Author Archives: indianastatelibrary

I always feel like someone is watching me – the citizen spies of the American Protective League

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The book “German Settlers and German Settlements in Indiana; a Memorial for the State Centennial, 1916” was written to celebrate German Americans in Indiana for the state’s 100th anniversary. Yet, by 1917, much had changed. The United States had entered World War I on April 6, 1917 and Germans in the country were under new scrutiny.

A Spy is Born
In 1917, an idea was birthed at Indiana’s doorstep in Chicago by Albert M. Briggs, a wealthy businessman. Briggs became concerned about the abilities of the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Investigation to handle the demands of their jobs; so he started a volunteer group of fellow businessmen to drive Bureau of Investigation agents in need of automobile transportation. The group, known as the American Protective League, eventually donated motor vehicles to the Bureau.

The gift of the automobiles opened the door to Briggs making a proposal to the chief of the Bureau that the American Protective League further assist the Bureau by looking for German spies.

Volume 1, Number 1, June 4, 1918.

Approval was given on March 20, 1917. Bureau of Investigation agents were informed that a volunteer committee was being formed to co-operate with the department for gathering information of those foreign persons unfriendly to the government. The American Protection League would provide information to the agents at the agents’ request and would also gather and provide information on their own volition.

The American Protection League’s day-to-day concerns involved tracking down draft dodgers – in the slang of the time, known as slackers – and German spies ensconced stateside. Specifically, the American Protection League was concerned with enemy aliens, first-paper aliens (i.e., those Germans that had filed their intention to become a naturalized citizen), pro-German “radicals,” native-born Germans, naturalized Germans, possible spies or German agents and pro-German applicants for government positions.

To achieve their many and varied goals, since they had no legal or official authority, agents would sometimes tar and feather suspects, drive the suspect out of town, burn down a suspect’s home or lynch the suspect. Complaints were made to the Attorney General’s Office that accused the American Protective League of wiretapping, illegal arrests, extortion, kidnapping, rape and murder.

Over concerns by the Attorney General that the American Protective League with their vigilante tendencies had violated individual rights – and since the war was over – the American Protection League was shut down and disbanded by the Federal Government in February of 1919. However, the American Protective League unofficially kept the hate alive by easily transferring the hatred from German Americans to Russian Americans suspected of being Bolsheviks.

Good Old Hoosier Hostile-ality
During World War I, all over the nation, anti-German sentiment was seen as patriotic, and Indiana was just as patriotic as any other state. In the Hoosier state, anti-German sentiment included the cessation of teaching German in schools, the death of German newspapers and the suspicion of German names.

The Hammond Lake County Times, April 9, 1918.

The Hoosier state saw German spies everywhere, as demonstrated by this editorial from the Richmond Palladium newspaper:

Richmond Palladium (Daily), Volume 42, Number 316, Nov. 16, 1917.

In Hammond, a girl turned in her boyfriend to the police whom she suspected of being a German spy; he also had a wife in Chicago.

German Hoosiers wrote letters to their local newspapers decrying their innocence of espionage.

Even Kurt Vonnegut’s grandmother Nannette Vonnegut was spied on by the family’s chauffeur.

The American Protective League in Indiana
American Protective Leagues were formed in many Indiana communities; including Howard County, Huntington, Elkhart, Evansville, Lake County and, of course, Indianapolis.

The Indianapolis Protection League boasted of the internment of 50 alien enemies and the handling of over a thousand cases.

The work of the Indiana American Protective League can be found in the American Protection League’s authorized history: “The Web – A Revelation of Patriotism:”

“Though wireless scares are most frequent on the seaboard, almost every city can boast several of them. An Indianapolis operative thought he had discovered certain wireless antennae on the property of a family with a German name. A pole was found fastened to the roof of a shed, wires being used to connect it with the attic of the house. It was noticed that the attic had close-drawn blinds, whence lights were occasionally seen. The whole thing simmered down to an outfit put up by some young men to practice telegraphy.”

And

“On this same expedition we stopped to see the Lutheran minister as private citizens, and told him that the people of Jasper County wanted no more German preaching and no more German teaching in the schools; also they would like to see Old Glory floating from the mast-head. We told him also that this was the last time that he would be notified. In about three hours we returned that way and stopped again. Old Glory was floating at the mast-head; the German school books had disappeared, and there has been no more German teaching nor preaching.”

