In celebration of its 200th anniversary as a state agency, the Indiana State Library has announced a new bicentennial website. The website features important historical moments from the library’s past, in addition to the latest news and event information related to the celebration. The website can be viewed here.
Along with launching the website, the library has several activities and events planned for 2025. Throughout the year, the library will administer multiple trivia and escape room events, host a special bicentennial Lunch and Learn program, exhibit and display several items from its collections and screen a movie in October as part of a program featuring the Circle City Ghostbusters. A historical marker will also be dedicated on the grounds of the library this year.
Attendees in the Great Hall of the Indiana State Library during the Bicentennial Reception on Feb. 11.
On Dec. 6, 2024, a proclamation was issued declaring that day to be Indiana State Library Bicentennial Day. On Tuesday, Feb. 11, an invitation-only celebration took place at the Indiana State Library marking the anniversary of the day that the library became a state agency.
The library has also already published “Laying the Foundation,” a richly illustrated book featuring 100 items from the library’s vast and remarkable collection. Some of these items are currently on display in the State Library’s Exhibit Hall. “Laying the Foundation” is available for purchase now for $20 from the Nook Gift Shop on the first floor of the Indiana State Library, located at 315 W. Ohio St. in downtown Indianapolis.
Last year, in honor of the Indiana State Library’s then upcoming 200th anniversary, the Indiana State Library Bicentennial Committee, in conjunction with the Indiana State Library Foundation, established an ISL Bicentennial Research Fellowship to be awarded in 2025. Researchers and historians with a focus on Indiana history were encouraged to apply. The Bicentennial Research Fellowship Review Committee recently awarded the week-long research grant to Emiliano Aguilar.
Emiliano Aguilar is a political and labor historian of the United States, specifically the Latina/o Midwest. His manuscript-in-progress explores how the ethnic Mexican and Puerto Rican community of East Chicago, Indiana navigated machine politics in the 20th and 21st centuries to further their inclusion in municipal and union politics. His work has appeared in The Metropole, Belt Magazine, Traces of Indiana and Midwestern History, the Los Angeles Review of Books, Indiana Magazine of History and the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of American History. A native to East Chicago, he is a proud board member of the Calumet Heritage Partnership and now lives in South Bend, where he is an assistant professor of history at the University of Notre Dame.
“As a lifelong resident of Indiana, I’ve always had a love and appreciation for my roots in East Chicago and my years living in Hammond, Whiting and now South Bend. I appreciate the opportunity as an Indiana State Library Bicentennial Research Fellow to share the rich stories of the Calumet Region and the long history of our state’s Latino community,” said Aguilar.
The Indiana State Library looks forward to Aguilar’s stay at the library.
This post was written by Monique Howell, Indiana Collection supervisor.
As the Indiana State Library prepares to celebrate its 200th anniversary in 2025, the Indiana Library Passport is offering new prizes and activities for the new year as part of the festivities. A brand new limited-edition bicentennial celebration mug and a special year-end prize drawing are included in the offerings.
The Indiana Library Passport, a creative digital experience that encourages everyone to visit libraries across the Hoosier state, launched in 2022. The passport, open to Indiana residents and outside visitors alike, showcases nearly 170 main libraries and branches.
After users provide their name, email address and mobile phone number, a link will be sent to their mobile phone, which will add a button icon to their home screen. From there, users are free to begin visiting Hoosier libraries. Users access the passport to check in to a participating library using their phone’s location services. When a user checks in to a library, they earn points, which can be redeemed to claim prizes directly through the passport.
In addition to allowing users to earn redeemable points, the passport automatically enters each user into a quarterly prize drawing every time they check in to a library. Passport users are permitted to check in to each library once per week.
In 2025, in addition to the regular quarterly prize drawings, a special year-end prize drawing will take place. Everyone who physically checks into the Indiana State Library – located at 315 W. Ohio St. in downtown Indianapolis – between Jan. 1, 2025 and Dec. 31, 2025, will be entered to win a copy of “Laying the Foundation,” a brand new book featuring collection highlights from the Indiana State Library. The richly-illustrated book features 100 items from the library’s vast and remarkable collection. Spanning multiple centuries and covering a wide array of topics, items in the book represent only a small fraction of the historic and culturally significant materials held by the Indiana State library. The book is also available for purchase for $20 in the Nook Gift Shop on the first floor of the State Library.
Those who cannot check into the Indiana State Library can still join in on the fun. Beginning in January, a special limited-edition bicentennial celebration mug will be available to claim with points earned by checking into libraries all across the state. Each check-in earns a user 100 points. The special mug can be claimed for 1,000 points, but supplies are very limited. Users may also still claim the standard Indiana Library Passport mug, at a different point value.
