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13 October 2023
TOPEKA (KSNT) – A local library is showing off some rare items from its collection related to the Menninger family.
KSNT 27 News spoke with staff at the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library about the new display set up in the Topeka room on the library’s second floor. The small exhibit features items from the Menninger family which used to operate a large psychiatric clinic in Topeka that got its start in the 1920s.
“We teamed up and we decided to look a little bit more into, specifically, what we had, what cool objects were in our Menninger collection,” said Katie Keckeisen, local history librarian.
The display includes an apothecary kit, a model of the human brain, a syringe and other objects once used by members of the Menninger family. Keckeisen said many of the objects in the display have not been on public display at the library before.
“This is all stuff that hasn’t really been seen before and that’s something that the whole local history team wants to be able to be more proactive about is showing folks some of the hidden gems in our collection,” Keckeisen said.
When asked if there were more objects in the library’s possession related to the Menninger family, Keckeisen said staff ran out of room when putting together the case in the Topeka room. Staff are considering rotating objects through the displays in the Topeka room in the coming days with more objects from their Menninger collection and the old State Hospital in Topeka.
You can visit the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library at 1515 SW 10th Avenue during its regular hours. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app.