Author Archives: indianastatelibrary

Angelina Collins, Indiana’s first cookbook writer

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Born on May 26, 1805, in Petersburg, Virginia, Angelina Maria Lorain – or Lorraine – was raised as a Methodist and instilled with ideas of abolitionism. After marrying James Collins – and taking his name – in 1830, the couple moved to Paoli, Indiana, where they lived for a few years before settling in New Albany in Floyd County.

Painting titled “Mrs. A. Collins, aged thirty-six.”

In 1851, Angelina Collins, with the help of John R. Nunemacher, printer and book seller in New Albany, published her volume of table receipts – known today as recipes – titled “Mrs. Collins’ Table Receipts: Adapted to Western Housewifery.”

In the preface of the book, she explains “…my object has been to simplify the culinary art, and adapt it to every capacity and condition of life, and in preparing the receipts, I have endeavored to select and combine such ingredients as may be easily obtained in any section of our country, but especially have I desired to render them serviceable to the housekeepers of the West.” In other words, “Here’s what you can find at local markets and groceries in late 1840s southern Indiana.” Being on the Ohio River, many of the river towns would have access to a far greater variety of imported goods from the eastern coast, with grocers and merchants being among the first businesses to be established.

Collins ends her preface with “To the ladies of the West, I offer this little volume with full confidence that it will be properly appreciated and well received, and should it in any manner add to their comfort or convenience, I shall be fully compensated for the employment of my leisure home.” And her little volume must have added a large amount of comfort and convenience because in 1857, her cookbook was republished after somehow making its way to A. S. Barnes & Company in New York, where it experienced a name change to the title “The Great Western Cookbook, Or Table Receipts Adapted to Western Housewifery” with the same number of pages. By this time, 1850s southern and middle Indiana would have been well settled, but the upper part still remained as open territory for settlers. These types of publications, such as Mrs. Collins’ cookbook, were meant to encourage immigration to those areas and further west, by showing that there is an abundance of resources.

Here at the Indiana State Library, we have the original 1851 volume and have added it to our digital collections. You can view it here.

Cover of “Mrs. Collins’ Table Receipts: Adapted to Western Housewifery.”

The 1857 version is available online to be researched in Indiana University’s digital collection, “Service through Sponge Cake”. Here is a link to that version.

So, if you love trying our historic recipes, there are 140-plus pages for you to sample. Collins organized her book by topics, including fish, boiling, pickling, pies and fancy dishes to name a few. And of course, no cookbook would be complete with tidbits of information or advice. On page 15, “Observation – In preparing soups, always cut the pieces of meat you send in the tureen small enough to be eaten with introducing a knife and fork into the soup plate.”

Her recipes include corn pone, hominy, “Succotash a la Tecumseh,” mock turtle soup, “California soup,” Mrs. Collins’ batter cake and brain balls. Collins also includes a recipe for mangoes, or in today’s language, stuffed bell peppers. Also included is an interesting recipe for “Indiana sauce.”

Indiana sauce, as featured in “Mrs. Collins’ Table Receipts: Adapted to Western Housewifery.”

Although Angelina Maria Collins died on Sept. 28,1885 in Salem, Indiana, her cookbook is still being researched and used by historians.

Are you interested in historic cookbooks? If so, here are some digital collections of historic cookbooks available from libraries around the country:

This post was written by Christopher Marshall, digital collections coordinator for the Indiana Division at the Indiana State Library.

Upcoming Rosetta Stone migration will require INSPIRE users to keep track of progress

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On Nov. 13, the Rosetta Stone platform will be upgraded. Users who subscribe to Rosetta Stone via INSPIRE will notice a change in their account.

Once the migration is complete, users’ accounts and progress will be reset. EBSCO recommends that users note their current level and lesson. After the migration, users will be able to go back to their previous lessons manually. EBSCO has provided a reminder bookmark that can be printed out in order to help users keep track of their current lessons. The bookmark can be downloaded here. Click here for further instructions on how locate current levels and lessons.

There will be no other changes to users’ accounts. Users will enter their same credentials on the login screen. They will still have continuous access to Rosetta Stone’s content, new updated imagery and cultural stories. The program will look and feel identical to the existing site. The content and curriculum path will not change.

Indiana residents who use Rosetta Stone via INSPIRE will still have free full access – all five levels – to nine languages in Rosetta Stone: Chinese (Mandarin), Spanish (Spain), Spanish (Latin America), English (American), English (British), French, German, Italian and Russian. Additionally, Indiana residents can access 15 languages up to level three: Arabic, Dutch, Filipino (Tagalog), Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Irish, Japanese, Korean, Persian (Farsi), Polish, Portuguese, Swedish, Turkish and Vietnamese.

Rosetta Stone is available to all Indiana residents at no cost. Visit the INSPIRE website and click on the Rosetta Stone logo to sign up and get started.

This blog post was submitted by the communications director of the Indiana State Library.

