The State Library of Iowa is a library service in the U.S. state of Iowa. Founded in around 1840, it is based in Des Moines and is run by the Iowa Department of Education. The State Library supports local libraries in the state and it itself acts as a resource for the state government and its citizens. It is funded from local taxation.
The first legislative assembly of the Territory of Iowa convened at Burlington on November 12, 1838. In his first message to this assembly on November 12, 1838, Governor Robert Lucas referred to a library, reporting that prior to leaving Ohio, and with the assistance of several library friends, he had made a catalogue of standard works he deemed as most important as the foundation of a library, and had commissioned an agent in Cincinnati to purchase the books. This having been done and the books expected in a short time, he recommended to the assembly the appointment of a librarian, defining his duties, who should be custodian of the library.
The second legislative assembly of 1840 passed an Act for the appointment of a librarian and defined his duties. The library was open every day during the sessions of the legislature and Supreme Court and for four hours on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons the remainder of the year. The library was moved to the new Capitol in Iowa City in 1857.
In January 1894, the library was moved to its new quarters in the west wing of the new capitol building in Des Moines. The new library was an addition of true architectural beauty to the new capitol. Its four galleries were reached by winding stairs at either end of the room. It was furnished in ash and chestnut, with marble wainscoting and pilasters, and had an encaustic tile floor. This original state library is still occupied by the state law library and its architectural beauty is admired by thousands of tourists each year.
While the legal materials remained in the capitol, in 1857 the rest of the state library’s collections were moved to the west wing of the new State Historical, Memorial and Art Building. The State Library moved to the east wing of the building in 1912 where it remains today. A total renovation of the building meant to bring back the original colors and design features began in 1999 and ended in 2001.
The original mission of the State Library was to provide services to state government. Over the years, this mission grew to include the planning and development of library services on a statewide basis. Today, the State Library, a division of the Iowa Department of Education, offers a multitude of services and programs to the libraries and citizens of Iowa.[ citation needed ]
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The law library provides Iowa lawmakers, government employees, the Iowa legal community and the general public with a highly specialized legal collection of treatises and both state and federal statutory, regulatory and case law. The collection also contains the abstracts and arguments of the Iowa Supreme Court and Court of Appeals, legal periodicals, and materials produced by the Iowa Legislature.
The State Data Center of Iowa is the source for population, housing, business and government statistics about Iowa, including data from the US Census Bureau, Iowa state agencies, and other state and federal sources.
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The Iowa General Assembly is the legislative branch of the state government of Iowa. Like the federal United States Congress, the General Assembly is a bicameral body, composed of the upper house Iowa Senate and the lower Iowa House of Representatives respectively. The Senate consists of four year terms and the House consists of two year terms. The General Assembly convenes within the Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines.
The Iowa State Capitol, commonly called the Iowa Statehouse, is in Iowa's capital city, Des Moines. As the seat of the Iowa General Assembly, the building houses the Iowa Senate, Iowa House of Representatives, the Office of the Governor, and the Offices of the Attorney General, Auditor, Treasurer, and Secretary of State. The building also includes a chamber for the Iowa Supreme Court, although court activities usually take place in the neighboring Iowa Supreme Court building. The building was constructed between 1871 and 1886, and is the only five-domed capitol in the country.
The State Library of Western Australia is a research, education, reference and public lending library located in the Perth Cultural Centre in Perth, Western Australia. It is a portfolio agency of the Western Australia Department of Culture and the Arts, and facilitated by the Library Board of Western Australia.
The Library of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia, is the library agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia. It serves as the archival agency and the reference library for Virginia's seat of government. The Library moved into a new building in 1997 and is located at 800 East Broad Street, two blocks from the Virginia State Capitol building. It was formerly known as the Virginia State Library and as the Virginia State Library and Archives.
A law library is a special library used by law students, lawyers, judges and their law clerks, historians and other scholars of legal history in order to research the law. Law libraries are also used by people who draft or advocate for new laws, e.g. legislators and others who work in state government, local government, and legislative counsel offices or the U.S. Office of Law Revision Counsel and lobbying professionals. Self-represented, or pro se, litigants also use law libraries.
The State Library of Pennsylvania is one of the largest research libraries in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Until 1971 it was known as the Pennsylvania State Library.
The Law Library of Congress is the law library of the United States Congress. The Law Library of Congress holds the single most comprehensive and authoritative collection of domestic, foreign, and international legal materials in the world. Established in 1832, its collections are currently housed in the James Madison Memorial Building of the Library of Congress. Law staff rely on and utilize 2.9 million volumes of primary legal sources, 102.18 million microforms, 99,000 reels of microfilm, 3.18 million pieces of microfiche, and 15,600 tangible electronic resources, making it is the largest law library in the world.
