Category Archives: Indiana Division

Emily Kimbrough, Hoosier native and European traveler

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“I believe that there are no memories that are okay to forget. Every man’s memory is his private literature. Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for a while, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never, ever the same. Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose. Remember, we all stumble, every one of us. That’s why it’s a comfort to go hand in hand.” – Emily Kimbrough

Emily Kimbrough. The Indianapolis Times collection, ISL L722.

Emily Kimbrough was born in Muncie, Indiana on Oct. 23, 1899. At the age of eleven, her family moved to Chicago. She attended Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania before moving to Paris, back to Chicago, Philadelphia and finally settling in New York.

Kimbrough began her writing career in Chicago in 1923 with Marshall Field Magazine, the department store’s quarterly catalog. In 1926, she moved on to become the fashion editor and then managing editor for Ladies’ Home Journal. She wrote about her years at Marshall Field’s in “Through Charley’s Door,” published in 1952. From the 1930s to 1950s, she wrote freelance with articles published in Atlantic Monthly and The New Yorker.

While raising a family, she began to write and lecture about her fascinating travels, misadventures and experiences. “Our Hearts Were young and Gay,” co-written with her closest friend and actress, Cornelia Otis Skinner, describes their 1920s tour of England and France, as young women in their 20s. She continued to write several books about her European travels, eventually having a bibliography of 16 books.

In 1976, the city of Muncie created the Emily Kimbrough Historic District, later being placed on the National Register in 1978.

By Nyttend - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18019895

Emily Kimbrough Historic District

Kimbrough died Feb. 10, 1989, in Manhattan, New York City.

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

Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emily_Kimbrough
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Hearts_Were_Young_and_Gay
http://www.muncie-ecna.org/kimbrough.html
https://www.nytimes.com/1989/02/11/obituaries/emily-kimbrough-90-magazine-editor-and-popular-author.html

Turnverein Clubs of Indianapolis

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While exploring the Bates-Hendricks neighborhood district on the Southside of Indianapolis recently, I noticed a beautiful old building at 306 Prospect Street. I wanted to find out about its history. After conducting an internet search for the address, I found out that the structure was built in around 1900 for the Southside Turnverein Club. I then looked in the Indiana State Library catalog to see what types of materials were available about Turnverein Clubs.

From the mid-19th to the beginning of the 20th century, German-American Turnverein Clubs were spreading across North America. Indianapolis had several of these Turnverein, or Turners, clubs, which were athletic clubs for German-American immigrants.

According to the “Indianapolis Turnverein 1851-1926 Seventy-Fifth Anniversary” pamphlet (ISLO 977.201 M341 no. 40), the Indianapolis Turnverein was started in 1851 by August Hoffmeister, a “zealous agitator for the founding…” of the club. Below is a rendering from the program of some of the “turnhalls” in Indianapolis included in the pamphlet.

These Turner Clubs were social clubs as well as for physical fitness and gymnastics. The best known Turnverein Club in Indianapolis is the Athenaeum, which was built from 1893-1898 and was originally called Das Deutsche Haus.

The Turnverein Clubs helped German-Americans preserve their German culture and philosophies, while also honoring their new homeland, the United States. The Turners’ philosophy was that mind and body wellness and fitness were of great importance and integral to a healthy life.

Among several German-language titles in the Indiana State Library’s newspaper microfilm collection, we have one geared specifically to Turnverein Clubs. This newspaper was called Die Zukunft. Organ des Nord-Amerikanischen Turner-Bundes, which roughly translates to The Future. Organ of the North American Turner Foundation. This Indianapolis newspaper was printed using the Indianapolis Telegraph’s press on a weekly basis from about 1867-82. If you read German, you may be interested in seeing this title on microfilm. Here is the front page of the Oct. 29, 1868 edition of the newspaper:

Turnverein Clubs flourished in the United States until after the start of World War I, when growing anti-German sentiment caused the clubs’ membership and funding to dwindle. Despite efforts to revitalize Turners Clubs during the second half of the 20th century, most of the buildings here in Indianapolis were sold or used for other purposes. Fortunately, the Southside Turnverein building is in the process of being remodeled and reopened as a corporate headquarters later this spring.

This blog post was written by Leigh Anne Johnson, Indiana Division newspaper librarian, Indiana State Library. For more information, contact the Indiana Division at (317) 232-3670 or “Ask-A-Librarian.”

