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The Library recently launched its newest historical website, The Pendergast Years: Kansas City in the Jazz Age & Great Depression, a digital trove of photos, letters, documents, and original articles illuminating the wide-open era of the 1920s and ’30s when “Boss Tom” Pendergast ruled city politics.
Library's New Historical Website Spotlights the Highs, and Lows, of KC's Pendergast Era
Tuesday, February 27, 2018
The Library recently launched its newest historical website, The Pendergast Years: Kansas City in the Jazz Age & Great Depression, a digital trove of photos, letters, documents, and original articles illuminating the wide-open era of the 1920s and ’30s when “Boss Tom” Pendergast ruled city politics, corruption was rampant., and violence, stoked by Prohibition, was commonplace.
 
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In celebration of Women’s History Month, the Library showcases the legacies of several remarkable women in Coloring Kansas City: Women Who Made History, a coloring book curated by the Missouri Valley Special Collections.
Drawing From History: Coloring Book Highlights Notable Women of KC’s Past
Thursday, March 8, 2018

In celebration of Women’s History Month, the Library showcases several remarkable women who have left their mark on the Kansas City region in Coloring Kansas City: Women Who Made History, a special, limited-edition coloring book curated by the Missouri Valley Special Collections.

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What’s Your KC Q? Library and KC Star Team Up to Find Answers
What’s Your KC Q? Library and KC Star Team Up to Find Answers
Friday, September 28, 2018
What do you want to know about our community? Beginning October 3, the Library and The Kansas City Star are combining resources to find answers to questions about regional topics ranging from the history of barbecue to the stories behind local landmarks. In a new partnership called What’s Your KC Q?, readers submit questions, the public votes on their favorites, and a team of librarians and reporters digs in and reports back with answers.
 
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This past week, street signs along Paseo Boulevard began coming down, replaced with new ones proclaiming the street’s new name: Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Following a long period of local debate, a mayoral task force, and a measure passed by the city council in October, the historic street is now officially renamed after the civil rights leader. On the occasion of the historic boulevard’s name change, the Library has pulled together a selection of images from the Missouri Valley Special Collections t
The Paseo's Past
Wednesday, February 27, 2019
Street signs along Kansas City's Paseo Boulevard began coming down in late February, replaced with new ones proclaiming the street’s new name: Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Following a long period of local debate, a mayoral task force, and a measure passed by the city council in October, the historic street is now officially renamed after the civil rights leader. On the occasion of the boulevard’s name change, the Library has pulled together a selection of images from the Missouri Valley Special Collections that provide some snapshots of The Paseo’s past.
 
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March is Women's History Month, and there are many ways to commemorate the lives and achievements of women throughout history and share experiences of today's women. Check out the collection of books, movies, and other resources available at the Library.
Celebrating Remarkable Women, Then and Now
Friday, March 8, 2019
March is Women's History Month, and there are many ways to commemorate the lives and achievements of women throughout history and share experiences of today's women. Check out the collection of books, movies, and other resources available at the Library. 
 
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As Kansas City International Airport breaks ground on a new terminal on March 25, 2019, the Library's Missouri Valley Special Collections provides a window seat to the city's aviation past.
Terminal Velocity: Kansas City's Airport History
Wednesday, March 20, 2019
As Kansas City International Airport breaks ground on a new terminal on March 25, 2019,  the Library's Missouri Valley Special Collections provides a window seat to the city's aviation past.
 
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KCHistory and Civil War websites are undergoing maintenance
KCHistory, Civil War Websites Undergoing Maintenance
Monday, November 12, 2018

The Library is currently migrating its large collection of digital historic images to a new software platform. An unfortunate consequence of our data migration is that we need to take the entire collection offline for about two months while the work is completed.

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Unidentified Kansas City baseball team with dozens of fans seated in the grandstand, ca. 1880s. Photo: Missouri Valley Special Collections
Did Baseball Fandom Originate in Kansas City?
Thursday, March 28, 2019

Is Kansas City the home of baseball's original fans? The almanac On This Day in America credits a local newspaper, presumably The Star or The Times, with making the first-ever reference to the sport's followers as "fans" in March 1889. We investigated the claim.
 

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