The State Library of Kansas is a department within the state government of Kansas, with locations in Topeka and Emporia. Ray Walling was appointed acting State Librarian in June of 2022.
The State Library of Oregon in Salem, is the library for the U.S. state of Oregon. The mission of the State Library of Oregon is to provide leadership and resources to continue growing vibrant library services for Oregonians with print disabilities, the Legislature and state government, and all Oregonians through local libraries.
The New York State Library is a research library in Albany, New York, United States. It was established in 1818 to serve the state government of New York and is part of the New York State Education Department. The library is one of the largest in the world by number of items held, with over 20 million cataloged items in 2011.
The Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) refers to the state government agency in the state of Texas that supports the reading, learning, and historical preservation needs of Texas and its people. The agency is charged with preserving the archival record of Texas, supporting research, and making primary resources available to the public; assisting public, academic, and school libraries across the state in meeting the needs of their communities and students; helping public agencies maintain their public records; and supporting the reading needs of thousands of Texans with disabilities preventing them from reading a standard book.
The State Library of North Carolina is an institution which serves North Carolina libraries, state government employees, genealogists, and the citizens of North Carolina. The library is the main depository for North Carolina state publications and serves the needs of North Carolina government agencies and state government employees by providing access to information resources that are vital to public decision-making and economic development.
The Connecticut State Library is the state library for the U.S. state of Connecticut and is also an executive branch agency of the state. It is located in Hartford, Connecticut directly across the street from the Connecticut State Capitol. The State Library provides a variety of library, information, archival, public records, museum, and administrative services to the citizens of Connecticut, as well as the employees and officials of all three branches of state government. Students, researchers, public libraries and town governments throughout the state are also served by the State Library. In addition, the State Library directs a program of statewide library development and administers the Library Services Technology Act state grant. "The mission of the Connecticut State Library is to preserve and make accessible Connecticut's history and heritage and to advance the development of library services statewide."
A special library is a library that provides specialized information resources on a particular subject, serves a specialized and limited clientele, and delivers specialized services to that clientele. Special libraries include corporate libraries, government libraries, law libraries, medical libraries, museum libraries, news libraries. Special libraries also exist within academic institutions. These libraries are included as special libraries because they are often funded separately from the rest of the university and they serve a targeted group of users.
The Nebraska Library Commission is a Nebraska state government agency. Located in Lincoln, the Library Commission provides reference, resources, training, and consulting for all types of library in the state. The various collections housed at the Library Commission are used to serve librarians, state employees, seekers of government information, and visually handicapped Nebraskans. The Library Commission is a clearinghouse for state government publications and makes many documents accessible online.
The New Jersey State Library, based in Trenton, New Jersey, was established in 1796 to serve the information needs of New Jersey's Governor, Legislature and Judiciary. The State Library is also responsible to assist in the provision of library and information services to all New Jersey residents. The State Library is an affiliate of Thomas Edison State University and is located in the Capitol Complex in Trenton.
The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., that serves as the library and research service of the U.S. Congress and the de facto national library of the United States. Founded in 1800, the library is the United States's oldest federal cultural institution. The library is housed in three elaborate buildings on Capitol Hill. It also maintains a conservation center in Culpeper, Virginia. The library's functions are overseen by the librarian of Congress, and its buildings are maintained by the Architect of the Capitol. The Library of Congress is one of the largest libraries in the world. Its collections contain approximately 173 million items, and it has more than 3,000 employees. Its "collections are universal, not limited by subject, format, or national boundary, and include research materials from all parts of the world and in more than 470 languages."
The State Library and Archives of Florida is the central repository for the archives of state government for the state of Florida. It is located at the R.A. Gray Building on 500 South Bronough Street in Tallahassee, Florida, Florida's capital.
The Ohio Web Library is a large collection of over 280 electronic information resources, or online databases, provided by Libraries Connect Ohio (LCO), which is composed of four major Ohio library networks — OPLIN, OhioLINK, INFOhio, and the State Library of Ohio. Within these licensed databases are almost 31,000 individual electronic serial titles, and the databases are accessed through a federated search tool or meta search engine with a simple interface.
Arkansas State Library (ASL) is a special library which operates as a state agency under the Arkansas Department of Education, within the Arkansas state government. It provides information resources for state agencies, legislators and legislative staff. The library also provides guidance and support for the development of local public libraries, and library services. ASL provides resources, services, and leadership for the educational, informational and cultural needs of Arkansas citizens.