If you are wondering if anyone in your family was accused of being a German spy or even someone that did the spying; you are in luck!

Ancestry – available for free when you visit the Indiana State Library – has the following collections: American Protective League Members Record Cards and Registers of Members, 1917-1919 (and yes it includes the state of Indiana!) and American Protective League Correspondence, 1917-1919 – Correspondence on Investigations.

The Indiana State Library also has in its collections the Indianapolis American Protective League Membership List; American Protective League of Indianapolis During World War; call number: [Vault] ISLV 940.3772 I388B.

You can also search the Indiana State Library’s various newspaper databases for ancestors’ names in the results that are returned with the words “German spy” and “American Protective League.”

This blog post is by Angi Porter, Genealogy Division librarian.

Additional Resources
Alien Enemy Index, 1917-1919.

American Protective League. Issues of the Newsletter “Spy Glass,” 06/04/1918–01/25/191. Series A1 16. NAID: 597894. Records of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1896–2008, Record Group 65. The National Archives in Washington, D.C.

“Genealogical Records of German Families in Allen County, Indiana 1918;” call number: ISLG 977.201 A425BL.

Genealogical Records of German Families in Allen County, Indiana 1918.

Huntington County in the World War. Volume 1, number 21 – American Protective League.

The Web – “A Revelation of Patriotism.”

“800 ARE NAMED AS ENEMY ALIENS: Complete List Given of Local Residents Affected by Government Order – Names of Unnaturalized Germans Registered Here;” The Indianapolis Star, December 7, 1917, page 12.

Gordon Tanner, former State Librarian

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Established in 1825, the Indiana State Library is approaching its 200th anniversary. The head of the agency is the State Librarian. There have been 33 State Librarians in position since 1841. From 1825 to 1841, the role of State Librarian was played by the Indiana Secretary of State. Nineteenth century State Librarians held the appointed position for only a few years, and the appointment was usually as a political party favor of some sort. Demarcus Brown changed that legacy when he held the position for twenty years, between1906 and 1926. The position is now hired by a board, no longer appointed by the legislature. This is a brief sketch of one of the early politically-appointed State Librarians, Gordon Tanner. Tanner served as State Librarian from 1854-1856.

Image taken from Library Occurrent, vol. 26, no. 12, November 1980.

Tanner was a young man when he served as Indiana’s State Librarian. He was only 24 years old. Tanner’s annual reports as State Librarian are critical about the lack of support the library was receiving. He reports, if the wages are not increased, he’ll have to abandon the post and seek other work, or he’d starve to death. He took over the books of the Indiana Law Library without authority, claiming they weren’t being cared for properly. He reports the State Library was not being given sufficient appropriations to continue to loan books, which required repair or replacement when damaged, lost or stolen. He wanted lending to cease. Ironically, the State Library report of 1862 lists Tanner among those with overdue books. Interestingly, Governor Morton was also guilty of not returning library material. Morton borrowed the Koran in 1861 and is on the overdue list in the 1862 report.

Tanner’s role as State Librarian is a blip in his whirlwind of life. Tanner served in the Mexican American War. He was active in Indiana Democratic party politics. He was Assistant Secretary of the 1850 Indiana Constitutional Convention. He was elected by the legislature as State Librarian between 1854 and 1856. Then, elected by the people of Indiana as Reporter of the Supreme Court between 1857 and 1860. He immediately and dramatically resigned that position at the Democratic State Convention when he learned he did not win the nomination for a second term. His final service was as a Major of the 22nd Indiana regiment in the Civil War. He was killed in Missouri in 1861, at the age of 32. Fast and furious, 1850s style.

Plymouth Democrat, Jan. 17, 1856.

While Tanner is described as bookish and intellectual, the newspaper record leads one to believe he was also an assertive and confrontational man of the times. There are reports of arguments at state party conventions, a public argument with Speaker of the House, Johnathan Gordon, and at one point the New Albany Ledger essentially calls him a jackass. A newspaper published his response to a request to use the State House lawn, which the State Librarian had authority over in those days. He grants approval to a rival political faction, acknowledging he did so because refusal would be “misrepresented as dictated by party spirit alone.” He ended the letter with, “you will please see that no damage is done to the shrubbery.”