Library gaming resources, an award and the Platinum Play Hall of Fame

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As a regional coordinator with the Professional Development Office here at the Indiana State Library, I love making library visits in the fall. With the leaves beginning to change, and the weather turning colder, I like to use the drive time to reflect on all of the things that I can enjoy in the fall and winter months, like reading a good book – borrowed from my local library – while drinking a warm beverage and the start of basketball season. However, some of my favorites, of course, are games. One of the best months for games in libraries is fast approaching, International Games Month, which is celebrated every year in November.

I have been asked recently by many libraries how they might go about starting a game collection if they don’t currently have games. Just like any other library resource, to answer questions like this you need to consider many things about your community and library to best answer them. Is the library or the community most interested in a circulating collection? Is the library hoping to use games for programming and community building? Some of the resources I have suggested to libraries in the past can be found here. Unfortunately, there is no established “first purchase list” for games as a library collection, partially because games as a type of library collection are still relatively new, and because the answers to the above questions can play an outsized role in developing the collection.

To begin developing lists to help libraries, the Games and Gaming Round Table of the American Library Association formed a new committee a few years ago and began developing an award. This year during IGM, the Awards Committee of ALA’s GameRT will be announcing the first class of inductees – the Platy’s – into the Platinum Play Hall of Fame. The Hall was first announced this past January with a list of classic games that work well in library settings. Each year we plan to add newer games to this Hall with the focus remaining on games well suited for libraries. At the end of November, the nomination window will open for next year’s Platy’s. Once the nomination window opens, I will be announcing it on the Indiana Games Roundtable Listserv. If you are not currently a member of that listserv it is a growing community of Indiana library employees who use, collect and work with games of all types in their libraries and we would love to have you join that conversation. Details about joining this – or any Indiana library – Listserv can be found here.

This post was written by George Bergstrom, Southwest regional coordinator, Professional Development Office, Indiana State Library.

Visually Impaired Preschool Services

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Did you Know?

90% of what a child learns is through their vision.
85% of the foundation of learning happens the first five years of their life.

Did you also know that located in the heart of downtown Indianapolis is an exceptional preschool for children with visual impairments? It is called Visually Impaired Preschool Services, or more affectionately known as VIPS. It is an inclusive, nonprofit organization that was born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1985 and “provides vision-specific, early intervention for young children, birth to three, who are blind or visually impaired and comprehensive support to their families.” It has since expanded to Indiana. Indiana’s VIPS took root in 2011 through the efforts of a teacher for blind and low vision children, who was also the mother of a legally blind child.

Their efforts paid off over time, because VIPS grew. In 2022, their new facility opened, and it is astounding. It has a sensory room, several playrooms, a little library section with print and braille board books, a kitchen area, a doctor’s room and so much more. There are even apartments above VIPS that can be leased out to families with visually-impaired children who need them. They offer a wide range of programming and services such as home visits, orientation and mobility services, preschool readiness programs, parent empowerment programs, summer programs and story times to name a few.

Those of us at the Indiana Talking Book and Braille Library love to go over to the VIPS facility for outreach and to provide story times for the children and their parents to enjoy. These story times allow us to read stories to the children and allow the parents and children to become familiar with braille books.

Besides partnering with us at the Indiana Talking Book and Braille Library, VIPS also partners with others in the community for outreach, such as the Indiana School for the Blind and the Indiana State Department of Health. This is to ensure that all the visually-impaired children they serve receive all the essential resources and help they need. The kind staff at VIPS is dedicated to the growth and happiness of the children and families they serve.

So, if you, or anyone you know, has a young child in need of the Visually Impaired Preschool Services you won’t be disappointed by all they have to offer. VIPS can be contacted at via their website, by calling 317-961-5001 or by visiting 1212 Southeastern Avenue in Indianapolis.

Visually Impaired Preschool Services is a non-profit organization and accepts donations.

This post was submitted by Kylie Brinker, reader advisor, Indiana Talking Book and Braille Library at the Indiana State library. 

Visually Impaired Preschool Services. “VIPS Indiana – Visually Impaired Preschool Services.” Visually Impaired Preschool Services, 12 Apr. 2024, vips.org/vips-indiana/.

The Public Documents Room at the Indiana State Library

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“Patience is the companion of wisdom” – St. Augustine

The Indiana State Library has been collecting federal documents for well over a century, some dating back to the early days of the republic.

All material collected by the state library and published by the Government Printing Office before 1966 is housed on the library’s third floor in what is referred to as the P.D.  – or Public Documents – Room.

The shelves are crammed with every kind of document concerned with every sort of query – from polar expeditions that surveyed the heavens to explorations that documented fauna in Asia.

Papers relating to trade with foreign countries, treaties and diplomacy can be found side-by-side on the metal shelves along with state department-issued pocket travel guides.

At first glance, so unwieldy a collection may discourage the Hoosier enthusiast, but if one is willing to burrow (imagine the ground hog), there are discoveries aplenty. Congressional hearings, bland in appearance and recorded on thin white paper, capture the thousands of voices of those called before congress.

