Ashcroft announces 2017-2018 “Blue Book”

Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft today announced that the 2017-2018 Official Manual of the State of Missouri, commonly known as the “Blue Book”, is available at www.sos.mo.gov/bluebook.

The manual, which is published by the Secretary of State’s Office every two years, is a wealth of information on Missouri government. It includes the latest contact information for government officials and departments, biographies of elected officials, information on the state’s laws and salaries of government employees.

“We’re proud to provide such an invaluable resource that puts Missouri government at your fingertips,” Ashcroft said. “The ‘Blue Book’ does a service to our state by making government more accessible and transparent to Missourians.”

The manual’s photo contest theme, “Rooted in Agriculture,” included categories of “Family Farmers,” “Farm Technology” and “Farm Life.” To go along with photos from the contest, Department of Agriculture Director Chris Chinn wrote a feature story that illustrates these same topics.

First published in 1878, the “Blue Book” gained its nickname from the traditionally blue cover, although it has also been bound in green, pink, and red, white and blue through the years. Earlier editions of the manual can be viewed at www.sos.mo.gov/bluebook, including excerpts going back to that first 1878 edition, courtesy of the Secretary of State’s State Archives.