Category Archives: Indiana Young Readers Center

Indiana Affiliate Center for the Book celebrates National Library Week with Library of Congress card catalog kiosk at Indiana Young Readers Center at the State Library

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The Indiana Affiliate Center for the Book has received one of 56 card catalogs brought out of retirement by the Library of Congress and distributed through its Center for the Book affiliate network. All 50 states and six territories have received a catalog. The card catalog has been transformed into a Library of Congress information kiosk to help remind library patrons – especially during National Library Week – that the Library of Congress is a library for all.

Photo of card catalog.

The kiosk in the Indiana Young Readers Center is one of 56 distributed throughout the U.S. and its territories.

Every card catalog kiosk features signage indicating the card catalog was once in active use at the Library of Congress and explaining its history and original purpose. The front of each drawer includes the name of a Library of Congress service or program. Inside each of the 15 drawers is a card containing a brief description of the featured initiative, along with a QR code leading to the page on the library’s website that contains more information.

The 15 Library of Congress services and programs highlighted are:

“We’ve had many people stop by and look through the drawers and share that there are many things that they didn’t realize the Library of Congress did or offered,” said Tammie Buchanan, Indiana Young Readers Center librarian and director of the Indiana Center for the Book. “The kids have enjoyed using a parent’s phone to scan the QR codes and then they discuss what they find. It’s great way to celebrate National Library Week!”

About card catalogs
Card catalogs were a familiar sight to library users beginning in the middle of the 19th century and lasting for decades. Every drawer contained hundreds of individual cards that featured information about each item in a library’s collection. Arranged by title, author and subject, the cards helped people find materials and helped libraries to keep track of their collections. In the 1970s, the digitization of library catalogs began, and soon the physical card catalogs cases were retired. The Library of Congress catalog – once held in card catalog cases – is now available online.

About National Library Week
National Library Week was established in 1958 by the American Library Association to encourage, support and promote library use while acknowledging the essential contributions of libraries and staff in strengthening communities. National Library Week runs April 19-25. This year’s theme is “Find Your Joy.”

About the Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the world’s largest library, offering access to the creative record of the U.S. – and extensive materials from around the world – both on-site and online. It is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office. Researchers can explore collections and reference services, plan a visit, access the official site for U.S. federal legislative information and register creative works of authorship.

About the Library of Congress Center for the Book
The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress is a community of 56 Affiliated Centers, promoting reading, libraries and literacy through the Library of Congress and its Affiliated Centers across the country. These Centers also elevate and advocate for their state’s unique literary heritage – developed by writers whose works reflect distinctively American places. Their stories, novels, essays, poems and other written works, rooted in the nation’s extraordinary diversity of people and geography, are often featured in the programs supported by the Affiliated Centers for the Book.

There is an Affiliate Center for the Book in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa and Northern Marianas.

These Centers engage, inspire, and inform diverse audiences through author talks, web-based programs, podcasts, videos, writing challenges for young people, book festivals and other events designed to advance appreciation of the written word. They also play a role in the annual Library of Congress National Book Festival by naming a book to the Great Reads from Great Places program, and they send representatives to the festival to promote their state’s literary heritage to thousands of festivalgoers. In addition, they help to promote the activities and initiatives of the Library of Congress, the Center for Learning, Literacy and Engagement, as well as those of the other Affiliated Centers for the Book.

“We are very grateful for the Library’s Affiliate Centers for the Book,” said Lee Ann Potter, director of Professional Learning and Outreach Initiatives at the Library of Congress. “Not only does this community of 56 organizations regularly help the Library of Congress promote reading, libraries and literacy across the country, but all of them played an important role in finding fabulous homes for the card catalog kiosks in their states or territories. The responses we are getting from the Affiliate Center directors have been inspiring.”

About the Indiana Affiliate Center for the Book
The Center for the Book promotes interest in reading, writing, literacy, libraries and Indiana’s literary heritage by sponsoring events and serving as an information resource at the state and local level. The Center supports both the professional endeavors and the popular pursuits of Indiana residents toward reading and writing.