The Coast and Lighthouse Reports record buoys and stations on domestic bodies of water, including Lake Michigan. Soil surveys contain thoughtful county essays on farming, equipment, architecture, labor, and, well, soil conditions. Cattle, sheep and horse diseases are well chronicled, as are the travails of the railroad industry in the United States, from the metal used to lay tracks to the working conditions of the men who did it.

Is the family lore correct? Did Indiana experience one of its hottest summers in 1947? Climatological summaries of the state provide the answer, as do yearbooks compiled by the Department of Agriculture.

Maybe Grandpa Fisher really did thread the Rajah through the choppy waters of Westport, Massachusetts, in 1851, hands clasped behind back, headed to the southern seas in pursuit of whales. Find out by consulting “Whaling Masters Voyages, 1731-1925,” which lists ships, captains and ports.

Home to hundreds of thousands of documents, reports, papers, plates, graphs and census material, no mere introduction can do the P.D. Room justice.

So, visit the card catalog on the second floor of the Indiana State Library – which houses information on the P.D. Room holdings – and delve into a hidden world.

This blog post was written by Kate Mcginn, reference librarian, Indiana State Library.

A pizza party in every Indiana phone book

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When the word “pizza” is mentioned, Indiana doesn’t usually spring to mind. Despite nearby Midwestern states Illinois, Michigan and Missouri having their own pizza identity – tavern style and deep dish crust in Chicago; square Detroit-style crust in Detroit; and cracker thin crust and Provel cheese in St. Louis – Indiana doesn’t have its own signature pizza style. In fact, the two most well-known pizza facts involving Indiana are that disgraced former Papa John’s CEO John Schnatter started the chain in Jeffersonville in 1984, and that two brothers  – Wendell and Bob Swartz – helmed the battle of the Pizza Kings in the late ’50s, as detailed in this 2019 Indiana Public Media report.

One little-known fact about Indiana, though, as it relates to pizza, is that the foundation of Pizza Hut has ties to Indiana. Another brother duo – Dan and Frank Carney – famously founded Pizza Hut in Witchita, Kansas while studying at Wichita State University. However, there was a third person involved who actually brought the recipe for the pizza to the business in 1958.

“We found a guy from Indiana that was an airman at McConnell, who lived at the same apartment complex as our sister and brother-in-law, and we talked with him, because we didn’t know how to make pizza,” Frank Carney said in the fall 2008 issue of Wichita State University Alumni Magazine, The Shocker.

That “guy from Indiana” was John Bender of Bloomington. Bender’s pizza making skills most likely developed when he was employed at Cafe Pizzaria in Bloomington. According to a July 25, 2015 Herald-Times article, Cafe Pizzaria “was the first restaurant in Bloomington to specialize in pizza.” Founded in 1953, it may very well be the first restaurant in the state to specialize in pizza.

Prior to the 1950s, pizza wasn’t on the menu for most Americans. A search for the word pizza in Hoosier State Chronicles, Indiana’s Digital Historic Newspaper Program, shows only 13 mentions of pizza between 1940 and 1949. However, between 1950 and 1959 that result jumps to 461. Then, the result explodes to 2,000-plus for each of the next four decades. On Nov. 30, 1957, the Saturday Evening Post published an article titled “Crazy About Pizza.” The article has been reported to the be the impetus that pushed the Carney brothers to pursue pizza after it was mentioned to them by a neighbor who had read the article. Author Richard Gehman begins the piece by saying, “Call it a tomato pie, a pizza pie or just plain pizza – this delectable, pungent Italian concoction is giving the hot dog a run for the money as the favorite American snack!” Undoubtedly, the ’50s was the decade when pizza went from a fad to a staple.

With pizza established as a popular new dinner item in the ’50s, those selling the pies had to advertise. A great way to advertise was via phone book, a book delivered at no cost to nearly every household in a given town, city or county and conveniently listing phone numbers of local businesses. Prior to Cafe Pizzaria establishing itself as a business focusing mainly on pizza in 1953, another Bloomington restaurant was serving pizza in 1951. In that year’s telephone directory, Joe Natalie’s Italian Village placed an ad featuring a stereotypical Italian chef, who would become a pizza advertisement standard. While pizza was listed first in the ad, the name of the restaurant was still a general reference to Italian food.

Joe Natalie’s Italian Village; Bloomington; Bloomington Telephone Directory, 1951, page 80. Indiana State Library Digital Collections.

By 1956, pizza was getting top billing in the names of many restaurants serving Italian food. Elkhart’s Papa’s Pizzaeria & Spaghetti House lists pizza first in their name, giving it top billing over spaghetti and opting to eschew the word Italian in its moniker. Pizza is also listed first in the food hierarchy over spaghetti, sandwiches and raviola. It’s unclear whether this was a misspelling of ravioli or a reference to the Italian pastry.

