In order to ensure that the archival materials at the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives are kept safe and secure, researchers are required to comply with KDLA’s Handling Historic Records and Duplication policies governing the use of those materials. Our policies are similar to those of other state and federal archives, and reflect accepted practices for safeguarding the unique and irreplaceable items in archival collections.
Registration is required of all visitors using the Archives Research Room. Visitors must read and sign the Archives Research Room Registration Form and provide personal identification that includes a driver’s license or some other form of photo identification before entering the Research Room. KDLA retains all registration forms in a non-public secured storage area. Information provided on registration forms is not made available or distributed to the public in any way.
The KDLA staff appreciates your assistance in helping to preserve our collections for future generations of researchers by complying with our policies and procedures.
Archives Research Room
Hours: Monday-Friday 8:00 am- 4:00 pm
300 Coffee Tree Road, Frankfort, Ky. 40601
All visitors must register with the security guard before entering the archives research room. More information for visitors here.
Kentucky’s Historic Public Records …
Our holdings include Kentucky’s city, county and state government records. The following examples reflect many of the valuable public records available for research:
- Birth and Death records for 1852 through 1910: (1852-1862, 1874-1879, 1891-1910)
- Birth and Death City Registers for four Kentucky cities: Covington, Lexington, Louisville, and Newport
- Death certificates for 1911 through 1955
- Marriage records
- Census and Military Records
- Judicial records (Civil, Criminal and Ct. of Appeals)
- Wills and Deeds
- State Agency records
For a more complete listing take a look at our Research Services page.
Required Procedures
Registration
All visitors using the Archives Research Room must register with the security guard at the information desk and place personal items in the lockers provided. For complete details on registration please review our Registration Form.
Research Assistance
Our staff will help you begin your research; however, they cannot perform research for you. The bulk of our holdings are in microfilm format. Feel free to ask our staff about our records, finding aids and/or operating our microfilm equipment.
Our vast collection of original documents is in storage and requires retrieval by Archives staff. Researchers wishing to review these records must submit a request form. Records retrieval may take up to 30 minutes. Any duplication of original documents must be done by staff. For more details please review our Handling Historical Records and Duplication policies.
We provide in-house access to online databases that describe our records; however we do not yet have the records themselves available online. You can search our online catalog for descriptions of our records.
Archival Research
Searching public records requires considerable time and patience! Limited indexing, poor early records-keeping practices and record losses due to courthouse fires can make archival research challenging. There is no master surname index to all of our collection. Generally, researchers must search individual records series (deeds, marriages, wills, etc.) on a county-by-county basis. Yet our original public records are the most valuable primary sources for genealogical and historical research one can find.
Charges
There is no charge for admission. Charges for duplication include $ .50 per microfilm copy and $ .25 per photocopy, and may be paid at the end of your visit (copiers are not coin or vendor-card operated).
For further information
You may call the Research Room, (502) 564-8300 EXT 346, or send e-mail to: kdla.archives@ky.gov
If an on-site visit is not possible, you can submit a written research request, using one of our forms. See our Research Services page for more details. See our Professional Researchers list if you want to hire an independent professional researcher to do research for you.
We do not collect private materials. We suggest you contact the Kentucky Historical Society for more information about the placement of materials such as manuscripts, family files and family histories.