Kansas Room at the Hays Public Library

05/26/2026

It is not every day that we get to add a Kansas history book to the collection from our own library staff! Congratulations, Sam, on your recent publication, "Lyda Conley and the Fight to Preserve Huron Indian Cemetery." Sam's book is now available for check out!

University Press of Kansas
State Library of Kansas

05/15/2026

Congratulations to all of the recipients of the 2026 Kansas Notable Books Award!

It's time to announce the 21st class of Kansas-authored or Kansas-related Notable Books! Check out the 2026 Kansas Notable Books selections, which include stories for readers of a variety of interests including wild west action, true crime, fantasy rom-com, poetry, and culture among people of the past, present and future. Click the link in comments to add these titles to your TBR list! Kansas Tourism Kansas Library Association

04/30/2026

Thanks to Veda Rogers and her daughter Maggie for making the Kansas Room one of their stops on Veda's book tour!

"A Grand Day: The Forgotten Voice of a Farm Woman Through Dust, Depression, and War" is the published diaries of Louisa “Lulu” Ehrichs Schwanbeck, chronicling her life and work on her farm in western Kansas, spanning the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, and World War II.

https://kansaspress.ku.edu/9780700641154/?fbclid=IwY2xjawRge35leHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETF3aXpXZ2UzTzZXSDV1THFvc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHgJbGELEPJpPzgXTz6GbjEr1V8ZTO2jYppz_4EucZgKEVi3kbMZa3t-uo0-F_aem_7C9DS828qtc9TWGrulNcDQ

University Press of Kansas

04/29/2026

We are excited to welcome Veda Rogers to the Kansas Room tomorrow morning! The coffee will be on, and all are welcome! ☕📚

📚 Join Veda Rogers for A Grand Day! Editor Veda Rogers will be speaking about A Grand Day at two Kansas libraries on April 30th:

📍 Hays Public Library at 10am
📍 Abilene Public Library at 2pm

Step into the remarkable world of Louisa “Lulu” Ehrichs Schwanbeck—a Kansas farm woman whose daily diaries capture resilience, grit, and grace through the Great Depression, Dust Bowl, and World War II. From personal tragedy to triumph, Lulu’s story is a powerful reminder of the strength found in ordinary lives.

✨ Hear behind-the-scenes insights from Veda Rogers.
✨ Discover the voice of a woman who refused to be forgotten.
✨ Celebrate Kansas history and storytelling at its finest.

Come for the history. Stay for the inspiration. Because even in the hardest times, it can still be a grand day.

04/14/2026

Today is National Gardening Day!

During the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl, the Kansas Emergency Relief Committee promoted gardening as a way for Kansans to sustain themselves. A garden supervisor was put in charge to coordinate with Kansas State College and the Farm Bureau to provide garden seed for allotments, as well as gardening classes to set families up for the best chance to succeed.

The program yielded varying results due to the prolonged drought, with better harvests in eastern Kansas. The photo below is of the Wiebe Family Farm in Meade County. Despite being in the heart of the Dust Bowl, they achieved some success thanks to the homemade windmill in the background. The family built it from an old car frame. The supplemental water helped keep a garden in the most brutal conditions.

Photo courtesy of: Kansas Memory, Kansas Historical Society.

04/03/2026

Yesterday, Gary Staab's larger-than-life bison statues were dedicated in Washington, D.C. We are fortunate to have one of Gary's pieces here at the library, a bust of Catherine the Great!

04/02/2026

Our Kansas Room Koffee Hour enjoyed a great chat with Jeff Boyle, Director of Parks. He discussed the Hays bison in Frontier Park and what all goes into maintaining a happy and healthy herd for citizens and visitors to enjoy. 🦬

03/21/2026

Today is World Poetry Day!

We are celebrating with a poem about Kansas.🌻

What are some of your favorite poems?

03/20/2026

The internet is a fantastic research tool, and we offer our patrons free access to Newspaper Archive and Newsbank. However, not all newspapers are available online due to copyright agreements, but never fear, the library has you covered! The Kansas Room has the entire Hays Daily News collection on microfilm, along with many other historic Ellis County papers. Need a paper outside of our region? We can handle that, too, by interlibrary loaning microfilm for you!

The microfilm reader was in high demand today, with a line of researchers exploring sports history during Spring Break.

03/12/2026

Today is National Plant a Flower Day!

In 1961, Burpee Seeds released special-edition packets of Gloriosa Golden Daisies for the Kansas Centennial. The Golden Daisy was chosen because they resemble the Sunflower.

Photo courtesy of: Kansas Memory (Kansas Historical Society)