Papa’s Pizzaeria & Spaghetti House; Elkhart; Elkhart Telephone Directory; 1956; page 148. Indiana State Library Digital Collections.

Moving into the 1960s, phone book ads started becoming a bit more stylized and telephone exchange names began to be phased out. A 1960 ad from Homer’s Pizza in Terre Haute features a picture of a pizza, 3D lettering, steaming pies and the good ‘ol Italian chef, although his moustache is a little thin here.

Homer’s Pizza; Terre Haute; Terre Haute Telephone Directory, General Telephone Company of Indiana; 1960; page 108. Indiana State Library Phone Book Collection.

While Bunky’s Carry Out Pizza in Connersville had an updated phone number with a prefix, the restaurant’s 1963 phone book ad has nearly identical elements to the Homer’s Pizza ad from three years prior, right down the the “chef’s kiss” gesture. In a collective effort to stand out, a lot of pizza parlors’ advertising became derivative at this time. One business that actually did stand out in this era, however, was Michigan-based Little Caesars. One year prior, in 1962, they introduced perhaps the most famous pizza mascot of all time, Little Caesar. He was – and still is – the face of the Little Caesars pizza chain.

Bunky’s Carry out Pizza, Connersville; Connersville Telephone Directory; 1963; page 72. Indiana State Library Digital Collections.

By the 1970s, phone book pizza ads really started to ramp up. This aggressive 1973 ad from Deb’s Pizza in Indianapolis features a tricked out car and boasts “Fast Free Delivery.” While the vehicle doesn’t seem very efficient for pizza delivery, the ad definitely gets its message across. A 2011 obituary in the Indianapolis Star states that Omar Rooks owned and operated Deb’s Pizza for 15 years and lists his hobbies as “restoring vintage cars and watching NASCAR races,” so it’s no surprise that he chose this design for the ad.

Deb’s Pizza; Indianapolis; Indiana Bell’s Yellow Pages; 1973; page 676. Indiana State Library Phone Book Collection.

Another well known pizza mascot emerged in the ’80s, the Noid. The gremlin in a skintight rubber suit was created by Michigan advertising company Group 243 for Domino’s Pizza. According to Ernie Perich, executive vice president creative director on the campaign, the Noid was “The personification of all things that can go wrong.” While the ’80s were full of colorful and outrageous mascots – from the California Raisins to Spuds MacKenzie – Saylor’s Pizza of Fort Wayne opted to go with a fairly simple sailor mascot, a play on the restaurant’s family name. The Saylor family’s pizza businesses date back to the ’60s in Chicago. The Fort Wayne locations were operated by Walter Saylor.

Saylor’s Pizza; Fort Wayne; GTE’s Fifty Years of Telecommunications directory; 1982; page 343. Indiana State Library Phone Book Collection.

In the early ’50s, pizza was merely a mention in a phone book ad of an Italian restaurant. By the ’90s, though, pizza was so popular that it had its own category in the Yellow Pages and often took up several pages. The 1993 issue of Indiana Bell’s Ameritech PagesPlus for Columbus/Seymour illustrates how popular pizza really was at the end of the century. Yes, the Italian chef and his mustache are back.

Columbus/Seymour; Indiana Bell’s Ameritech PagesPlus directory; 1993; page 152. Indiana State Library Phone Book Collection.

In the the new millennium, pizza remained as popular as ever. Founded in the ’50s, Pizza King was still alive and well in 2001. They were also using a lot more colored ink in their phone book advertising while letting the reader know that they were “not only the best pizza in town,” but that they were also “unmatched” and a “pioneer.” This ad is as aggressive as a revving muscle car.

Sorrento’s Pizza King; West Lafayette; Verizon SuperPages directory; 2001; page 270. Indiana State Library Phone Book Collection.

During the 2000s, pizza places, like J&J’s Pizza Shack of Northwest Indiana, opted to keep their ads simple. While the ad is unassuming, the 45-piece 18″ x 26″ party size pizza is rather grand. In 2024, the party size meat pizza will set one back $75.00. Owners John and Linda Bogdan retired in 2000, leaving each of their children to run their own J&J’s Pizza Shack with their families in Lake Station, Portage, Hobart, Valparaiso and Demotte.

J&J’s Pizza Shack; Portage/Valparaiso, Verizon Yellow Pages directory; 2006; page 276. Indiana State Library Phone Book Collection.

In modern times, telephone directories aren’t as essential as they once were since everyone can look up contact numbers right on their phones. While times were changing in 2013, Third Generation of Chesterfield was throwing it back to the ’50s with another portrayal of the Italian chef.

Third Generation; Anderson; AT&T’s The Real Yellow Pages directory; 2013; page 154. Indiana State Library Phone Book Collection.

