Category Archives: Administration

Applications now being accepted for 2025 Indiana State Library Bicentennial Research Fellowship

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In honor of the Indiana State Library’s 200th anniversary, the Indiana State Library Bicentennial Committee, in conjunction with the Indiana State Library Foundation, will support one Indiana State Library Bicentennial Research Fellowship for 2025.

Emerging or established researchers and historians who are prepared to conduct and publish new research and scholarship with a focus on Indiana history, or a specific collection housed at the Indiana State Library, are encouraged to apply. The fellowship provides a $1,000 stipend to support in-person research for five consecutive work days at the Indiana State Library in downtown Indianapolis.

Applicants must be emerging or established historians, researchers, authors, post-docs or graduate students with proven writing skills, a demonstrated passion for Indiana history and the ability to perform in-person research at the Indiana State Library for five consecutive days, Monday through Friday, between Jan. 6-Dec. 19, 2025. Applicants can be based anywhere in the U.S., but the committee particularly encourages Indiana residents outside of Marion County to apply.

Those interested should submit a completed Indiana State Library Bicentennial Application along with a one-page research statement or proposal, a resume or CV with a maximum of three pages, one letter of recommendation and up to three writing samples. The application should be submitted via email. Writing samples may be submitted as PDF or Word files and should be no longer than 20 pages each.

The application deadline is Tuesday, Nov. 26. The Fellowship will be awarded by Tuesday, Dec. 31.

Click here to read more.

This post was submitted by the Indiana State Library administrative team. 

Indiana State Library renews INSPIRE contract; offers new learning resources for Hoosiers

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The Indiana State Library has announced the renewal of its INSPIRE contract with EBSCO Information Services and TeachingBooks. INSPIRE, Indiana’s Lifelong Learning Library for Hoosiers, is a collection of more than 70 online academic databases and other information resources that can be accessed by Indiana residents at no cost at inspire.in.gov. The new contract enhances INSPIRE product offerings to provide a robust collection of online resources to all residents of Indiana who have internet access at school, home or work. 

Beginning July 1, residents of Indiana will have access to all EBSCO resources that have previously been available through INSPIRE, as well as a few new databases. Resources span across various research needs offering academic, business and general interest resources, including EBSCO’s distinguished Academic Search Complete™ and Business Source Complete™ resources. EBSCO databases available through INSPIRE also include medical research resources, as well as children’s and teens’ resources, e-book collections, communications and literature resources, newspapers and multilingual materials.  

New to the collection, Job & Career Accelerator™ provides job seekers with tools to explore careers, build resumes and find and apply for open positions. Rosetta Stone Library Solution Plus™, an interactive world language immersion program, will also be accessible and includes more than 50 hours of foundational instruction in each level of each language. LearningExpress Library Complete™ is also now part of the collection and provides academic skill-building, test prep and career-related resources.  

Additionally, the Indiana State Library has renewed its contract with TeachingBooks, a resource collection that includes author and illustrator interviews, video book trailers, audio book readings, book discussion guides and more. TeachingBooks can be accessed via INSPIRE.  

Indiana State Librarian Jacob Speer anticipates continued success with the wealth of resources INSPIRE provides to the residents of Indiana. “We look forward to continuing our relationship with TeachingBooks and EBSCO and to seeing the benefits that our residents gain from the comprehensive collection of resources made available to encourage lifelong learning,” Speer said. 

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

Indiana Digital Library users borrow 6.6 million digital books in 2023

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The Indiana Digital Library has announced that its patrons reached a new milestone: 6.6 million digital books borrowed in 2023. This achievement illustrates the library’s commitment to serving all members of the community in innovative ways, including with a large catalog of e-books, audiobooks and other digital media. Indiana Digital Library is ranked fifth of all public library e-book consortia and one of 152 total public library systems worldwide that surpassed one million checkouts last calendar year. View a complete list here.