Indiana’s card catalog kiosk
The Indiana card catalog information kiosk can be found at the Indiana State Library in the Young Readers Center. The State Library is at 315 W. Ohio St. in downtown Indianapolis. The library is open from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and on some select Saturdays. Email or call 317-232-3700 for more information about the kiosk. Click on the links for more information about the Indiana State Library, the Indiana Young Readers Center and the Indiana Affiliate Center for the Book.

This blog post weas submitted by the Library of Congress and edited by the Indiana State Library.

Explore Indiana in an Essay Contest for fourth graders

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The Indiana Center for the Book is excited to once again host an essay contest for Indiana’s fourth graders to commemorate Indiana’s 209th Statehood Day on Dec. 11. The theme of this year’s contest is “Explore Indiana!” Judges are looking forward to seeing students’ interpretation of the theme. Exploring can encompass all kinds of things, like exploring Indiana’s different counties, expansive roadways, beautiful landscapes, rich history or even exciting sports teams. Three winners will be selected. Winners will receive an Indiana529 deposit of $529 made possible by the Indiana Education Savings Authority.

Decorative Statehood Day Essay contest logo. The competition is open to any Indiana fourth grade public, private or homeschooled student, in the 2025-2026 school year. A panel of judges from the Indiana Statehouse, Indiana State Museum, Indiana State Library and the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center will choose first, second and third-place winners. Essays should be well organized, reflective of the “Explore Indiana!” theme and must range from 100 to 300 words, handwritten or typed.

Essays must be submitted with an entry form. Individual entries should use a 2025 Individual Entry form. Class sets should use a 2025 Group Entry Form. In addition, the following information should be included on each essay for class sets: student name, teacher name, and school name. For individual entries, the following information should be included on each essay: student name, school if applicable, and hometown. All information on how to enter can be found on the contest website.

The submission deadline is Oct. 20. If you have questions, please email the Indiana Center for the Book.

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

It’s the 25th year of the National Book Festival and Indiana will be there!

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It’s August, and that means the National Book Festival, presented by the Library of Congress, is right around the corner. This 25th annual festival will take place in person on Sept. 6 from 9 a.m.-8 p.m. at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. The event is free and open to the public. A selection of programs will be livestreamed online, and videos of all programs will be available shortly after the festival. If you love books and reading, then this festival is for you!

National Book Festival 2025 logo. Over 90 of the nation’s best authors, poets and illustrators will discuss their work and answer questions at the National Book Festival, including Indiana authors like John Green, Leah Johnson and Susan Choi. In addition, you can find the Indiana State Library at the festival by visiting the Roadmap to Reading area of the festival where representatives from all 50 states  – plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U. S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa and Northern Marianas – will be available to talk to visitors about their community’s local literary heritage.

Indiana is celebrating two books at this year’s festival. “Everything is Tuberculosis” by John Green is the adult selection from Indiana, and “The Night War” by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley is the Indiana selection for children and teens. Explore the program guide for more resources for these two titles plus a wide array of program ideas to support the National Book Festival.

Book cover of The Night War.Book cover of Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green.

The Indiana booth at the National Book Festival is always exciting to set up. Last year Indiana had a “map” theme to celebrate Gabrielle Balkan’s book “What a Map Can Do.” Pictured below (left to right) is Anna Bowman, communications manager at Indiana Humanities, and Suzanne Walker, director of the Indiana Center for the Book, at the 2024 festival.

Two people at a booth at the book Festival.

Please reach out to Suzanne Walker, director of the Indiana Center for the Book with any questions or queries you might have about the National Book Festival and happy reading!

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

Borrow interactive kits from the Indiana State Library

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The Indiana State Library’s kit booking program has recently received a facelift. Librarians and teachers in Indiana can now book kits from the new online system powered by SpringShare.

While easy to use, two videos have been created to teach users how to interact with the new system. The quick version covers all the basics including navigating the system, booking different kinds of kits and learning how to use the availability grid. The longer version covers all that in more detail and includes booking limitations and deeper explanations. Additionally, an instructional webinar was offered on March 25. Click here to view the video.