While some pizzerias – like Pizza King and J&J’s Pizza Shack – have survived over the decades, many – like Deb’s Pizza and Third Generation – are long gone, just like the phone books themselves. Just a few weeks ago, Cafe Pizzaria, a pillar of Indiana pizza, made the announcement on their Facebook page that they were closing “effective immediately” after 70 years of serving Bloomington. While Indiana doesn’t rank high on the list of places associated with pizza, it does have its own unique history and contributions to the business. One thing is for certain, though: one cannot cook pizza without a moustache.

This blog post was submitted by John Wekluk, communications director. 

Copyright and AI; an update

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In recent years, the intersection of artificial intelligence and copyright law has become a hot topic, especially as AI-generated content becomes more prevalent. The U.S. Copyright Office plays a crucial role in shaping the legal landscape for these emerging technologies. The U.S. Copyright Office administers the national copyright system and provides guidance on copyright law to Congress, federal agencies, the courts and the public. As AI technology advances, the office has been active in addressing the unique challenges it presents.

Historically, the U.S. Copyright Office has maintained that copyright protection is reserved for works created by humans. This means that purely AI-generated works, without any human involvement, are not eligible for copyright protection. However, the landscape is evolving. In March 2023, the Copyright Office issued formal guidance stating that if a human significantly contributes to the creation of a work in which AI was used, it may be eligible for copyright protection. The office has been receiving applications for the registration of works that include AI-generated content, reflecting the increasing integration of AI in creative processes. As a result, preliminary guidance has been issued for those seeking to copyright works that involve AI content and that guidance can be found here. The office has also received complaints regarding the use of copyright protected art and text in the training of AI tools.

Recognizing the growing importance of AI in content creation, the Copyright Office launched a new initiative in early 2023 to examine the copyright issues raised by AI. This initiative aims to explore the scope of copyright in AI-generated works and the use of copyrighted materials in AI training. As AI continues to transform the creative landscape, the U.S. Copyright Office’s efforts to adapt copyright law to these new realities are crucial. By providing clear guidelines and exploring the implications of AI in content creation, the Copyright Office helps ensure that copyright law remains relevant and effective in the digital age.

This blog post was written by Sylvia Watson, library law consultant and legal counsel, Indiana State Library.

Call for entries for Indiana Statehood Day Essay Contest

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The Indiana Center for the Book is hosting an essay competition to commemorate Indiana’s 208th Statehood Day. This year’s theme is “Learning IN Indiana.” The Statehood Day Essay Contest takes place annually in the fall and is open to all Indiana fourth graders.

Essays should be well organized and reflective of the theme “Learning IN Indiana.” Judges are looking forward to seeing students’ interpretation of the theme. The theme can encompass all kinds of learning, like travel, reading, experiences, passions and more. The committee hopes that the theme will build awareness and appreciation for the Hoosier state.

Winners of the essay contest will be honored on Wednesday, Dec. 11 at in-person ceremonies at the Indiana Statehouse and the Indiana State Museum. The winners will be expected to record their essays as well.

Each winner – first place through fourth place – will receive a CollegeChoice 529 deposit of $529 made possible by the Indiana Education Savings Authority.

The essay contest rules are as follows:

– The competition is open to any Indiana fourth grade public, private or homeschooled student in the 2024-25 school year.

– A panel of judges, including Indiana State Library staff and volunteer educators, will choose the first, second, third and fourth place winners.

– Essays must range from 100 to 300 words; handwritten or typed and must be submitted with an entry form.

– Individual entries should use the 2024 individual entry form and class sets should use the 2024 class entry form. The following information should be included on each essay for class sets: student name, teacher name and school name.

– All entries may be mailed or emailed and must be received by Friday, Oct. 25.

– Mailed entry forms can be sent to: Indiana Center for the Book Indiana State Library 140 N. Senate Ave. Indianapolis, IN 46204.

– Emailed entry forms can be sent to this email address as an attachment.

Click here for more information about the 2024 Statehood Day essay contest, including lesson plans for teachers, and to view the 2023 winning essays.

Please contact Suzanne Walker, Indiana Center for the Book director, with any questions.

This blog post was submitted by Indiana Young Readers Center librarian Suzanne Walker.

New Directors Workshop 2024

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On Aug.15, 22 new Indiana public library directors attended the annual New Directors Workshop at the Indiana State Library. The workshop is a chance for new directors to meet each other, as well as Indiana State Library staff, and to receive an orientation to their many duties. Public library consultants Hayley Trefun and Angela Fox hosted the workshop, and various other State Library staff and Indiana public library directors presented on multiple topics.

The workshop offered an orientation to the many resources of the guidebook and its 19 chapters that inform directors on the many tasks and responsibilities necessary for the day-to-day management of public libraries.

The opening presentation focused on the distinct roles of the director versus the board, including standards and library laws. Additional presentations covered certification and resource sharing – including Indiana Share, INSPIRE and Evergreen Indiana. The morning concluded with a walking tour of the Indiana State Library, where participants visited and met staff from the state’s Talking Book and Braille Library, Genealogy, Indiana and Reference divisions.

