New Shelves for an Expanding State Publications Collection

Sep 10, 2021

Two women holding publications standing by large set of empty library shelves

(L to R) Abby Beaver, Information Services Manager, and Anne Kuipers, State Publications Librarian, are ready to fill our new shelves with items from our expanding state documents collection.

Sometimes a library needs to add in a few shelving units to make sure that every book has an appropriate home. Every library aims to add materials to its collection and the Wyoming State Library is no exception. We are glad to announce the addition of two new shelving units to our State Publications Collection.

Because the WSL is mandated by state statute as the Wyoming government’s official depository library, this collection is always growing. A depository library holds copies of (hopefully) every publicly published government document so the general public has access to all available government publications. A visit to the library may lead you to discover diverse material from Wyoming’s past. We have everything from 1890s handwritten fish and game reports to tourist promotional materials.

While this bounty of materials is a boon for all intrepid researchers, it also takes up some space. Every year we add more to our collections and every year our shelves get a little more stuffed. As a depository library for both state and federal documents the library ends up housing a large amount of material. Both collections like to compete for space. Although our current building is more than up for the task, our shelves are beginning to look a bit cramped. This leads to our current good news.

Being able to add two new shelving units to the library allows us to plan for future publications. It also allows us to keep enough room on the shelf so browsing is an enjoyable experience. This addition aids us in protecting these collections so that future visitors can use them decades in the future.

If you have a question about this or any other article, please contact us at statelibrary@wyo.gov

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