Collecting hole or research hole? Where are the minority voices?

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It becomes evident pretty quickly that black and minority Hoosier voices are hard to hear within the collections at the Indiana State Library. Historically, the seminal works on Indiana’s history are heavy with the prominent voices of the day: legislators, lawyers and wealthy white men. The county histories published in the late 19th and early 20th centuries almost completely leave out people of color who were living in the towns in our counties.

That’s not to say we don’t have a lot of neat resources where black lives rise from the pages; we do. For a sample see the black history research guide here. However, most of what we have was published more than 20 years ago. A search in our catalog for Julia Carson or Boniface Hardin retrieves zero results.

We collect published printed material for the Indiana Collection. It’s not until historians seek out and publish about these lives and events that they intersect with the well-trodden histories in the collection.

The Afro-American Journal was edited by Father Boniface Hardin and Sister Jane Schilling, both of whom were founders of the Martin Center and Martin University. The Journal gave voice to policy ideas and issues facing black Americans, as well as historical research on black communities and leaders. Hear Father Boniface Hardin in his own words discussing the aim of the Journal here. The Indiana State Library has scattered holdings from 1973-1976.

I want to put a call out for donations or suggestions to enrich our print collections specifically capturing the voice of black Hoosiers and other minorities. I encourage you to contact me or comment here with title suggestions. Are you researching and writing articles? Self-publishing? I’d like to know. Does your organization have a publication that we lack in our holdings?

Do you have a collection of photos, a diary, a collection of letters, recipe cards? These might make wonderful additions to our manuscripts collections. Don’t toss them or hide them in your attic; consider making a donation to the Indiana State Library. Learn more about donating manuscripts here.

Once added to our collection these publications and documents will be processed, findable and researchable! It starts with you, then the librarians and archivists, then the historians, then the publishers and then comes the Netflix docuseries… oh, wait, I got ahead of myself.

Contact us for more information.

This post was written by Indiana Collection Supervisor Monique Howell. 

Picture it… Indianapolis… 1852.

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Image traveling through a forest so thick that you could do it without ever touching the ground. You could go from tree limb to tree limb, with very little visible grass or flowers, just climbing along. Now imagine this area being Indianapolis, circa 1780. Up until around 1820, the area we now know as the capitol of Indiana was exactly that, a massive dense forest. Settlers then moved in, cleared land, began farms and started to form a community.

Several maps of early Indianapolis show the layout of the mile square, but it wasn’t until 1852 that we saw the first map of the city with any detail.

When we first got this map out and saw exactly what we had to deal with, we knew it wasn’t going to be an easy task to digitize it. In fact, the two pictures below show what the book looked like. It had been dissected, glued onto linen and folded to fit on the shelf, which was a very common library practice early on. Nowadays, we don’t do that.

Rebecca, our conservator, painstakingly took pictures of each section, then recreated the completed image that you now see in our digital collections. This was a several day process. Now this extremely rare map has come back together and we can study it and learn what the layout of the city was like in the early 1850s.

For example, the railroad lines and their depots beeline the map, showing how the trains moved merchandise, goods and passengers in all directions. Passengers might have seen a map like this hanging at the train station. Checking the legend, they could have found several houses for accommodations, such as The Palmer House (H) or The Bates House (J), both at the corners of Illinois and Washington Streets, just a few blocks up from the station. After getting settled in, they might have walked up to the governor’s residence to pay a call on Joseph Wright, Indiana’s governor in 1852.

The map also shows the small portion of the massive 296-mile planned canal system and its path through the city; only eight miles of the canal were completed. Beginning at the White River, the canal ran east, then headed north and south. The canal helped facilitate interstate commerce and also provided alternative transportation for passengers.

Most of the transportation routes, such as the canals and railroads, are south of the residential areas, including the current Lockerbie Square and the old Northside neighborhoods. Oftentimes, residential areas grew north of the industrial areas as winds would blow the smoke and pollution south.

Later maps, such as those published in 1855 and 1866, show fewer details. Both maps can be viewed on the Library of Congress’s website. We have the maps at the state library, but the Library of Congress has done such a great job digitizing their copies that we just refer researchers to those digitized maps. Our copies, sadly, are in need of much repair.

