The Wichita Public Library Digital Archives is a project of the Wichita Public Library. Most of the Digital Archives collections will come from the holdings of the Edward & Elizabeth Burns Historical Research Pavillion.
The Wichita Genealogical Society has underwritten a project that will allow the Library's photograph collections to be digitized and held on this website. This includes many rarely seen photos that we have never posted online before. That project is in progress.
About the Edward & Elizabeth Burns Historical Research Pavilion
Located on the 2nd floor of the Advanced Learning Library, the Edward & Elizabeth Burns Historical Research Pavilion is home to Wichita Public Library's Genealogy and Local History collections.
With more than 25,000 volumes, the Genealogy collection is one of the largest in the region. Records in the Genealogy collection include:
- Census records on microfilm, related indexes, and some Soundex rolls
- Family histories
- Books containing indexes to vital records (births, marriages, and deaths), probate records, immigration lists, land records, tax lists, cemetery records, church records, etc.
- State, county, and town histories
- Military histories and pension lists
- Cultural and ethnic group histories
- Materials for genealogical research in the United States only
- An emphasis on states that have had a heavy emigration to Kansas, especially New England and Midwestern states
The Local History collection includes:
- Thousands of photographs
- Books by local authors, regional histories, short-run local newspapers such as Negro Star (1920-1953), city directories, and telephone books
- Original and reproduction maps for Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas, and the region
- Historical atlases and microfilm of Sanborn fire insurance maps
The Edward & Elizabeth Burns Historical Research Pavilion has the same hours of operation as the Advanced Learning Library.