diff --git a/docs/api.rst b/docs/api.rst
index 6f5dc61..f26ef23 100644
--- a/docs/api.rst
+++ b/docs/api.rst
@@ -65,6 +65,7 @@ override the global seed to support seed-specifying APIs.
 Packages that expect their client code to use SeedBank to seed the random number ecosystem should
 use these functions to obtain random number generators.
 
+.. autofunction:: std_rng
 .. autofunction:: numpy_rng
 .. autofunction:: numpy_random_state
 .. autofunction:: cupy_rng
diff --git a/seedbank/__init__.py b/seedbank/__init__.py
index 9310889..8b8c4e5 100644
--- a/seedbank/__init__.py
+++ b/seedbank/__init__.py
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@
     "initialize",
     "init_file",
     "derive_seed",
+    "std_rng",
     "numpy_rng",
     "numpy_random_state",
     "cupy_rng",
@@ -136,3 +137,4 @@ def int_seed(
 from seedbank._config import init_file  # noqa: E402
 from seedbank.cupy import cupy_rng  # noqa: E402
 from seedbank.numpy import numpy_random_state, numpy_rng  # noqa: E402
+from seedbank.stdlib import std_rng  # noqa: E402
diff --git a/seedbank/stdlib.py b/seedbank/stdlib.py
index 95e47e0..1169956 100644
--- a/seedbank/stdlib.py
+++ b/seedbank/stdlib.py
@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
 import logging
 import random
+from typing import Optional
 
+from . import derive_seed
+from ._keys import SeedLike, make_seed
 from ._state import SeedState
 
 _log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
@@ -13,3 +16,25 @@ def is_available():
 def seed(state: SeedState):
     _log.debug("initializing stdlib seed")
     random.seed(state.int_seed)
+
+
+def std_rng(
+    spec: Optional[SeedLike] = None,
+) -> random.Random:
+    """
+    Get a standard library random number generator (:class:`random.Random`) with
+    either the specified seed or a fresh seed.
+
+    Args:
+        spec:
+            The spec for this RNG.
+
+    Returns:
+        A random number generator.
+    """
+    if spec is None:
+        seed = derive_seed()
+    else:
+        seed = make_seed(spec)
+    data = seed.generate_state(4)
+    return random.Random(bytes(data))
diff --git a/tests/test_stdlib.py b/tests/test_stdlib.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..22d52e4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_stdlib.py
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+"""
+stdlib python tests
+"""
+
+import random
+
+from seedbank import std_rng
+
+
+def test_stdlib_rng():
+    """
+    Make sure we get an stdlib RNG.
+    """
+    rng = std_rng()
+    assert isinstance(rng, random.Random)
+
+
+def test_stdlib_rng_fresh_seed():
+    """
+    Test that two stdlib RNGs with fresh seeds return different numbers.
+    """
+    rng1 = std_rng()
+    rng2 = std_rng()
+    assert rng1.getrandbits(10) != rng2.getrandbits(10)
+
+
+def test_stdlib_rng_same_seed():
+    """
+    Test that two stdlib RNGs with the same seed start the same.
+    """
+    rng1 = std_rng("foo")
+    rng2 = std_rng("foo")
+    assert rng1.getrandbits(10) == rng2.getrandbits(10)