It seems he was not shy about voicing his opinions which left him open to criticism, but also served him well in gaining him notoriety and influence in some circles. Major Gordon Tanner died in 1861 from wounds sustained in a skirmish of the Civil War. He was shot in the groin. The Indiana State Sentinel, who had a tumultuous relationship with Tanner, reports his death sympathetically “We have not time nor have the heart to say more than Gordon Tanner is dead, and that he died in service of his country – defending its honor and its flag.”1

Rest in peace Mr. Tanner. It sounds like you had a wild ride.

Tanner is buried at Crown Hill in Indianapolis, Loc: Sec 2, Lt 65.

Image found online at an auction site which said the photo is thought to have been given to the G.A.R. Tanner Post, Jackson County, by his son. The photograph is listed as sold.

Note: Stevenson’s Roll of Honor has a wonderful biographical sketch of Tanner. Accessible online here. The sketch says Tanner could read and write at the age of six and used his local library in Brownstown, Indiana regularly.

This post was written by Monique Howell, Indiana Collection supervisor.

1. Cited in the Lafayette Courier Journal, Oct. 1, 1861.

Lucy Way Sistare Say

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On Thursday, Dec. 8, 1825, a keelboat titled The Philanthropist pushed away from a dock in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and began its long voyage west along the Ohio River. The ships passengers were among some of Pennsylvania’s most prominent intellectuals. Comprised of scientists, educators, social reformers and artists, the ship was dubbed the Boatload of Knowledge by Robert Owen, whose utopian ideals formed the basis of the endeavor. The passengers were en route to settle in New Harmony, Indiana and were the initial participants in Owen’s experiment in cooperative and socialistic communal living.

Among the many talented individuals on the Boatload of Knowledge was a young woman named Lucy Way Sistare, who had been educated in Philadelphia under the tutelage of a progressive educator named Madame Marie Fretageot. While a student, Sistare studied scientific illustration and even received instruction from famous American naturalist, John James Audubon.

Lucy Say towards the end of her life. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

Among the other passengers was the entomologist Thomas Say. By 1825, Say had been on numerous scientific expeditions into the American frontier and was one of the first scientists to officially document many specimens of North America. He helped found the Academy of Natural Science of Philadelphia and was made captain of the Boatload of Knowledge.

Portrait of Thomas Say by Rembrandt Peale from Wikimedia Commons.

The boat reached Mount Vernon, Indiana on Jan. 23, 1826 and the travelers continued by land to the settlement in New Harmony.

Sistare had likely met Say in Philadelphia prior to the voyage to Indiana, but the long journey combined with the arduous task of living in a frontier community must have caused a bond to develop between the two as they were married less than a year later on Jan. 4, 1827. Lucy spent her time in New Harmony teaching illustration techniques while Thomas continued to explore the natural world.

The couple’s distinct talents came together to produce the book “American Conchology, or Descriptions of the Shells of North America.” Thomas’s descriptive text was accompanied by Lucy’s meticulous illustrations, many of which were hand-colored either by her or two of her New Harmony students. Printed by the New Harmony School Press in 1830, it is one of the earliest books published in the state of Indiana.

Title page for “American Conchology.”

Two examples of Lucy Say’s work from “American Conchology.”

Thomas would die in 1834. Lucy left New Harmony soon afterwards. She would become the first female member of the Academy of Natural Science of Philadelphia, the scientific society her husband helped to create. She continued to be involved in scientific endeavors until her death in 1886.

The book Thomas and Lucy created in the frontier community of New Harmony continues to be highly sought after by book collectors. Among early American scientific books, it stands out primarily due to Lucy’s meticulous and delicately rendered illustrations.

This blog post was written by Jocelyn Lewis, Catalog Division supervisor, Indiana State Library. For more information, contact the Indiana State Library at 317-232-3678 or “Ask-A-Librarian.”

Sources
Pitzer, Donald E. (1989). “The original Boatload of Knowledge down the Ohio River: William Maclure’s and Robert Owen’s transfer of science and education to the Midwest,” 1825-1826. Ohio Journal of Science, 89(5), 128-142.

Say, Thomas. (1830). “American Conchology, or Descriptions of the Shells of North America.” New Harmony School Press.