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

ISL hidden resource – Federal documents at the Indiana State Library

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The Indiana State Library participates in the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP), serving as the regional depository for the state of Indiana. Providing access to government information is only one service offered by the library. ISL is committed to promoting government information literacy to all Hoosiers. That information is found on the Indiana Federal Documents website. Created to be the resource destination for learning and locating government information, Indiana Federal Documents contains tips and resources relating on the federal government geared for both researchers and librarians.

The Indiana Federal Documents site features blog posts promoting specific government resources, services or upcoming educational events. Beyond the blogs posts are research and subject guides. The research guides cover an overview of the SuDoc classification, how to research congressional documents and reports and how to research public and private laws. The subject guides are compiled government resources on a particular topic. The guides include the site, URL and a short description of the resource. Currently, there are subject guides for the following topics: children’s resources, college resources, family history resources and popular government resources. All of the sourced information comes from an official government agency or government project.

Indiana Federal Documents also includes information specific to librarians, like Indiana’s Light Archive Agreement, Indiana’s State Focused Action Plan, procedures, guidelines, links to government information webinars and government information Listservs. Additional resources relating to government information can be found from the federal documents collection page through the Indiana State Library. In addition to linking directly to IFD, the federal documents page has information on ISL’s history in the FDLP, information on Government Information Day (GID) conferences and links to prominent government resources. For any questions, or sources not discussed, Federal Documents Librarian Brent Abercrombie is available to contact for guidance.

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 “Ask-A-Librarian.”

Janet Flanner: A writer of not so few words

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“I love writing. I’m just nuts on writing. Just give me an inkpot and a paper and a pen, and away I go.” – Janet Flanner

Janet Flanner was born March 13, 1892, in Indianapolis, to a prominent Quaker family. Flanner’s father, Frank Flanner, Indiana’s first licensed embalmer1, co-owned a mortuary, currently known as Flanner-Buchanan, and also ran the first crematorium in Indiana. Her mother encouraged her to be an actress, but Janet had no passion for the stage. Instead, Flanner followed her own passion and became a writer.

After traveling abroad with her family and then studying in Indianapolis at Tudor Hall School for Girls, now known as Park Tudor School, she enrolled at the University of Chicago in 1912, leaving the school in 1914. Flanner returned to Indianapolis and became the first cinema critic for the Indianapolis Star. Starting in 1918, her column “Comments on the Screen” was one of the first of its kind – a review of films.

Indianapolis Star (1907-1922); Jun 2, 1918; ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Indianapolis Star pg. B1

In late 1918, Flanner left Indianapolis and headed to New York and eventually on to Paris where she pursued the life of a writer and journalist. She served as the Paris correspondent of The New Yorker magazine from its humble beginnings in 1925, with her first column appearing in the September issue. She wrote under the pen name “Genêt.” During this time, Flanner also published her one and only novel, “The Cubical City,” set in New York City.

Janet Flanner, c. 1925

Working as a foreign correspondent during World War II, Flanner lived in New York City, later returning to Paris in 1944. Her work in The New Yorker not only included her famous “Letter from Paris” columns, but also a seminal three-part series profiling Adolph Hitler in 1936 and coverage of the Nuremberg trials in 1945. She also participated in a series of weekly radio broadcasts for the NBC Blue Network during the months following the liberation of Paris in late August 1944.

Ernest Hemingway with Janet Flanner, circa 1944.

Flanner continued to cover major events such as the Suez crisis, the Soviet invasion of Hungary and the strife in Algeria which led to the rise of Charles de Gaulle.

Janet Flanner in correspondent’s uniform, c. 1944, Janet Flanner Collection, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress (137) LC-USZ62-112977

In 1975, Flanner permanently returned to New York City where she was cared for by her long-time companion, Natalia Danesi Murray. Flanner also retired from from The New Yorker at this time. Among her books are “Paris Journal,” “Paris Was Yesterday,” “London Was Yesterday,” “An American in Paris” and “Men and Monuments.” Most of them made up of her columns from The New Yorker.

An exhibit of Janet Flanner materials from the Indiana State Library’s collection currently on display on the second floor of the library.

Flanner died on Nov. 7, 1978, of undetermined causes and was cremated. According to Murray’s son, William Murray, in his book “Janet, My Mother, and Me,” Flanner’s and Murray’s ashes were spread over Cherry Grove in Fire Island where the two had met in 1940.