Indiana Digital Library member libraries have been providing readers continuous access to e-books, audiobooks, magazines, comic books and other digital content for several years through the award-winning Libby app, the library reading app created by OverDrive. The large collection serves readers of all ages and interests, and usage has grown throughout the years. Some of the member libraries include Plainfield-Guildford Township Public Library, Perry County Public Library, Whiting Public Library, Brownstown Public Library and Berne Public Library.

“The Indiana Digital Library has, once again, exceeded expectations. The consortium is beyond thrilled to have reached the one million digital book checkout milestone for the second consecutive year,” said Jacob Speer, Indiana State Librarian. “The State Library will continue to support the Indiana library community’s collaborative effort to bring e-book access to the public while saving taxpayer funds.”

The highest-circulating title Indiana Digital Library readers borrowed in 2023 was “It Starts with Us” by Colleen Hoover. The top-circulating genre, romance, represents the most popular in a vast catalog that also includes thriller, suspense, children and young adult, mystery and more.

The top five e-book titles borrowed through Indiana Digital Library’s digital collection in 2023:

  • “It Starts with Us” by Colleen Hoover.
  • “Verity” by Colleen Hoover.
  • “It Ends with Us” by Colleen Hoover.
  • “Lessons in Chemistry” by Bonnie Garmus.
  • “Spare” by Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex.

The top five audiobook titles borrowed through Indiana Digital Library’s digital collection in 2023:

  • “False Witness” by Karin Slaughter.
  • “A Darker Shade of Magic” by V. E. Schwab.
  • “It Starts with Us” by Colleen Hoover.
  • “The Coworker” by Freida McFadden.
  • “Happy Place” by Emily Henry.

Residents of Indiana only need a valid library card from a member library to access digital books from Indiana Digital Library’s OverDrive-powered digital collection. Readers can use any major device, including Apple®, Android™, Chromebook™ and Kindle®.

Download the Libby app, or click here, to get started borrowing e-books, audiobooks and more anytime, anywhere.

Recently, Speer was in studio for an interview with WISH-TV in Indianapolis, in which he discussed the Indiana Digital Library. Click here to view the interview.

OverDrive is a mission-based company that stands with libraries. Named a Certified B Corp in 2017, OverDrive serves tens of thousands of libraries and schools in over 100 countries with the industry’s largest digital catalog of e-books, audiobooks, video and other content. Award-winning apps and services include the Libby library reading app, the Sora student reading app, Kanopy, the leading video streaming app for libraries and colleges and TeachingBooks.net, which offers one of the largest catalogs of supplemental materials that enhance literacy outcomes.

This post was written by John Wekluk, communications director at the Indiana State Library.

Discovery to Delivery 2023!

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The Indiana State Library and the Academic Libraries of Indiana will be hosting the 13th annual Discovery to Delivery conference, a free one-day in-person conference dedicated to resource sharing. This year’s theme is “Exploring New Pathways to Sharing,” and will take place on Friday, Oct. 13, 2023, from 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. ET.


The agenda includes updates relating to resource sharing services hosted by the Indiana State Library, including Evergreen Indiana, as well as updates by vendors, including OCLC and Auto-Graphics. Scott Garrison, executive director of MCLS, will present the keynote address “The State of Resource Sharing Today: From Pain Points Toward Potential.” During his keynote, Scott will discuss the current and potential future state of library resource sharing and will engage Indiana’s resource sharing community in a look at topics including resource sharing in Indiana and Michigan, current and emerging technology and other developments, current pain points for libraries and desired future directions.

Breakout sessions include presentations Abby Chumin from the Talking Books division at the Indiana State Library, who will discuss the different methods of delivery of library materials for library users with a print disability, and Holli Moseman and Melissa Gustafson, from Indiana State University, who will present on how ISU ILL works with other library units with the goal of providing better services to ISU patrons and other libraries. Please check out the full agenda here.

D2D is open to all Indiana libraries – public, academic, school, special, institutional and more! Register here for free! Registration must be completed by Friday, Sept. 29, to be guaranteed a lunch. Location and parking information can be found here.

Please send any questions about D2D to the Conference Committee.