“Say’s creative process.” American Philosophical Society. Retrieved Aug. 13, 2024 from https://www.amphilsoc.org/museum/exhibitions/lucy-says-shells/says-creative-process

How the Indiana State Library supports state correctional facilities

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Did you know that one of the responsibilities of the Indiana State Library’s regional coordinators is visiting correctional facilities within their region? Our newest Southwest regional coordinator Meg Adams and I will be visiting one of these institutions this coming Friday. I like to accompany new regional coordinators, or ask one of the other coordinators to go with them on their first visit, because it can be a bit intimidating.

Most correctional facilities don’t employ librarians with a Master of Library Science degree, so the regional coordinators visit the correctional facilities in their region to consult with the person who oversees the library and see if they need any support from the Indiana State Library. They also send a letter to the library staff after confirming their visit which is required so the facility can maintain their accreditation through the American Correctional Association.

Another ACA requirement for library staff in correctional facilities is to obtain a certain number of continuing education credits. To help with this, the Indiana State Library’s Professional Development Office has planned the last two Institutional Workshops to share Indiana State Library resources as well as bring in outside presenters to speak about other topics of interest related to their jobs.

Last year, we invited representatives from the Integrated Reentry and Correctional Support – or IRACS – to speak. This program works directly with the institutions to provide peer support and community resources to make reentry easier for those who are leaving incarceration. IRACS started in 2022 as a pilot program with the Family Social Services Administration for Indiana in five counties – Blackford, Daviess, Dearborn, Delaware and Scott. Services have continued for the original five counties, and they have added Clark and Fayette counties. There are an additional 12 counties in progress and eighteen other counties who are interested in IRACS. Visit this map to see if your county is one of these counties. You can learn more about the re-entry program and how it works by visiting their website. Indiana is making great strides by offering this program because 62.5% complete the program and the recidivism rate is 13%.

Indiana State Library also offers interlibrary loan services to institutions so they can request books to supplement their collections. Another service the Indiana State library offers is the Read to Me literacy program facilitated by Terry Black. It provides children’s books, cassette tapes, CD-ROMS, CD Sleeves, mailing envelopes and postage for mailing the tapes/CD-ROMs with cases, and books to the facilities that participate. The Read to Me program provides a chance for the child and their parent to have a shared reading and learning experience.

The Indiana State Library is committed to supporting correctional facility libraries and enhancing the educational opportunities for both staff and inmates.

This blog post was submitted by Kara Cleveland, Professional Development Office supervisor at the Indiana State Library.

SRCS ending Sept. 30

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The difficult decision was made to discontinue SRCS, the Statewide Remote Circulation Service, after nearly eight years. Through SRCS, nearly 200 libraries were able to borrow and share materials via interlibrary loan. Beginning Sept. 1, 2024, these material requests should be sent through Indiana Share, the Indiana State Library’s mediated service hosted by OCLC, as SRCS will cease operations on Sept. 30. Indiana State Library staff will review and process each request received, and requests can be sent to local, Indiana or even out-of-state libraries upon a borrower’s request.

While SRCS was in place, there was a limit to the number of requests that could be sent through Indiana Share. To help with the transition back to Share, all fees for the program will be eliminated and there will be no caps on the number of transactions that libraries can request for the first year. The Indiana State Library will evaluate the feasibility of continuing those changes to the Share program going forward.

The Indiana State Library also encourages libraries that are heavier interlibrary loan users to consider subscribing to OCLC First Search, which allows libraries to place their own requests for materials, as well as lend their own items. The State Library holds a First Search license for the state and provides a subsidy to offset the cost. Interested libraries should contact Stephanie Asberry by Sept. 1, 2024.

A training on Indiana Share is scheduled for Aug. 19, 2024, at 10 a.m. Eastern Time to go over the system. Libraries can register for this Zoom training here. A recording will be made available for those unable to attend.

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

Genealogy Fair returns to Indiana State Library in October

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The popular Genealogy and Local History Fair will return to the Indiana State Library on Saturday, Oct. 26, from 10:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.

This year’s theme is “At the Crossroads of America: Westward Migration and Family History,” and will examine where the ancestors of many Americans went after they arrived in the United States, and how they got there. The fair will feature a full day of genealogy presentations and exhibitors.

Registration is not required but is preferred. Click here to register and to read more details about the presentations and speaker.

Indiana library staff can receive up to three LEUs for attending. Those seeking LEUs should register for recordkeeping purposes.

