Topeka ? On the second floor of the Capitol, Gov. Bill Graves’ staff is boxing up papers from his eight years in office, but unlike the previous four administrations, there is no researcher sifting through the collection to chronicle it for history.

And that’s a shame, says Ed Flentje, director of the Hugo Wall School of Urban and Public Affairs at Wichita State University.

“It ought to be done,” Flentje said, because the research helps provide a snapshot of Kansas state government that will give future historians and students clues as to why certain things were done a certain way.

Flentje has helped lead an effort in the past 20 years to compile the documents of previous Kansas governors into volumes of selected papers.

The researchers have produced books on former governors Robert Bennett, John Carlin, Joan Finney and Mike Hayden.

But as Graves leaves office, there is no such effort under way.

Natalie Haag, who is Graves’ chief of staff and general counsel, says there simply is no money in the budget to hire a researcher, a cost of about $10,000, according to Flentje.

“Given what’s happening in the state finances, I don’t suppose it’s surprising,” Flentje said.

So, Haag and assistant legal counsel Trista Curzydlo are plowing through hundreds of files that include memos, speeches, proclamations, correspondence, briefings, hand-written notes and testimony.

Some files will be left for Gov.-elect Kathleen Sebelius’ staff, such as those on continuing legal issues. Graves will keep some personal papers, while some political items, including videotapes of campaign commercials, are headed to Kansas University’s Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics. Some papers are being shredded, such as records that are required to be kept by other agencies

But the majority of Graves’ files are headed to the State Historical Society in Topeka for storage as required under state law.

Haag and Curzydlo have already filled some 40 boxes.

Picking out a file at random, Haag showed one that dealt with the administration’s review of all state rules and regulations. Another file contained documents and briefings on the merger of the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe railroads.

Also in the boxes were files dealing with the major issues of Graves’ tenure, including the state highway program, the privatization of foster care and the roller coaster economic ride that produced record tax cuts, and as he leaves office, record deficits.

Once in the custody of the State Historical Society, the boxes will be examined to ensure they are in good shape and then be filed and stored.

Bobbie Athon, a spokeswoman for the State Historical Society, said researchers frequently study the papers of previous governors.

“The governors’ papers are among the most valuable records that there are,” she said.

Under state law, many of the files remain secret until the death of the governor, but some records can be released with permission from the governor.