Further Readings:
Women Come to the Front
Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame
Encyclopedia Britannia
Wikipedia

1. https://flannerbuchanan.com/history/

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

The Colonization movement

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The Indiana Colonization Society, formed 1829 and based in Indianapolis, advocated for the relocation of free people of color and emancipated slaves in Indiana to settlements in Liberia, Africa. The ICS was an auxiliary of the American Colonization Society, located in Washington, D.C., which formed in 1817.

Premised on the idea that an integrated society was impractical and impossible, “colonizationists,” who were overwhelmingly white, argued that black people could find liberty only in Africa. A small portion of free people of color who agreed that justice, liberty and prosperity could not be achieved in America emigrated. Critics, such as free black people and abolitionists, voiced strong opposition to this movement. They asserted that the agenda of the society was counterproductive for racial reconciliation and integration, that it was overall an ineffective scheme to combat slavery and finally that it undermined anti-slavery efforts. Free people of color who wished to “fight against slavery and for equal rights as American citizens” viewed this plan as effectively abandoning those still enslaved.1 “Abolitionists saw the colonization movement as a slaveholders’ plot to safeguard the institution of slavery by ridding the country of free blacks.”1 Colonizationists maintained that their motives were benevolent and philanthropic, but even supporters questioned whether the idea of relocation was even practically feasible or financially realistic.

In the 1820’s and 1830’s, the movement gained support in the state legislature and with citizens throughout the state, but by late 1830’s interest and activity declined.1 Black Hoosiers opposed it vehemently, resolving at an 1842 convention that, “we believe no well-informed colonizationist is a devoted friend to the moral elevation of the people of color.” The ICS reacted with renewed efforts for the movement when, in 1845, the Rev. Benjamin T. Kavanaugh was named as its agent. He was tasked with raising awareness, organizing supporters and local auxiliaries, fundraising and emigrant recruitment.1 By 1848, the Rev. James Mitchel, a Methodist minister, abolitionist and colonization advocate, took over as agent and secretary of the American Colonization Society of Indiana. Both Kavanaugh and Mitchell recruited black ministers to raise awareness in the black community and to identify potential emigrants. These men, the Rev. John McKay and the Rev. Willis R. Revels, had limited success. “Revels won approval from black citizens… but soon gave up his post.” Kavanaugh attributed this to pressure from abolitionists.1 McKay was appointed as, “an agent for the board to purchase land in Liberia and promote colonization among Indiana black citizens.”1 In the 1850’s he traveled to Liberia with two groups of emigrants and observed the colony, reporting back enthusiastically. Escalating tension between the north and south over slavery, and increasing violence over issues such as the question over expansion of slavery into new territories, led to laws in Indiana that gave free people of color reason to consider emigration, even if the vast majority chose to remain in the country of their birth. During the period of the 1830s until the 1850’s, according to Anthrop, “increasing tensions nationally between anti-slavery and slavery factions… resulted in increasing prejudice against blacks. The culmination of this prejudice in Indiana was Article XIII of the Indiana Constitution of 1851,” which prohibited blacks and mulattoes to enter or settle in the state. Fines set for violation were appropriated to “defray costs of sending blacks in Indiana to Liberia.” Further legislation, “required all blacks already living in Indiana to register with the clerk of the circuit court.”1

In 1852, ICS advocacy led to a state initiative when the Indiana General Assembly formed the Indiana Colonization Board and began providing funds to help, “Indiana free blacks emigrate to Liberia on the western coast of Africa.”1 The state government appropriated funds to finance the purchase of land in Liberia and for the transport and support of immigrants. According to Anthrop, “eighty-three” free people of color emigrated from Indiana to Liberia, but the state board facilitated the departure of “only forty- seven” of those emigrants. During the 1840’s, 1850’s and 1860’s advocates and critics within the movement and the government squabbled over complaints about financial arrangements, funding cuts, fundraising methods, settlement location and administration and over negotiations with the government of Liberia. James Mitchell, in an 1855 “Circular to the Friends of African Colonization” apprising society members of the progress and obstacles faced by the movement, admitted the paltry sum of $65 per person for emigration was insufficient to provide for transportation, and offered nothing for support or protection of immigrants. In the final report in 1863 to the State Board by its secretary, the author William Wick, concluded that the movement had been a “total failure.” Wick attributed this failure to the ambition of formerly enslaved people to be equal in social status to white Americans.