Parking validation will be available for attendees who park in the Senate Avenue parking garage directly across from the library and bring their ticket in for validation.

Eleanor Brinsko will present “Westward Ho: Migrations Methods of the United States.” Brinsko will focus on the people who have called the land called America “home” and the methods they chose to migrate across the country. Questions like “How did they get to their chosen place of settlement?” and “What modes of transportation were available?” will be answered.

Annette Burke Lyttle will present “How Advertising Brought Our Ancestors to the Midwest.” Business owners, land speculators and communities wishing to grow all turned to various forms of advertising to entice people to migrate to the Midwestern territories and states. Lyttle will look at what kinds of messages these ads used in order to make hard work and pioneer living seem attractive.

Lyttle will also present “The National Road: America’s First Federal Highway.” Built between 1811 and 1837, the National Road was the first federally-funded highway in America. Extending from Maryland to the frontier of Illinois, this migration route allowed thousands of people to settle in the Midwest.

Genealogy and Local History Fair, 2018.

Eleanor Brinsko is a genealogist who does European-American genealogy by looking at genealogical and social trends on both sides of the Atlantic. Eleanor has given lectures for the Wisconsin Historical Society and public libraries, genealogical societies and family reunions around the United States. She taught a graduate-level course on genealogy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s iSchool and is also a contributor to the show “PBS’ Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates Jr.”

Annette Burke Lyttle, CG® owns Heritage Detective, LLC, providing professional genealogical services in research, education and writing. She speaks on a variety of genealogical topics at the international, national, state and local levels and loves helping people uncover and share their family stories. Annette is a course coordinator for the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy and the British Institute. She is a published writer whose research interests include Quaker ancestors and ancestral migrations in the U.S. She is past president of the Association of Professional Genealogists and editor of The Florida Genealogist.

For questions, or to register as an exhibitor, please email the Genealogy Division of the Indiana State Library.

This blog post is by Jamie Dunn, Genealogy Division supervisor.

Digital FDLP

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In February 2024, the Government Publishing Office announced their intention to transition to a Digital Federal Depository Library Program. The change came in response to two questions directed at the agency: “Can GPO transition to a digital FDLP?” and “Should they?” GPO answered “Yes” to both.

What does that mean? What will change? The biggest change moving forward is the primary medium for information will now be digital, not print. Depository libraries will no longer be able to collect everything published in print. The information is still accessible to anyone, just online. Federal document librarians can help navigate the sea of change. Accessing government information is easier than ever, one just needs to know where to look.

Two great resources for accessing federal information are GovInfo.gov and USA.gov. GovInfo, which is produced by GPO, provides free public access to official publications from all three branches of the Federal Government. The site does more than just allow public access. GovInfo is also a content management system, designed to ensure security and integrity of information, and a digital repository that will allow information to be preserved for generations. The site is ideal for researchers looking for documents from Congress, the President or federal agencies.

USA.gov is the official website of the U.S. government, and a great resource for those trying to find information on services provided by the federal government. The site is great for finding out how to get a passport, register to vote, check the status of tax returns, apply for a government job, learn about government benefits or anything about the government. The search engine on USA.gov allows users to search for information on any government site, .gov sites, which ensures results are from trusted reliable sources.

Both resources are excellent resources to use to find government information. Government documents librarians are also great resources to assist research. Federal depository libraries like the Indiana State Library all have a full-time staff member who specializes in government documents.

This blog post was written by Indiana State Library federal documents coordinator Brent Abercrombie. For more information, contact the Reference and Government Services at 317-232-3678 or via “Ask-A-Librarian.”

Shirley family collection

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The Shirley family collection is a recently-processed collection that contains an interesting item. The collection consists of a copy of “Stemmata Shirleiana,” along with a photo album belonging to Ellen Shirley of Baltimore, Maryland. The book was purchased by the Indiana State Library in 1951. The bookseller gave the library the album since it was in the same lot of items that he had purchased. The photo album contains several images of not only Ellen Shirley’s immediate family, but also more distant relations of William Shirley.

William Shirley, Ellen’s husband, was born January 1816 in London. His family was involved in the crockery and glassware trade, something he followed in their footsteps by being sent to Brussels to learn the trade.