In the afternoon, directors learned about employment practices and workers’ rights from Beka Lemons, director of the Huntington City-Township Public Library, and budgeting from Lynn Hobbs, director of the Pendleton Community Public Library. Directors received an overview of the E-Rate program and State Board of Accounts. Finally, Kyle Hickman from the Indiana Library Federation closed out the day with an inspiring invitation to participate in the state’s professional association and activities.

A second-day follow up conference was held via Zoom on Aug. 20. The follow-up conference included presentations from Jamie Scott, director of the North Madison Public Library; Michella Marino, deputy director of the Indiana Historical Bureau; and Amy Christiansen, records management liaison at the Indiana Archives and Records Administration. The workshop concluded with an overview of the Professional Development Office and Children’s Services from the Indiana State Library by Paula Newcom.

New directors who begin after this year’s workshop was held can expect to receive an invitation to the annual workshop in the summer of 2025, or can contact Hayley Trefun for more information.

This blog post was written by Jen Clifton, Library Development Office.

A not-so-brief history of the United States passport

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Durable passport books that can easily fit in a pocket are a relatively recent invention. Prior to the 20th century, travel papers were just that: letters or single-page documents from a monarch or government requesting safe passage for their citizens. These travel documents can be traced back millennia to about 450 B.C.E. in ancient Persia. Other early instances of such documentation have been found in India and China as early as the third century B.C.E. In the Middle Ages, travel documents for moving between regions within a country, or to visit colonies or foreign nations were issued in many places around the world, including the Islamic Caliphate, Italian city-states and England. An example of one such document is the secretarial letter of safe conduct issued in the name of King Casimir IV Jagiellon of Poland and given to Anselm Adornes, a merchant from Bruges acting as a diplomat for the Duke of Burgundy, on his way to Persia in the 15th century.

Anselm Adornes secretarial letter of safe conduct from King Casimir IV Jagiellon of Poland, ca. 1470. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

King Louis XIV of France popularized the modern use of passports – still a letter of request for safe passage – by providing a personally signed “passe port” to many of his court favorites. The English word “passport” derives from the French term meaning “to pass through a seaport,” harkening to the days when ship travel was the dominant means of journeying between countries. Most European states likewise developed systems to issue passports to their citizens and visas to visitors.

By the 19th century, passports in European countries had evolved from personally granted letters from monarchs into large, one-page documents issued by authorized government entities. In the United States, passports could be issued by states, cities and notaries public in addition to the Department of State until 1856, when the latter became the sole authority by an act of Congress.

19th century European passports, 1832, 1854. Sources: DuFour family papers (L046) and John B. Stoll collection (L149), Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana State Library.

At that time, the United States and most European countries did not require their citizens to obtain passports to traverse national borders except in times of war. Passports were issued on an ad hoc basis – often to government officials, the wealthy and people of prominence – to smooth the way for their voyaging citizens, but they were not necessary or viewed as long-term forms of identification. The passport of Russell B. Harrison, the son of President Benjamin Harrison, is an example of simple travel papers supplied to someone with high connections. His passport has no identifying information save, “Russell B. Harrison of Montana, a son of the President of the United States, is about proceeding abroad.”

Russell B. Harrison passport, 1889. Source: Benjamin Harrison collection (L063), Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana State Library.

Nineteenth century Euro-American passports were typically a single-sided page with the name of the traveler, their country of origin, a signature from the issuing authority and the issue date, at minimum. They might also include where the holder intended to travel or their purpose in doing so. The papers were not intended for long-term use or identification and often only utilized for single trips. Over the next few decades, passports would often indicate expiration dates, usually six months to two years after issuance. Many passports also included the age and physical description of the document holder, as illustrated by Watson J. Hasselman’s passport from 1873. Photographs would not be utilized for identification on passports until 1914.

Watson J. Hasselman passport, 1873. Source: Hasselman and Blood family papers (L385), Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana State Library.

According to the National Archives, the U.S. State Department issued 130,360 passports between 1810 and 1873. The majority of those passports were issued to white men. After reviewing countless passports, archives specialist Rebecca Sharp of the National Archives only encountered two passports granted to free Black men before the U.S. Civil War. Her finding is unsurprising, since African Americans, free or enslaved, did not have indisputable citizenship until the ratification of the 14th Amendment in 1868.

The rise of tourism in North America and Europe in the mid- to late 19th century caused difficulties for the existing passport and visa systems in Europe and in 1861, France abolished passports and visas, with the rest of Europe following suit. The U.S. continued issuing passports and many Americans still requested them to travel abroad for business, pleasure and to visit family. Over 369,844 passports were granted between 1877 and 1909, indicating the growing popularity of world travel in the late-19th and early 20th centuries.