This blog post was written by Stephanie Asberry, deputy director of public and statewide services at the Indiana State Library.

Building updates at the Indiana State Library

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Construction of the Indiana State Library began in 1932. Two years later, in 1934, the building opened its doors. In 1976, an addition was built on to the building and in 2000 a major renovation was completed. In recent years, multiple projects have been completed to keep the building up to date, including the installation of a new roof to replace the previous worn out one that leaked in multiple areas.

The Indiana State Library on Ohio Street.

Currently, work is being done to repair the façade of the building. The Indiana limestone and friezes are being cleaned and the tuck pointing is being completed to ensure the building looks great for decades to come.

Inside the building, staff areas are being refreshed with new carpet, furniture and painting. Original hardwood floors are being sanded and stained and preserved for the future. Finally, a new Indiana Historical Marker center is being developed on the first floor of the library. Coming in 2024, the Marker Center will highlight the work of the Indiana Historical Bureau’s marker program.

Future site of the Indiana Historical Bureau Marker Center.

The Indiana State Library is continually evolving and improving to meet the needs of Indiana residents today and into the future.

This blog post was summitted by Jacob Speer, Indiana State Librarian.

2022 Indiana State Library end-of-year reflection

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As we close the book on 2022, we reflect on the many projects and services that came to fruition and were provided by the Indiana State Library, as well as the staff that continue to work so diligently to make things happen this year.

On the heels of 2021 – a year filled with many things related to, surrounding and/or as a result of COVID – we went about our regular business in 2022 with the Genealogy and Local History Fair, Discovery to Delivery, the Difference is You conference, DNA workshops, Evergreen updates and migrations/onboarding (and everything that goes along with those), web archiving of born digital state publications, digitizing and uploading collections to the Indiana State Library Digital Collections, Letters About Literature and more. In addition to regular business, the Indiana State Library had a number of projects in 2022 that went beyond the norm. Below are the highlights of some of those projects and programs.

On March 1, the Indiana Digital Library launched, creating a statewide consortium of e-books and magazines through the OverDrive platform. IDL is comprised of 203 public libraries from across the state, which have total checkouts amounting to almost 4 million since IDL rolled out. This new consortium allows access to more materials, cuts wait time, and ensures a more efficient use of funds. More information about IDL can be found here.

The Indiana Library Passport – a digital passport program for libraries across the state created to highlight features that make their library an excellent place to visit – launched in early July. This mobile passport is open to everyone, and features 140 public libraries and branches in Indiana. Patrons can visit the passport landing page to sign up. When participants check in through the Passport while they’re at the location, they will be entered into a quarterly drawing for a prize package!

On July 1, a new librarian certification portal was unveiled. The new certification portal was designed in-house specifically for librarian certification, allowing the process to be more streamlined and customizable for future use. Over time, the types of transactions that can be completed through the portal will increase. Changes include a new credit card service with lower fees, correspondence almost entirely done through email, a public lookup for librarians and in-house troubleshooting.

In August, the Indiana State Library presented “The Mystery of the Darlington Bible,” a program in which the focus was a 14th century medieval Bible held in the collections at the library. Professor David Gura of the Medieval Institute, and curator of ancient and medieval manuscripts at the Hesburgh Library at the University of Notre Dame, investigated and presented on the origins of the book, including the production techniques, magnificent illuminations and movement from Medieval Spain to Indiana.  Though the circumstances of its travels remain something of an enigma, we hope to bring more of its history to light as Dr. Gura continues his research on the Darlington Bible, the existence of which was previously unknown to the medieval scholars’ community.

