credit card information in an email request, since we cannot ensure the security or privacy of your information.

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

Kansas Historical Society
Reference Department
6425 SW Sixth Avenue
Topeka, KS 66615-1099

Please include your full name, mailing address, phone number and e-mail address (if available) with all requests. We will respond either by e-mail or U.S. mail in the order the request is received. Our staff check this email every day except Sunday, so please do not keep re-sending your message. Please see our frequently asked questions page also, for more information.

Our reference staff can do up to 30 minutes of research on a specific question.
Some examples include:

Searching for a maximum of two names or events in Kansas newspapers when the patron can provide the following information:

name of person and type of event
date of the event
location

One census search. We cannot search unindexed censuses.
One company's articles of incorporation or 2 corporate annual reports. Larger requests will be billed at the rate of $15 per half hour, plus postage, handling and tax. We cannot always handle these requests on a rush basis. For more details on these records, see our corporation filings and annual reports page.

You will receive a written reply to your request whether we are able to find anything or not. Our $15 reference fee includes up to five photocopies and postage. We can't guarantee that the information you are seeking will be found, but we still charge for the search time involved. Because we receive a large volume of requests, it can sometimes be several weeks or more before we can respond to letters, emails and faxes.

For prices for additional photocopies or special format copies, plus postage and handling, please see our photocopy services page. All copy work will meet current copyright law and preservation standards.

If Kansas schoolchildren request research the $15.00 fee includes up to 20 photocopies. Any child who requests general information on Kansas history will receive a free packet that includes a map, brochures and information on Kansas historic sites.

An alternative to asking our staff to perform research for you, is to ask your local library to borrow our Kansas newspapers or manuscript collections on microfilm on interlibrary loan. We do not charge for this service, though your local library might have a charge. For requests that require more research than our staff can provide, we may direct you to a private researcher in this area, or you can contact them directly.

When requesting information:

Please do:

Include your name and address in the letter. It must be legible.
Use only standard abbreviations and those recognized by the U.S. Postal Service.
Ask a specific question in a clear and succinct manner. Do not provide unnecessary information.
Ask for information on specific individuals, not entire families.
Enclose a legal size (#10), self-addressed stamped envelope.
If writing to a specific individual on the staff, include this person's name in the address on the envelope.

Please don't:

Send pedigree or family group sheets and ask the reference staff to fill in 'all' the blanks.
Ask for 'everything' we can find.
Send a blank check for payment.
Send the same letter to all departments at the same agency or to every research library in a single community. You will be referred if necessary.