Effective Dec. 11, 2011, the Kentucky Historical Society (KHS) history campus in downtown Frankfort will adopt a seasonal public schedule.

The KHS history campus – which includes the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History, the Old State Capitol and the Kentucky Military History Museum at the Old State Arsenal – will not be available to walk-in visitors from Dec. 11, 2011 through March 9, 2012. However, groups of 10 or more will be accommodated with a reservation throughout the winter season.

The history campus will be open to walk-in visitors and researchers on Dec. 10, 2011; Jan. 14, 2012 and Feb. 11, 2012.

This year will mark the second year KHS has operated under a seasonal schedule. During the 2010 winter season, nearly 6,100 people visited KHS in groups of 10 or more, which was an increase in visitation over the 2009 winter season. Focusing on group visitation over the winter – when walk-in traffic is typically lower – allows KHS staff to focus efforts on processing the society’s 500,000 museum and special collections. Last winter, KHS staff transferred more than 31,000 records to a new collections database, added nearly 700 artifact records to its online services and catalogued more than 2,400 rolls of microfilm that included county records, church records and manuscript collections.

“KHS is making this collections-related work a top priority during the winter,” said Kent Whitworth, KHS executive director. “The work that’s being done during this time ultimately benefits researchers who then have greater access to these records. Through our strategic plan, KHS has made a commitment to catalog its priority collections and make them available to researchers online 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”

The following KHS services will continue year-round:

  • KHS will be available to schedule visits for groups of 10 or more people with at least seven days notice during the winter season.
  • KHS will be open to the public for second Saturday programming on Dec. 10, 2011; and Jan. 14 and Feb. 11, 2012. On these dates, KHS will offer genealogy workshops in partnership with the Kentucky Genealogical Society, as well as scout programs and teacher training workshops. The Martin F. Schmidt Research Library at the Center for Kentucky History, KHS exhibitions and the 1792 Store also will be open, along with tours of the Old State Capitol and the Kentucky Military History Museum at the Old State Arsenal.
  • Outreach programming including the KHS HistoryMobile, Kentucky Junior Historical Society/National History Day program, KHS Museum Theatre, oral history technical services, KHS Museums-To-Go exhibits, historical markers and work with the Civil War and War of 1812 related sites and museums also will be ongoing.
  • Reference services will continue to be available year-round through the library both by e-mail and by telephone.
  • Rental services will continue to be available at KHS year-round.

Beginning March 10, 2012, KHS will resume its regular public hours (Wednesday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Thursday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.)

To find out more about KHS, visit http://www.history.ky.gov/