Until the mid-1800s, it cost nothing to obtain an American passport. The first passport fee of $3 was imposed by Congress in 1862. The fees fluctuated wildly over the next several decades: first rising to $5 in 1865; dropping to zero during 1870-1871; up to $5 again in 1874; then $1 in 1888. The fees then stabilized until 1917 when they rose to $2, before jumping to $10 in 1920 – the most dramatic increase since passport fees were implemented 58 years earlier. Passport fees often made attaining them a luxury for many Americans, especially when they were not required to travel.

U.S. Department of State, “General instructions in regards to passports” document (S3463), Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana State Library.

By the outbreak of World War I in 1914, passport requirements were nonexistent nearly everywhere in Europe and the United States. The First World War brought new concerns for international security, prompting the requirement of passports and visas to travel abroad. In 1920, the League of Nations advocated the concept of a worldwide passport standard, introducing the modern passport format of a small booklet with pages for stamps. Most countries around the world began implementing the new uniform passport guidelines set forth by the League and agreed to continue or add passport requirements. In contrast, the U.S. passport requirement was only a war measure that officially ended when President Wilson left office in 1921. The U.S. was not a member of League of Nations – despite it being the brainchild of its aforementioned president – and did not require passports for international travel again until Nov. 29, 1941, mere days before the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

During the early 1920s, passports were still seen as ephemeral forms of identification so most early booklet passports were not meant to last. Passport covers made of paper were commonplace, as indicated by the 1923 German passport of Erich L. Riesterer, which was taped several times as it fell apart.

Post-World War I, the United States began issuing passport booklets with cardboard covers, but early on, the pages were large foldouts as seen in the 1922 passports of Margaret B. Pierson and the Marshalls in the next section. Regardless, passports were becoming necessities for American travelers if they wanted to visit countries that required them for entry. Interest in leisure travel surged after the war’s end, and when passport application fees dramatically increased in 1920, international travel grew far less feasible for people of limited means. Effectively, the passport requirements of other countries made obtaining an American passport a necessity to cross their borders, sometimes with the addition of costly visas.

Women with wanderlust
During the mid-19th century, men comprised 95 percent of passport applicants. If they were accompanied by dependents – such as wives, children, servants or female wards- their companions’ names, ages, and relationship to the man were stated on the application, if not the passport itself. Oftentimes, women were not even named on a man’s passport, simply denoted by “and wife.” Until the early 20th century, passports for married women in the United States and elsewhere were generally considered unnecessary. Instead, women continued to appear as mere afterthoughts on their husbands’ passports. The idea that a married women might need or desire to travel without their spouses was apparently inconceivable to their governments, while men could cross borders freely without their partners.

The following passports illustrate the differences between travel documentation for women based on their marital status. The first image shows the passport of a single woman, mathematician Margaret B. Pierson, issued on June 7, 1922. It includes her full name, physical description, date of birth, occupation and photograph, as well as the countries she intended to visit.

Margaret B. Pierson passport, 1922. Source: Margaret B. Pierson papers (S1038), Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana State Library.

The second example is the passport of Thomas Riley Marshall, former Indiana governor and Woodrow Wilson’s vice president, which includes his wife, Lois Kimsey Marshall. The only indications of her inclusion in the document are her photograph and the addendum that Marshall would be “accompanied by his wife Lois K.” on the first inside page.

By 1923, American women comprised over 40 percent of passport applicants, according to the National Archives. The passport of Mrs. Cora Calhoun Horne illustrates the new independence a married woman achieved by having her own travel document when she set off to tour Europe in 1929 accompanied, not by her husband, but by her female friend. Aside from the prefix of “Mrs.,” the only mention of her husband on her identification is the contact information provided “in case of death or accident.”

Unlike Horne, who took her husband’s surname, American women who retained their own names after marriage still had a bone to pick with State Department. The same year women attained the right to vote, writer Ruth Hale was issued a passport identifying her as “Mrs. Heywood Broun, otherwise known as Ruth Hale” despite having applied under her maiden name. In response, she cofounded the Lucy Stone League, which fought for a woman’s right to her maiden name. These women viewed passports as vital to their independent identities: if the State Department recognized the use of their birth names, then other government entities would surely follow. Despite a token victory in 1925 when press agent Doris Fleishmann, after several failed attempts, received a passport issued under her birth name, most women’s passports still recorded their identity as the wife of their husband. Finally, Passport Division supervisor Ruth Shipley unceremoniously dropped marital information on passports in 1937.

Horne’s trip abroad was noteworthy in another way. A middle-class African American woman living in Brooklyn, New York, Horne had both the means and the ability to apply for a passport and to travel abroad. Considering the immense legal and economic hardships facing Black Americans during the 1920s due to racial discrimination, Jim Crow, and the scarcity of educational and financial prospects, she had opportunities that many did not. Due to the discrimination facing them at home, having a passport and the resources to travel afforded many African American women and men – some of them performers, athletes and pioneers in their fields – greater opportunities outside the United States in the early to mid-20th century. World-renowned singer, actress and activist Lena Horne, Cora Calhoun Horne’s granddaughter, exemplified this trend.