The new system allows users to book kits from the Indiana Young Readers Center including Storytime kits, Lego & Duplo kits, Book Club kits and our new Indiana Escape Experience kits. The Indiana Young Readers Center kits can be booked out a year and a half in advance to accommodate future planning.

There are also a variety of kits available from the Professional Development Office, including NASA kits, Breakout Box kits and Tech kits. Kits from the Professional Development Office can be booked out a year in advance.

Both teachers and librarians in Indiana are welcome to use this system, however it is essential that teachers work closely with their public libraries to book their kit as all kits are delivered through the Indiana State Library’s InfoExpress courier service for Indiana libraries.

Questions? Suzanne Walker in the Indiana Young Readers Center can answer any questions you might have about the Indiana Young Readers Center kits. You can reach Suzanne via email. Kara Cleveland in the Professional Development Office is the contact for the Professional Development Office kits. Kara can be reached via email.

The new system is easy to use. Book your first kit today!

This post was submitted by Suzanne Walker and Kara Cleveland of the Indiana State Library. 

Call for entries for Indiana Statehood Day Essay Contest

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

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

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

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

The essay contest rules are as follows:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2024 National Book Festival and Indiana author event!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Interested in pre-made escape room kits starring primary sources? Let us know!

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The Indiana Young Readers Center at the Indiana State Library has been hard at work developing six circulating escape room kits for Indiana librarians and teachers to check out and use with their patrons and students. The kits are not yet ready, but the IYRC is looking for Indiana librarians and teachers who might be interested in testing the kits while they are still in beta form. We are also interested in knowing how many librarians and teachers might be interested in checking out the kits once they are completed in early 2025.

The kits are “escape room” type experiences where students are left in a room with clues, puzzles and locked boxes and must work together to search the room, crack codes and eventually unlock the last box that will allow them to escape. All six experiences include narratives based on Indiana history and feature facsimiles of actual primary source documents located in the Indiana State Library’s collections or collections from the Library of Congress. Most of the experiences have the same “villain,” Sammy, the Interviewing Toucan, who you might be familiar with from Author Interviews available on the Indiana State Library’s YouTube channel.

Escape rooms are perfect for teens – and even adults – as they promote teamwork, collaboration, communication, problem solving, independent thinking, leadership, curiosity and more. The Escape Room Experiences can be used independently or can be used with lesson plans to further explore the topics. Topics covered by the Escape Rooms include:

  • President Benjamin Harrison – Featuring the only Indiana president to date.
  • Genealogy – Featuring a diary written in 1904 by a 9-year-old from Rensselaer, Indiana.
  • Aviation – Featuring Octave Chanute, an early aviator from Indiana who worked with the Wright Brothers.
  • Basketball – Featuring the Crispus Attucks High School state championships in 1955 and 1956.
  • Quakers – Featuring Levi and Catherine Coffin, Indiana Quakers and abolitionists.
  • Hoosier Women – Featuring Madame C. J. Walker, Amelia Earhart, Eva Kor and more.

The kits have been designed with varying levels of difficulty, so that students young and old will be able to enjoy the mysteries.

Interested librarians and teachers should fill out this form. You’ll be able to indicate if you want to be notified in early 2025 so you can get a first crack at booking a kit. You’ll also be able to indicate if you are more specifically interested in testing a kit out this fall in 2024. If you test a kit for the IYRC, it is expected that you’ll provide feedback to the Indiana State Library on how the test went. The kits were designed for middle and high school students and are best used in small groups of four to eight students. If you have a larger group of students, you might consider booking multiple kits as four copies of each kit will be available.

Three in-person trainings as well as a webinar about these kits are coming in October. Trainings are currently open for registration. Click here for training dates and to register. In addition to these up-coming trainings, you can view a webinar on this topic that was done for Government Information Day in May of 2024. It is already available and can be viewed here.

This program is sponsored in part by the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources Midwest Region Program, located at Illinois State University. Content created and featured in partnership with the TPS Midwest Region does not indicate an endorsement by the Library of Congress.