The types of records in the sub collection of the Colonization movement include government documents, such as the report to the State Board of Colonization, organization records, such as Indiana Colonization Society reports, circulars that act as newsletters to supporters, private society correspondence disseminated to influential political operatives and the society’s monthly publication The Colonizationist, as well as a campaign literature from the 1860 race for the governorship of Indiana in a the form of speech by Oliver P. Morton. These materials offer insight into the theoretical and philosophical tenets of the Colonization movement, document its efforts, successes and obstacles, provide historical context and can be used to map out its historical trajectory from a burgeoning movement to abject failure. Scholars and students will find these items to be a rich resource for exploring the history of the Back-to-Africa movement. Genealogists and historians will find in these primary sources a wealth of information on the individuals active in this movement, and on those who ultimately emigrated to Liberia.

Colonizationist May 1847, vol. 2, no.2

ISL_IND_Pam_Coloniz_1847

The Colonizationist, owned by John D. Defrees, was the monthly publication of the Indiana Colonization Society and was printed by the Indiana State Journal in Indianapolis. The ICS, formed in 1829 and based in Indianapolis, advocated for the relocation of free people of color and emancipated slaves to settlements in Liberia, Africa. The publication was edited by B.T. Kavanaugh and P.D. Gurley. Kavanaugh was a Methodist minister and the agent of the ICS. Gurley, who was the minster of the First Presbyterian Church of Indianapolis from 1840-49, and again in 1859, was appointed the Chaplain of the United States.

Twelfth Annual Report of the Indiana Colonization Society, 1847

ISL_IND_RptColSoc_1847

Report by the Indiana Colonization Society on the proceedings of its annual meeting held Jan. 6, 1847 at Robert’s Chapel in Atlanta, Jackson Township, Hamilton County, Indiana. This report includes the meeting minutes which describe the proceeds of the event, such as topical addresses and speeches given, motions made by members and resolutions adopted by the society. It also includes detailed financial proposals and cost estimates for the scheme, statistics on the organization’s success, lists of ships with the ship name and year of passage from 1843-46, and an overview of the national organization’s statistics. The official publication, The Colonizationist, and the individual efforts of members, such as the Rev. B.T. Kavanaugh are discussed. An appendix lists “twenty reasons for the success of Liberia.”

Circular to the Friends of African Colonization

ISL_IND_Pam_Mitch_CirAfCol

This 1855 circular is addressed to the Friends of African Colonization. It is comprised of a one page introduction and a long letter addressed to the Indiana State Board of Colonization. The author, the Rev. James Mitchell was the Secretary of the American Colonization Society of Indiana. In the circular, he lists reasons for inaction of the board in the past, legislative, financial and administrative obstacles faced, and lays out a detailed plan for action.

Letters on the Relation of the White and African races in the United States, and the Necessity of the Colonization of the Latter

ISL_IND_PAM_LtrsColMov1860

This pamphlet is a collection of private letters written by James Mitchell as agent of the Indiana Colonization Society, on the subject of the African Colonization movement, detailing the actions, policies and theoretical foundation of the organization. It is addressed to the candidates for the 1860 U.S. presidential election. Mitchell seeks to privately communicate the aims of the movement to popular leaders and the future president. The correspondence includes an extract from the 1852 report to the legislature of the state of Indiana titled, “The Separation of the Races Just and Politic,” an 1857 letter from Mitchell to President James Buchanan and an 1849 letter to President Zachary Taylor.

The Speech of Oliver P. Morton, the Republican candidate for Lieutenant Governor, 1860

ISL_IND_Pam_Mort_Spch_1860

This is a speech by Republican candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Indiana, Oliver P. Morton, delivered in Terre Haute on March 10, 1860. The speech discusses campaign issues, such as popular sovereignty, the expansion of slavery into new territories, “sectional parties,” John Brown, the fugitive slave law, hostility between north and south, abolition, tariffs and homesteading legislation. Morton and his running mate won the election of 1860, with Lane opting to take a seat in the Senate, Morton became the 14th Governor of the state of Indiana.

Report on colonization for 1863 to the state board

ISL_IND_Gov_SBC_Rpt_1863

This 1863 report on the Colonization movement is authored by the Secretary of the State Board of Colonization William W. Wick. It is addressed to the Colonization Board, but is intended for all members of the legislature and the public. Wick writes to report the “total failure” of the Colonization movement.