When William was 18, he immigrated to Baltimore and found a job in a crockery firm. His brothers John and Jesse Shirley also came to America and traveled to California where they were involved with the glassware and crockery business. Jesse Shirley died in March of 1862 in Sacramento, California, while John died in 1911 in San Francisco. In the album is a photograph of Jesse Shirley probably from around the 1850s, as well as a later photograph of his brother John in California.

William and Ellen Shirley had four children: Henry Clay, William Walter, Hannah and Eliza Ann Shirley. Some of the children are represented in the photo album. There are also two photographs of Henry Clay Shirley’s sons – Henry Clay, Jr. and Joseph Whitney Shirley – in the album wearing uniforms from the Pennsylvania Military Academy.

William Shirley’s maternal cousins are also featured in the book. John and William Arnold along with William’s wife Emma left England in 1831 for the United States arriving and living in New York, before traveling south to Baltimore in the 1840s. By the 1860 census both John, William and his family are living in Terre Haute. After William Arnold’s death in 1860, the family moved to Indianapolis where they are found in the 1870 census. Two of William’s daughters married men who were photographers. His oldest, Elizabeth, married Adam Rodabaugh Miller in December of 1851 while his youngest daughter Mary married William H. Salter in September of 1865.

William H. Salter was born in Indiana in 1839. He married Mary L. Arnold in September of 1865. By 1870, William was a partner in a photography studio with his wife’s brother-in-law Adam R. Miller. He worked with Miller until 1872 when he went out on his own. Around 1873, he partnered with Judd. Their partnership only lasted a few years and by 1877 William was back out on his own. William ran his own studio until December of 1882 when he died of typhoid fever. He was buried at Crown Hill cemetery. In the collection are several photographs of his daughters Emma and Bessie, these were taken during his time at Salter & Judd’s.

Adam R. Miller was born in Montgomery County, Ohio on June 9, 1827. He married Elizabeth Arnold in Montgomery County, Ohio in December of 1851. He moved with the Shirleys to Terre Haute, showing up on the 1860 census with the family. In Terre Haute, Adam ran a studio, but by the mid-1860s he had partnered with Francis L. Frank operating a studio in Indianapolis. He would later partner with William H. Salter running a studio for a couple years in the 1870s. He had one daughter with Elizabeth, Sarah Lydia Miller, who would die in 1882. Adam and Elizabeth had a tumultuous relationship getting married and divorced twice. He also had issues with creditors and landlords due to nonpayment of bills. By 1880, Adam had ended his photography business and was a real estate agent. There are two unlabeled photographs by him in Ellen Shirley’s photo album, one of a woman and the other a young girl who could possibly be Elizabeth Arnold Miller and Sarah Lydia Miller.

You can see more of the Shirley photographs by going to the Indiana State Library’s Digital Collections page and searching “Shirley,” or by visiting the State Library.

Blog written by Sarah Pfundstein, genealogy librarian, Indiana State Library. For more information, contact the Indiana State Library at 317-232-3689 or “Ask-A-Librarian.”

Don Hurd: Proactive preservation

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Currently, the Indiana State Library holds microfilm for over 100 Indiana newspapers. Two-thirds are dailies, and most of the remaining titles are weeklies. But, that number fluctuates amid the growing epidemic of newspaper closures. On one hand, only a small percentage of the nation’s documents can be saved. On the other hand, the newspaper is an exemplary specimen when examined against the checklist for archival preservation. A local newspaper is an official document that can be used in a court of law. It reflects the surrounding community, outlines changes in infrastructure, provides glimpses into the lives of citizens, and offers a record of marriages, crimes (sometimes even exposing them for the first time), graduations, deaths and new business ventures. Your town paper is an important piece of the national puzzle of U.S. history. Such documents inspired the first Constitutional Amendment, supporting journalism as well as assembly. Although free speech doesn’t allow me to cry “fire” in a crowded room, I must inform you that the future of our national history is indeed on fire.

The digital revolution has not diminished the need for newspapers in our communities. There is no other news source that is reliable enough to replace newspapers. In fact, the bulk of material being scrolled on smartphones has been altered by activists. Even so, most of us aren’t buying our local papers anymore, resulting in fewer ad dollars for publishers who must shut down their presses. 3,000 U.S. newspaper publishers have announced they were closing in the last 20 years. A large percentage of this number did so after the pandemic shifted our comfort zone into the current digital-consumption lifestyle that now leaves readers frustrated and confused.