In 2025, a new batch of prizes will be available for passport users to win via quarterly drawing. Next year will see admission vouchers to the Indiana Medical History Museum; tickets to tour various historical locations across the state, courtesy of Indiana Landmarks; annual Indiana state park passes, courtesy of the Indiana DNR; and admission passes to the Indiana State Museum.
Beginning right now, the Indiana Library Passport is offering a new referral program. When a user refers a new user via the passport, they will earn 50 points which can be put toward earning one of the two mug prizes.
Click here to learn more about the Indiana Library Passport. Click here to see a list of past and present prize donors.
Libraries interested in joining the Indiana Library Passport – free of cost – should contact John Wekluk, communications director at the Indiana State Library.
This post was written by John Wekluk, communications director at the Indiana State Library.
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.
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.
The Indiana State Library has announced the launch of a new program series called the Lunch and Learn Series. The series will run throughout 2024, with six programs already planned.
The inaugural program, “Fire Insurance Maps Online,” will take place on March 14 from 12-1 p.m. in the History Reference Room at the Indiana State Library.
Originally created to help insurance companies assess structures’ fire resistance, historic fire insurance maps now have a wide variety of uses, including historic preservation, land use research and urban development. Presenter Jamie Dunn, supervisor of the Genealogy Division at the Indiana State Library, will teach attendees about fire insurance maps and the Indiana State Library’s Fire Insurance Maps Online database.
Each program is eligible for one LEU for Indiana library staff. Click here to register.
The Indiana State Library is located at 315 W. Ohio St. in downtown Indianapolis.
Please contact Stephanie Asberry, deputy director of Public Services and Statewide Services at the Indiana State Library, with any questions about the Lunch and Learn Series.
This blog post was submitted by John Wekluk, communications director.
The Indiana Library Passport, a digital experience that encourages everyone to visit libraries across the Hoosier state, launched in 2022. The passport, open to Indiana residents and outside visitors alike, showcases nearly 170 main libraries and branches.
After users provide their name, email address and mobile phone number, a link is sent to their mobile phone, which adds a button icon to their home screen. From there, users are free to begin visiting Hoosier libraries. Users access the passport to check in to a participating library using their phone’s location services.
In addition to being a creative way to inspire people to visit the state’s libraries, the passport automatically enters the user into a quarterly prize drawing every time they checked in to a library.
In 2024, a new batch of prizes will be available for passport users to win via quarterly drawing. Next year will see admission vouchers to the Indiana Medical History Museum; tickets to tour various historical locations across the state, courtesy of Indiana Landmarks; annual Indiana state park passes, courtesy of the Indiana DNR; and admission passes to Minnetrista, which includes access to the Bob Ross Experience, added to the growing list of available prizes.
Additionally, a limited-edition Indiana Library Passport mug is available while supplies last.
Click here to learn more about the Indiana Library Passport. Click here to see a list of past and present prize donors.
Libraries interested in joining the Indiana Library Passport – free of cost – should contact John Wekluk, communications director at the Indiana State Library.
This post was written by John Wekluk, communications director at the Indiana State Library.
The Indiana State Library is thrilled to announce the newest version of the Indiana Library Passport, a digital experience that encourages everyone to visit libraries across the Hoosier state. The new version of the passport will launch on May 8 and has many upgraded features.
The passport, open to everyone, showcases more than 140 main libraries and branches to explore – including over 30 historical Carnegie libraries – in an easy, mobile-friendly way. The passport includes stops at the Allen County Public Library, which features the Rolland Center for Lincoln Research; the South Whitley Community Public Library, which features the Shultz Gem Collection; the Bartholomew County Public Library, which features architectural design by I. M. Pei and the Large Arch statue by Henry Moore; and many more.
Patrons can visit a dedicated mobile passport landing page where they can sign-up for the Indiana Library Passport by providing their name, email address and mobile phone number. A link is then sent to their mobile phone, which opens the passport and directs the user to add the button icon to their home screen, where they can access it any time. There is never anything to download and no bulky apps take up space on a user’s phone. Click the Learn More button to see all of the libraries on the Indiana Library Passport.
Returning to the passport in 2023 is the prize drawing. When participants check in to libraries on the Indiana Library Passport trail, they will be entered into a quarterly drawing for a prize package, including, but not limited to, gift cards from local and national merchants; admission tickets to museums, parks, theaters; events and historic locations; books; confections; and organizational memberships. Once users sign up for the passport, they only need to use their phone to check in while physically at each location. Participants are eligible to check in to each location on the passport once per week which will enter them into the prize drawing. Click here for detailed instructions on how to sign up and on how to use the passport. Click here to read the Indiana Library Passport FAQs.
This year, passport users will have an opportunity to claim a limited-edition Indiana Library Passport mug. When users check into a library, they will be awarded 100 points. Once a user earns 2,000 points, they can redeem those points for the mug, while supplies last. The redemption process is done entirely within the passport and the mug will be shipped directly to the passport holder. Points can be earned once per week per library. Please note that employees of libraries on the passport are not eligible for the prize drawing or the mug.