References
1. Anthrop, M. (March 2000). Indiana emigrants to Liberia. The Indiana Historian, March 2000. Indiana Historical Bureau.
Retrieved from https://www.in.gov/history/files/inemigrants.pdf.

Notes on other resources
The American Colonization Society Collection at the Library of Congress – letters from Indiana emigrants
American Colonization Society Collection
http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/coll/007-b.html
American Colonization Society records, 1792-1964
https://lccn.loc.gov/mm78010660

This blog post was written by Ricke Gritten, Indiana Division intern at the Indiana State Library.

Crown Hill Cemetery

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There is a book about Crown Hill Cemetery that I recently ran across in the Indiana State Library’s collections. The book has a particularly long title – “The Origin, Organization and Management of Crown Hill Cemetery with Observations on Ancient and Modern Modes of Burial, together with a List of Officers, Corporators and Lot-holders for 1875” – but it was the latter part of the title that piqued my interest. A list of lot-holders sure sounds like a useful resource for researchers looking for names of the earliest purchasers of burial plots. There are also two later editions of the book published in 1888 and 1896, containing growing lists of lot-holders.

Organized in 1863, Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis was incorporated as a non-profit, non-denominational and non-sectarian cemetery with a board of thirty corporators. At the time, there was a critical need for a new city cemetery for Indianapolis. The old Greenlawn Cemetery had become inadequate for future expansion and its proximity to the flood-prone White River was no longer desirable. The collective civic-mindedness of James Blake, Calvin Fletcher, Sr. and James M. Ray helped them form a group to select a site and draw up plans for a new cemetery. The Daily State Sentinel newspaper announced the June 1, 1864 formal dedication of Crown Hill Cemetery and that a public sale of lots would then begin on June 8, 1864.

 

The 1875 edition of the book, with 65 pages, was issued in both a plain cloth binding and also a more ornate embossed cover with gilded edges. The 1888 edition was issued as a paperback pamphlet and expanded to 92 pages. Unlike the 1875 and 1896 editions, there are no photographs in the 1888 edition.

The 1896 edition expanded in both page size and length to include 217 pages, mostly consisting of lot-holder names, and it originally included a folded map of the cemetery grounds.

The map is dated 1895 and the Indiana Division’s copy will require some conservation treatment before it is ready to be digitized. However, the entire 1896 book can be viewed at Internet Archive.

In all three volumes, the surnames are only arranged alphabetically by the first letter and are not in strict order. After a bit of hunting, I was pleased to find my ancestor, George Buchter, listed in all three editions as the owner of Lot 57 in Section 16. Keep in mind that finding a person’s name listed in the books does not imply that person was living, dead or buried in the lot. His wife Barbara was buried there in 1871, and George died in 1879 and was buried there. His children continued to use the family burial lot until 1945. Since these books are not lists of all the burials in the cemetery, better resources for discovering all Crown Hill burials are Find-A-Grave, the Crown Hill burial locator or the Crown Hill office.

For more information, read the facts and events on the timeline of Crown Hill history. View select photographs of tombstones and buildings at Crown Hill in the Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology’s digital collection available through Indiana Memory. Take a look at the April 1896 article in Park and Cemetery, a monthly journal devoted to parks and cemeteries. Even in the nineteenth century, Crown Hill was nationally recognized as an excellently planned and maintained cemetery, as it remains today.

This blog post was written by Indiana Division Librarian Andrea Glenn. For more information, contact the Indiana Division at (317) 232-3670 or “Ask-A-Librarian.”

Authors’ ‘love letters’ hidden in Indiana library books

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The Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana Authors Award is celebrating 10 years this year! To help celebrate the award, there are over 15 letters from Indiana authors being tucked into books in public libraries all around the state. Lucky readers will find these notes and will get to keep them. The program is called “Love Letters to Our State’s Readers” and is coordinated by the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana Authors Award and the Indiana Center for the Book at the Indiana State Library.

Participating authors include Ray Boomhower, Sarah Gerkensmeyer, John Green, Norbert Krapf, Lori Rader-Day, Scott Russell Sanders and Barb Shoup. The notes range from short and sweet handwritten postcards to long typed letters to the reader. Participating libraries were chosen based on geographic areas where the authors are from. When a reader finds a note in a book, they receive a postcard about the program as well. The postcard says:

“When reading a story, do you ever wonder about the author who created it? They think about you! And many of them are even Hoosiers like yourself, including the author of the book you’re reading now. As we celebrate 10 years of the Eugene & Marilyn Glick Indiana Authors Award, some of our past winners wanted to thank you for your role in keeping their stories alive. Enjoy this note from them. You’re welcome to keep it!”