Following the release of the 2020 census data, Indiana State Library staff, along with the assistance of the Indiana Business Research Center, worked to reevaluate Indiana’s public library districts and classes by compiling 2020 census data and examining that data in conjunction with public library survey data. This is an arduous and lengthy process, but population changes must be reflected since, in turn, they can affect a library’s class size, causing the need to reexamine service models to accommodate any changes. The Library District Interactive Map on StatsIndiana is updated with the most recent boundaries after 2020 census redistricting.In October, it was announced that the U.S. Government Publishing Office named the Indiana State Library as the 2022 Federal Depository Library of the Year for its preservation and promotion efforts of the Federal Documents Collection. “This is the first Library of the Year I am awarding since beginning my role as GPO superintendent of documents, and I can’t imagine a more deserving library,” said GPO superintendent of documents Scott Matheson. “Indiana State Library’s long-standing dedication to promoting and preserving government information is something to be admired. Through its much-loved Government Information Day and other crucial efforts, [the] Indiana State Library has played an important role in helping GPO realize its vision of an America Informed.”

Brent Abercrombie, Indiana State Library federal documents coordinator.

In late November, we learned that we were awarded a $30,000 grant from the Nicholas H. Noyes, Jr. Foundation, which will be used for the purpose of funding a six-month termed conservator position to stabilize and treat a collection of mid-19th century rare wall maps housed in the Indiana Division of the Indiana State Library. Currently, these maps are restricted due to their condition. Treating these maps will allow them to be digitized and made available to researchers.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but highlights from a year well done! With other exciting projects that received a jumping off point in 2022, we’re excited to see what 2023 brings! Thank you for a great year!

This blog post was written by Stephanie Asberry, deputy director of public and statewide services at the Indiana State Library.

Indiana Digital Library, Indiana’s new statewide e-book consortium, launched

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The Indiana State Library has announced the formation of a new statewide e-book consortium, the Indiana Digital Library, that launched on March 1. Nearly 200 public libraries in the state will all share the OverDrive platform to create a statewide consortium of e-books and magazines. This new consortium – made up of libraries that serve populations under 150,000 – will benefit libraries, taxpayers and library users. Patrons of consortium member libraries will have the ability to borrow materials from both their own library’s collections and the member library collections. The State Library is paying the platform fees for the consortium and 100% of the member libraries’ fees will be spent on materials.

A volunteer library team will also assist with collection development for libraries and will help ensure the efficient usage of the consortium’s funds. Libraries may either purchase titles for their collection on their own or may chose to assign their funds to the collection development team.

The new Indiana Digital Library consortium will be a great service and benefit to Indiana libraries and the customers of Indiana libraries. This collaboration is a great example of Indiana libraries working together to provide high quality services to library users.

More information about the consortium may be found on the consortium’s website.

Additionally, users of the OverDrive app should be aware that, as of Feb. 23, the app is no longer available for download from the Apple App Store, Google Play or the Microsoft Store. Moving forward, Libby will be the primary way for users to enjoy OverDrive’s digital library and the name OverDrive will refer to the company that provides libraries with the digital reading platform. The current OverDrive app will remain in use until the end of 2022 when users will be migrated to the Libby app.

Click here to read more about the transition from the OverDrive app to the Libby app.

This blog post was written by Jacob Speer, Indiana State Librarian. 

Summer lecture series wrapping up

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There is one summer lecture remaining! Join us on Aug. 10, 2019 at 11 a.m. for the final session of our summer lecture series, as Nicole Poletika presents “Unigov: The Creation of Modern Indianapolis and Its Suburbs.” Nicole is a historian with the Indiana Historical Bureau. Her research focuses on minority history and issues of social justice. Her presentation on Unigov will explore the legislation that merged the governments of Indianapolis and Marion County, and the resulting socioeconomic disparities.

This is our first year offering these free summer lectures, and we hope to continue them in the future. If you haven’t been able to join us yet, the series began in June with “How Did We Get Here?: Why History Matters and How to Start Researching It” where  Dr. Michella Marino and Jill Weiss Simins discussed the importance of taking a look at the past, as well as why and how to research history. Our July session included lectures that entailed digging deep into land records, deciphering clues those records provide and how it all fits into your genealogical research, as professional genealogists John Barr and Amber Oldenburg presented “Map Reading for Genealogists: When North isn’t…” and “Land Records: A Family Historian’s ‘Bread and Butter.’”

