The Frank Carlson Library is a public library

Library

In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...

 in Concordia, Kansas

Concordia, Kansas

Concordia is a city in and the county seat of Cloud County, Kansas, United States. Located on the Republican River in the Smoky Hills region of the Great Plains, Concordia was founded in 1871 and is an economic and cultural center in north-central Kansas...

. The library is named for former Governor of Kansas

Governor of Kansas

The Governor of the State of Kansas is the head of state for the State of Kansas, United States. Under the Kansas Constitution, the Governor is also the head of government, serving as the chief executive of the Kansas executive branch, of the government of Kansas. The Governor is the...

, Congressman

United States Congress

The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....

, and Senator

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 Frank Carlson

Frank Carlson

Frank Carlson was an American politician who served as the 30th Governor of Kansas and United States Representative and United States Senator from Kansas.-Biography:...

, 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. Among the items on display are a check signed by fellow Kansan Dwight D. Eisenhower

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...

in the playful settlement of a bet, a mug from the U.S. Senate, special inaugural license plates, several political cartoons, campaign literature, and dozens of photographs.

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.