“Recent” history
As illustrated by the above images, passports grew less ephemeral, undergoing a rapid transformation from the single-page document to a booklet. Beginning in 1926, American passports transformed into true pocket-size booklets with numerous pages and covers composed from more durable materials like the passports of today. Lengthier validity periods took a while to catch up to the more hardwearing form. The period until expiration for American passports increased from two years to three in 1959; to five years in 1968; and to the current ten years sometime after 1976. In essentials, the U.S. passport’s design essentially remained unchanged until a redesign in 2007. The most notable additions to passports and travel control in the 21st century have been the incorporation of technology, specifically microchips and biometrics. These changes in durability and longevity were the result of changes in how passports were utilized.

Following World War II, many countries used passports as a means of travel control due to subsequent global conflicts and national emergencies. In 1952, U.S. passport policy finally changed, requiring all American citizens to have passports to depart from or re-enter the United States, except for certain countries in North and Latin America. By this point, passports had become essential proof of citizenship and identity, particularly in terms of national security. Today, passports are treated as the highest form of identification and used to obtain a driver’s license, open bank accounts and secure housing and employment.

“Your Trip Abroad” pamphlet (U.S. Department of State), 1978. Source: General federal documents, Reference and Government Services, Indiana State Library.

Dramatic changes to society – caused by complex factors such as industrialization, increased access to education, the enfranchisement of women and people of color and war – shaped the role of U.S. passports, and their appearance, during the 19th and 20th centuries. Travel documents evolved from optional, transient means of protection and mobility for the mostly male Euro-American elite, to methods of establishing identity. For the newly enfranchised, like BIPOC and female Americans, passports became symbols of their full citizenship and offered access to opportunities abroad when their rights as citizens were denied them at home. From the perspective of governments, passports became necessary instruments of national security and mandatory forms of identification for people crossing their borders. In this way, the passport was an instrument of protection and freedom to some, while others came to view it as a method of control.

Author’s notes:

  • The title for the post was inspired by another one dated October 18, 2016 from fellow Manuscripts librarian Lauren Patton called, “A Brief History of the United States Passport.” It provides more detailed information about Watson J. Hasselman’s passport from 1873.
  • This post is a companion piece to my exhibit, The Hoosiers Abroad, on display in the Manuscripts Reading Room at the Indiana State Library until mid-September.
  • The history of passports is far broader and more complex than can be fully conveyed here. As our collection centers on Indiana history, and thus provides an abundance of European and American experiences through the mid-20th century, the focus of this post is necessarily limited and does not explore the history of passports in other cultures or parts of the world, nor the impact of imperialism and colonialism upon those cultures. There is much more to study on this topic, including the experiences of Americans of color and the working classes. Particularly, I wish to see more scholarship related to African Americans’ use of passports during the late 19th and 20th century as most of works I encountered ended at the Civil War period. Hopefully, this gap in the literature will eventually be addressed by scholars, allowing for an updated “Not-so-brief history” sometime in the future.

This blog post was written by Rare Books and Manuscripts librarian Brittany Kropf. For more information, contact the Rare Books and Manuscripts Division at 317-232-3671 or via “Ask-A-Librarian.”

Sources
Items from the Indiana State Library collection.

Government of Canada. “History of Passports.” Canada.ca. Modified April 10, 2014. https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/canadians/celebrate-being-canadian/teachers-corner/history-passports.html

Knisely, Sandra. “The 1920s Women Who Fought for the Right to Travel Under Their Own Names.” Atlas Obscura, March 27, 2017. https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/us-passport-history-women

Little, Becky. “See How Women Traveled in 1920.” National Geographic, August 24, 2018. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/women-equality-day-history-politics-passport

Pines, Giulia. “The Contentious History of the Passport.” National Geographic, May 16, 2017. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/a-history-of-the-passport

Puckett, Jessica. “How the U.S. Passport Evolved from Status Symbol to Essential Travel Document.” Condé Nast Traveler, May 1, 2020. https://www.cntraveler.com/story/how-the-us-passport-evolved-from-status-symbol-to-essential-travel-document

Sharp, Rebecca. “A Rare Find: Passport Applications of Free Blacks.” Rediscovering Black History blog, July 22, 2020. https://rediscovering-black-history.blogs.archives.gov/2020/07/22/a-rare-find-passport-applications-of-free-blacks/

United States Passport Office. The United States Passport: Past, Present, Future. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1976.

United States National Archives and Records Administration. “Passport Applications.” National Archives. Last reviewed October 27, 2021. https://www.archives.gov/research/passport

United States National Archives and Records Administration. “Passport Applications, 1795-1925.” National Archives. Last revised November 2014. https://www.archives.gov/files/research/naturalization/400-passports.pdf

Wikipedia. “Passport.” Wikipedia.org. Accessed August 28, 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passport.

Wikipedia. “United States Passport.” Wikipedia.org. Accessed August 28, 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_passport.