In addition to the the opportunity to earn an Indiana Library Passport mug, the passport itself has many new features. On the main passport Experiences screen, users can click View to see a list of libraries on the passport. From there, users will now be able to see the distance from their current location to any library on the passport. A new advanced filtering option lets passport holders sort by name and by libraries near them. Carnegie libraries are also filtered out as special attractions. Finally, the passport now displays the weather of a user’s current location. The Indiana State Library hopes that everyone enjoys these additional features and quality of life improvements.
Please note that the previous version of the Indiana Library Passport will be retired on May 8 as the new version launches. Current passport holders will need to sign up for the new version of the Indiana Library Passport, as their information will not automatically be transferred.
The Indiana Library Passport is a collaboration between the Indiana State Library and Bandwango, a well-known technology company in the travel space. Bandwango technology is designed to support free and paid experiences created by destinations and marketed to visitors and locals. They are the technology company behind Visit Indiana’s State Nature Passport, among other passports in the state.
The 2023-24 Indiana Library Passport program is sponsored by the Indiana State Library Foundation.
Please contact John Wekluk, communications director at the Indiana State Library, with any questions.
This post was written by John Wekluk, communications director at the Indiana State Library.
The Indiana State Library is pleased to announce the launch of the Indiana Library Passport, a mobile passport that encourages everyone to visit libraries across the Hoosier state.
The passport is a free program, open to everyone. It showcases over 60 main libraries and branches to explore – including 31 historical Carnegie libraries – in an easy, mobile-friendly way.
In addition to 31 historical Carnegie libraries, the passport includes stops at the Allen County Public Library, which features the new Rolland Center for Lincoln Research; the South Whitley Community Public Library, which features the Shultz Gem Collection; the Bartholomew County Public Library, which features architectural design by I. M. Pei and the Large Arch statue by Henry Moore; and much more!
Patrons can visit a dedicated mobile passport landing page where they can sign-up for the Indiana Library Passport by providing their name, email address and mobile phone number. A link is then sent to their mobile phone, which opens the passport and directs the user to add the button icon to their home screen, where they can access it any time. There is never anything to download and no bulky apps take up space on a user’s phone.
When participants check in to libraries on the Indiana Library Passport trail, they will be entered into a quarterly drawing for a prize package, including, but not limited to, historical tour tickets, architecture books and gift cards from local and national merchants. Once users sign up for the passport, they only need to use their phone to check in while physically at each location. Participants are eligible to check in to each location on the passport once per week which will enter them into the prize drawing. Click here for detailed instructions on how to sign up and on how to use the passport. Click here to read the Indiana Library Passport FAQs.
The Indiana Library Passport is a collaboration between the Indiana State Library and Bandwango, a well-known technology company in the travel space. Bandwango technology is designed to support free and paid experiences created by destinations and marketed to visitors and locals. They are the technology company behind Visit Indiana’s State Nature Passport, among other passports in the state.
The 2022-23 Indiana Library Passport program is sponsored by the Indiana State Library Foundation.
The Indiana State Library Foundation plays an important role in promoting the dissemination of knowledge and information, the cultivation of historical research and individual ancestry, the preservation of valuable historical documents and the vehicle for the visually impaired to continue their ability to read and hear books. As a partner with the Indiana State Library, the Foundation enables the library to fulfill its mission and enhance its ability to serve the citizens of Indiana in the preservation of Indiana history. The vision of the Foundation is to enable the Indiana State Library to become the finest state library in the country. Click here to read more about the Indiana State Library Foundation and their mission.
Please contact John Wekluk, communications director at the Indiana State Library, with any questions.
This post was written by John Wekluk, communications director at the Indiana State Library.
The Indiana State Library is currently exploring the idea of a statewide library passport program. The program, with a tentative launch in 2022, will operate in a similar manner to the Passport To Your National Parks® program administered by America’s National Parks™, under its parent company, Eastern National, an official nonprofit education partner of the National Park Service.
The State Library wants to hear from libraries with a special space to share. Architecture, art, special collections, museums, statues and outdoor public spaces are just some of the features that would make the library an excellent place to visit. Ideally, these features should be accessible to the public without the need of a library card, as visitors will be encouraged to travel to each highlighted library.
Indiana libraries that are interested in the program are encouraged to fill out this Microsoft Form, letting the State Library know why guests should visit their library. All types of libraries are eligible for involvement, including public, academic and special libraries. Depending on the number of submissions, libraries may be included in a later iteration of the program. The form submission deadline is Oct. 31.
The program is subject to change at any time and will adhere to any potential COVID-19 restrictions.
Please contact John Wekluk, communications director at the Indiana State Library, with any questions.
This post was written by John Wekluk, communications director at the Indiana State Library.
