The Frank Carlson Library is a public

library 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 vi ...

Concordia, Kansas Concordia is a city in and the county seat of Cloud County, Kansas, United States. It is located along the Republican River in the Smoky Hills region of the Great Plains in North Central Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the ci ...

. The library is named for former

Governor of Kansas A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

State Representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...

Representative Representative may refer to: Politics *Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people *House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities *Legislator, someon ...

, and

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...

Frank Carlson Frank Carlson (January 23, 1893May 30, 1987) was an American politician who served as the 30th governor of Kansas, Kansas State representative, United States representative, and United States senator from Kansas. Carlson is the only Kansan to ...

, a long-time resident of Concordia. The library was constructed in 1976.

Special items

In addition to traditional books available for checkout, the library displays many items of memorabilia from the life of Frank Carlson. The library also has an extensive collection of video and audio tapes available for check out. The Cloud County Genealogical Society has a large collection of reference material stored at the library.

Frank Carlson Room

Frank Carlson: Prairie Politician Exhibit

In April 2011, the Frank Carlson Library received a mini grant from the Kansas Humanities Council to renovate the Frank Carlson Room. The grant provided funding for the development of a new exhibit dedicated to telling new generations of Kansans about Carlson’s life and political career. Coinciding with the yearlong Kansas 150 Commemoration, the renovation was part of a statewide initiative to preserve the memory of important people and events in the state’s past. ''Frank Carlson: Prairie Politician'' opened to the public on November 5, 2011. The open house was attended by Carlson’s family and friends, members of the local community, and state representatives. Library visitors can view the exhibit. Guided tours are available upon request. Among the items on display are a check from President Dwight D. Eisenhower, written to Carlson in settlement of a friendly bet, several pens used by President Lyndon B. Johnson to sign important legislation that Carlson helped to create and pass, and Carlson’s elephant figurine collection. The exhibit also contains artifacts that tie Carlson to Concordia. On display are the school bell from the schoolhouse Carlson attended in Cloud County, caricatures and political cartoons drawn by fellow Concordian Don Musik, and keepsakes on loan from Carlson’s friends and family. The exhibit showcases keepsakes from the library's grand opening celebration, including the ribbon from the ribbon cutting, an invitation to the event, a grand opening pin, and photographs of Senator Carlson giving a speech on the library lawn. Once the library opened, Senator Carlson celebrated his birthday in the Carlson room each year.

References

* Frank Carlson Librar

* Concordia Chamber of Commerc

{{Authority control Library buildings completed in 1976 Education in Cloud County, Kansas Public libraries in Kansas Buildings and structures in Cloud County, Kansas