Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives is a collection of library and
information resources. KDLA's mission is to serve "
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...
's need to know" through its services "assuring equitable access" to information and services. Many of the materials available from KDLA are
public domain
The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired ...
.
KDLA's
fair use
Fair use is a doctrine in United States law that permits limited use of copyrighted material without having to first acquire permission from the copyright holder. Fair use is one of the limitations to copyright intended to balance the interests ...
statement: "Fair use" includes activities such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, research, and other related activities.
History
In 1809 the
state library
A national library is established by the government of a nation to serve as the pre-eminent repository of information for that country. Unlike public libraries, they rarely allow citizens to borrow books. Often, they include numerous rare, valuab ...
was established. The
Secretary of State of Kentucky
The secretary of state of Kentucky is one of the constitutional officers of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is now an elected office, but was an appointed office prior to 1891. The current secretary of state is Republican Michael Adams, who was ...
acted as librarian, and it was their duty to collect materials related to legislation.
The library was used by the legislature and other members of the government. The entire collection, which was located in the
State Capitol
This is a list of state and territorial capitols in the United States, the building or complex of buildings from which the government of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia and the organized territories of the United States, exercise its ...
burned in a fire in November 1824.
The library was reopened in the new Capitol building in the early 1830s. During that time, the state decided to use state librarians to maintain the collection.
Into the twentieth century, the library was called the Law and Legislative Library.
The government went through considerable changes in regards to operating the libraries and
archive
An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located.
Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual ...
s in the twentieth century. In 1936, it officially became known as the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives.
Structure
KDLA operates through a commissioner's Office and two major divisions:
*Archives and Records Management
*Library Services
Services
KDLA runs the Kentucky State Digital Archives, digital public records of state and local government agencies with free online searchable access for the public.
The Archives Research Room houses Kentucky's historic public records including:
*City, county and state government records
*
Birth
Birth is the act or process of bearing or bringing forth offspring, also referred to in technical contexts as parturition. In mammals, the process is initiated by hormones which cause the muscular walls of the uterus to contract, expelling the f ...
and Death Records (1852 through 1910)
*
Death certificate
A death certificate is either a legal document issued by a medical practitioner which states when a person died, or a document issued by a government civil registration office, that declares the date, location and cause of a person's death, as ...
s 1911–1965
*
Marriage Records
Marriage Records is a small, independent record label formed in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 2001 by Curtis Knapp and Adrian Orange. The label has released a number of albums by musicians such as Adam Forkner, Dirty Projectors, Little Wi ...
*Census records
*Military records
*Judicial records (
Civil
Civil may refer to:
*Civic virtue, or civility
*Civil action, or lawsuit
* Civil affairs
*Civil and political rights
*Civil disobedience
*Civil engineering
*Civil (journalism), a platform for independent journalism
*Civilian, someone not a membe ...
,
Criminal
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in C ...
and
Court of appeals
A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much ...
)
*
Wills and
Deed
In common law, a deed is any legal instrument in writing which passes, affirms or confirms an interest, right, or property and that is signed, attested, delivered, and in some jurisdictions, sealed. It is commonly associated with transferrin ...
s
*
State agency
A government or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an administratio ...
records
Since 1969, the Kentucky Talking Book Library has provided audio and
Braille
Braille (Pronounced: ) is a tactile writing system used by people who are visually impaired, including people who are blind, deafblind or who have low vision. It can be read either on embossed paper or by using refreshable braille displ ...
materials free to persons with
visual
The visual system comprises the sensory organ (the eye) and parts of the central nervous system (the retina containing photoreceptor cells, the optic nerve, the optic tract and the visual cortex) which gives organisms the sense of sight ...
,
physical
Physical may refer to:
*Physical examination
In a physical examination, medical examination, or clinical examination, a medical practitioner examines a patient for any possible medical signs or symptoms of a medical condition. It generally co ...
, and
reading disabilities
A reading disability is a condition in which a person displays difficulty reading. Examples of reading disabilities include: developmental dyslexia, alexia (acquired dyslexia), and hyperlexia (word-reading ability well above normal for age and I ...
. Materials are sent by postage-free mail or downloaded from the internet. This service is part of
.
The Bookmobiles and Outreach Service operates a fleet of
bookmobile
A bookmobile or mobile library is a vehicle designed for use as a library. They have been known by many names throughout history, including traveling library, library wagon, book wagon, book truck, library-on-wheels, and book auto service. Bookm ...
s. This division services those who are isolated, disabled, elderly, institutionalized or otherwise unable to reach a library. This is the modern version of the
Pack Horse Library Project
The Pack Horse Library Project was a Works Progress Administration (WPA) program that delivered books to remote regions in the Appalachian Mountains between 1935 and 1943. Women were very involved in the project which eventually had 30 different ...
, when in 1939 KDLA operated 30 pack horse libraries.
References
External links
*
1936 establishments in Kentucky
Buildings and structures in Frankfort, Kentucky
Libraries
A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...
State libraries of the United States
State archives of the United States
Libraries in Kentucky
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