Readers interested in finding a note should watch the #INauthor hashtag. As notes are being hidden, clues as to their whereabouts will be posted on Twitter and Facebook. Readers who find the notes are welcome to post out as well using the #INauthor hashtag to share their excitement. Notes will hit library shelves as early as Aug. 6, 2018 and will continue to be hidden in the weeks leading up to the Indiana Authors Award Dinner on Oct. 13, 2018. Caity Withers, development officer at the Indianapolis Public Library Foundation, had this to say about the program, “If there’s one thing we’ve learned in the 10 years of this award program, it’s that the relationship between readers and writers is symbiotic. Writers start as readers who fell in love with a book and we need writers to keep creating books readers will fall in love with. Indiana is full of book lovers, both readers and writers, and we’re excited to celebrate them through this initiative.”

Want to learn more about authors in your own community? Check out the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana Authors Award or The Indiana Center for the Book.

Submitted by Suzanne Walker, Indiana Young Readers Center librarian at the Indiana State Library and director of the Indiana Center for the Book.

Indiana Center for the Book partners for webinar series about books and authors

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The Indiana Center for the Book and the Eugene & Marilyn Glick Indiana Authors Award are partnering on a series of webinars focused on authors and reading. All webinars are offered in partnership with the Indiana State Library’s Professional Development Office (PDO) and are each eligible for one LEU. The Indiana Center for the Book promotes interest in reading, writing, literacy, libraries and Indiana’s literary heritage by sponsoring events like these. The Indiana Authors Award seeks to recognize the contributions of Indiana authors to the literary landscape in Indiana and across the nation.

The Care and Feeding of Authors: Planning a Successful Author Visit – 1 LEU
Date: August 7, 2018 Time: 10 a.m. EST  Format: Adobe Connect Webinar
Looking to book an author at your library? Learn how to put your library’s best professional foot forward and avoid common pitfalls. Join Indiana author Kelsey Timmerman and Indiana’s Letters About Literature Coordinator Suzanne Walker for this discussion about best practices when booking an author. From making sure their dietary needs are met to paying them efficiently, there’s more to booking an author than just deciding on a date. This webinar is hosted by Eugene & Marilyn Glick Indiana Authors Award Program Coordinator Caity Withers. Be sure to bring all of your questions regarding booking authors.
Presenters: Kelsey Timmerman, author; Suzanne Walker, director of the Indiana Center for the Book; Caity Withers, Eugene & Marilyn Glick Indiana Authors Award

Indiana Authors: What’s New in Kids Lit? – 1 LEU
Date: August 15, 2018 Time: 10 a.m. EST Format: Adobe Connect Webinar
Indiana continues to produce great authors for kids. Join Shirley Mullin, owner of Kids Ink Children’s Bookstore in Indianapolis, for a conversation about books by new Indiana authors who write for children and discover great authors to book at your library.
Presenters: Shirley Mullin, owner of Kids Ink Children’s bookstore; Suzanne Walker, director of the Indiana Center for the Book;  Caity Withers, Eugene & Marilyn Glick Indiana Authors Award

Diversifying Your Book Club by Selection and Membership – 1 LEU
Date: September 11, 2018 Time: 10 a.m. EST Format: Adobe Connect Webinar
Are you tired of reading the same books for your book clubs? Are you hoping to reach new audiences? Join Tiffani Carter, the manager of the West Indianapolis Branch of the Indianapolis Public Library (IndyPL) for some tips and best practices to consider when choosing your book club selections and to learn how to recruit new participants.
Presenters: Tiffani Carter, manager of the West Indianapolis Branch of IndyPL; Suzanne Walker, director of the Indiana Center for the Book; Caity Withers, Eugene & Marilyn Glick Indiana Authors Award

Please register to attend. Registration links can be found above. All three webinars will be recorded and available on the Indiana State Library’s Archived Webinars page within 30 days of their production. Find other free webinars from the Indiana State Library here.

Submitted by Suzanne Walker, Indiana Young Readers Center librarian at the Indiana State Library and director of the Indiana Center for the Book.