Enter Mr. Don Hurd, an investor who has worked in newspaper management for over 40 years. With degrees in marketing as well as journalism, he has been able to invent new methods for financing local papers. Hurd was on the board of the Hoosier State Press Association for 18 years, and now provides us all with a working model for reviving a town newspaper. Having worked in the business of newspapers all his life, he understands the importance of a “hyper-local” record. In a statement that could bring a tear to the eye of an archivist, he mused that “I call it refrigerator journalism because my parents would always cut out articles about their children and post them proudly on their refrigerator for all to see.” As of 2022, he had revived over 20 Indiana titles, and he is still going. In April of 2021, he told the Seattle Times, “Whenever I hear of a community that’s supposedly losing their newspaper it really pains me when that happens so I do whatever I can,” he said. “I try to look for opportunities that are out there and make sure the community has got a local newspaper they can be proud of, and serve their needs.”

The Seattle Times reporter, Brier Dudley, obviously had a stake in this effort. He observed, “I’ve written about ways to help news outlets survive as the market evolves and they pursue new business models. But, ultimately what’s needed to sustain America’s free-press system is a multitude of local owners willing and able to support journalism in every city and county. That’s happening in large cities, where wealthy, civic-minded investors are trying to preserve flagship newspapers.”

In the increasing uproar about war overseas and the impending election, this subject is rarely discussed on news programs. But the federal government has been monitoring the problem. Congressional think tanks have been brainstorming newspaper revival techniques and sponsoring grants. Towns and counties are investing in their newspapers so that tax payers have an investment in their own journalism. Then, there are private citizens who have the means – either financially or by showing a working knowledge of the business – who can do the heavy lifting. There are many ways to revive our dying newspapers, but Hurd is in the vanguard of real-time research to increase financial stability. The journalists can do the rest. We must actively support and revive our local papers, or we will find that there is nothing left to preserve. We must allow newspapers to continue telling the “story of us.”

Some local newspapers have become mere reprints of pre-existing regional and national news. Following the rules of archival evaluation, one could argue that such newspapers no longer fit the paradigm to meet preservation standards. Others could argue that it is not the archivist’s place to question newspapers, but to preserve all of them without question. Do you believe that current newspaper assessment procedures will lead to “skipping” certain titles? Has this subject been addressed at your library?

This post was submitted by David Pleiss, newspaper librarian with the Indiana Division of the Indiana State Library. 

2024 National Book Festival and Indiana author event!

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The Library of Congress is once again presenting the National Book Festival. The 24th annual festival will take place in-person on Aug. 24 at the Washington Convention Center in Washington D.C., but you don’t have to go all the way to Washington to experience the festival. Indiana is having a National Book Festival Event in downtown Indianapolis on Aug. 10th!

Each year the Indiana Center for the Book chooses two authors to feature during the festival, one who writes for children and one who writes for adults. This year we are proud to highlight Gabrielle Balkan’s picture book “What a Map Can Do” and Kaveh Akbar’s novel “Martyr!”

The Indiana Center for the Book is partnering with Indiana Humanities to host a program with Balkan in-person at 1 p.m. on Aug. 10 at the Indiana State Library. Please join us for this family-friendly event featuring a talk from Gabrielle Balkan and mapping activities for kids. Kids Ink will be on hand to sell books, and you can park for free at the State Garage across the street from the Indiana State Library. Bring your ticket into the library to get it validated. The event is free but registration is required.

In addition to these two authors, Indiana author Candace Fleming will also be at the festival in-person. Fleming’s book “The Enigma Girls” is featured in a toolkit put together by Indiana Humanities and Indiana Center for the Book. Use the toolkit to develop your own local programs related to these authors or the National Book Festival. If you do a local program, Indiana Humanities wants to hear about it. Fill out this form to share your local National Book Festival related programs.

Last year at the National Book Festival, Sammy the Interviewing Toucan was in attendance and got to speak with Kim Howard, Indiana author of the award-winning book “Grace and Box,” featured at the festival in 2023. It was a dynamic day full of people, books and conversations. Enjoy the video here.

Each year the National Book Festival is a time to celebrate our Hoosier literary heritage on a national scale. We hope you can participate by either coming to the festival in person, attending our Gabrielle Balkan author event, or interacting with the program guide. Indiana’s authors are definitely something to celebrate!

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