“Unigov: The Creation of Modern Indianapolis and Its Suburbs” is worth one LEU.  Registration is required. You may register here, or see our events page for more information.

This blog post was written by Stephanie Asberry, deputy director of public services, Indiana State Library.

Virtual reality (augmented reality): The next step in information evolution

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From oral traditions to pictographs to manuscripts to mass production printing, humans have always looked for the best way to share stories with the most number of people in the most effective way. We have adapted to use different media to tell our stories and virtual reality and augmented reality are the next media platforms.

Libraries have long been a place to try out new technologies before they become household items. Remember when Bill Gates gave us all those PCs?

Immersive experiences can provide safe training spaces (imagine performing surgery without having to risk a patient), increase empathy (imagine literally viewing the world through the eyes of a person who is homeless) and let one travel without limits (imagine taking a field trip to the moon—walking in Neil Armstrong’s footsteps).

The HTC Vive is one of the first commercially available VR headsets and one of the most high-end platforms available. Because it’s more than just a headset, users experience more immersive activities because the handheld controllers are tracked as well as the head.

The following programs help to get a feel for what VR can be:

  • Tilt brush – 3-D art you can create and interact with
  • Google Earth – visit anywhere the Google cameras have been
  • The Body VR – learn about biological systems as if you were in the Fantastic Voyage
  • SoundStage – virtual sound equipment to create music

As patrons start to see VR depicted in more areas of life (“Ready Player One” hits theaters in March 2018), providing the unique experience of actually being a participant in VR will be an exciting opportunity for Hoosiers in every community.

The HTC Vive Virtual Reality Kit is available for check out by libraries eligible for Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grants through the Indiana State Library (ISL), including school and academic libraries, as well as any public library that meets standards. The kit is available for a loan period of three months and will be delivered and set up by ISL staff who can train up to six staff members at the time of delivery. Libraries can return the kit to ISL after use or schedule a time for an ISL staff person to pick it up. The kit cannot be shipped through InfoExpress. Libraries are encouraged to develop programming around the kit to share with patrons. The HTC Vive Virtual Reality Kit can be scheduled by contacting your regional coordinator.

HTC Vive Virtual Reality Kit components:

  • 1 set of HTC Vive Virtual Reality equipment (including head set, 2 hand controllers, 2 light houses, and cables)
  • 2 tripods for the lighthouses
  • 1 computer (not wireless compatible)
  • 1 keyboard
  • 1 mouse

Funding for this project is from the Institute of Museum and Library Service under the provisions of the LSTA.

VR in libraries:
Public Libraries Online  – provides programming ideas
California’s Virtual Reality Experience  – installed VR systems in over half of the public library jurisdictions in underserved communities
Graduate Research Intern, Diana Hellyar

This blog post was written by Wendy Knapp, associate director of statewide services. 

E-Rate internet connectivity filing due on May 11

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In the budget recently passed by the general assembly, libraries will see increased funding for the non-E-Rate portion of their internet connectivity bills. Many libraries still struggle to provide adequate bandwidth at peak usage times and the spike in usage during after school hours is especially taxing for libraries that serve communities with one-to-one programs.

The Pew Research Center recently released a report that indicates that even though low-income Americans are experiencing greater levels of connectivity, it is still significantly different from the adoption rates of middle to high income households. As more patrons have adopted the use of more devices, the libraries’ Wi-Fi can be easily overloaded. Adequate broadband delivery to the library is just the first step in helping to alleviate this issue, but one that has been recognized by the state as a service that would benefit everyone through increased funding.

With fewer than two weeks left to complete your filing for E-Rate this year, libraries have an opportunity to increase the “ask” for connectivity for next year. Filing is due on or before Thursday, May 11, 2017 at midnight. The additional $500,000 dedicated to support library connectivity is a great tool to leverage both federal and state funding to help bridge the digital divide within your community. For questions please contact Karen Ainslie of the Indiana State Library.

This post was written by Wendy Knapp. Wendy is a member of the ALA’s Office of Information Technology Policy E-Rate Taskforce.