If you have questions or would like more information, please reach out to Suzanne Walker, the Indiana Young Readers Center Librarian and the Director of the Indiana Center for the Book. She’d be more than happy to answer your questions about this exciting upcoming program from the Indiana State Library.

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

10 years of the Indiana Early Literacy Firefly Award

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On Oct. 1, 2014, the Indiana Center for the Book announced their new Indiana Early Literacy Firefly Award in the Indiana State Library’s weekly newsletter, the Wednesday Word. Later in 2015, the first book to win the award was announced. In the first year of the award, over 1,200 Indiana children ages 0-5 voted on one of eight books nominated by Indiana librarians and selected by the Indiana Early Literacy Firefly Committee as being worthy of consideration for this award. The first year, the book “Don’t Push the Button!,” written and illustrated by Bill Cotter, took home top honors and won the award. Each year since, a different book has won the award, based on votes from Indiana children, ages 0-5.

Some things about the award have changed. Starting in the second year, only five books appeared on the ballot, as it was determined that young children could more easily choose from a group of five books versus a group of eight. During the pandemic, remote voting was added. Also, starting in 2018, the Firefly Committee began creating program guides to go along with the award, providing parents, caregivers, teachers and librarians with dozens and dozens of developmentally appropriate activities to support each title appearing on the ballot. The program guide is what sets the Indiana Early Literacy Firefly Award apart from other state book awards.

This year’s program guide includes songs, book lists, rhymes, magnet boards, full-body activities, fine-motor activities and much more to support the program and encourage parents and caregivers to not just read the books, but to immerse their children in activities about the books.

Since the award’s inception, over 27,000 votes have been cast for the Indiana Early Literacy Firefly Award. This year, the committee is hoping for another crop of votes from young children, ages 0-5 to usher in the next 10 years of the award. Of course, it is assumed that children ages 0-5 will need assistance in casting their ballots. Some libraries provide voting programs where children each get a bean bag that they put directly on the cover of their favorite book. Other libraries provide ballot boxes that parents can use to log their child’s vote. No matter what book wins, everyone wins when they participate in the Indiana Early Literacy Firefly Award. Why? Because it’s just the cutest book award in the land.

Voting for this year’s award is now open. Votes can be submitted online through the remote voting form or can be submitted through any local library in Indiana that is participating in the award.

The 2024 nominees are as follows:

  • “Bear Has a Belly” by Jane Whittingham.
  • “Firefighter Flo!” by Andrea Zimmerman.
  • “Let’s Go Puddling!” by Emma Perry.
  • “I Was Born a Baby” by Meg Fleming.
  • “One, Two, Grandpa Loves You” by Shelly Becker.

For more information about the Indiana Early Literacy Firefly Award, reach out to Suzanne Walker, director of the Indiana Center for the Book.

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

Two writing contests for youth open for entries at the Indiana State Library

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The Indiana Center for the Book, an affiliate of the Library of Congress housed in the Indiana State Library, is open for entries for two writing contests for youth this fall. The Indiana Statehood Day Essay Contest is open to Indiana fourth graders and the Indiana Letters About Literature Contest is open to Indiana’s fourth through 12th graders.

For the Indiana Statehood Day Essay Contest, Indiana fourth graders are invited to write an essay on the theme of “Playing IN Indiana.” Judges are looking forward to seeing students’ interpretation of the theme which can encompass Indiana sports, recreation in Indiana’s parks, playing music, visiting Indiana’s amusement parks and so much more. The Indiana Statehouse Tour Office partners with the Indiana Center for the Book for this contest which commemorates Indiana Statehood Day each year. Indiana’s 207th birthday is Dec. 11. Winners of the essay contest will be honored at a Statehood Day Celebration. The 2023 celebration is on Dec. 8 at the Indiana State Museum and on Dec. 11 at the Indiana Statehouse. Four top winners will be selected. Each winner will receive a CollegeChoice 529 Deposit of $529 made possible by the Indiana Education Savings Authority! All Indiana fourth graders should take advantage of this exciting opportunity. Find out more about the contest at the contest website. The deadline to enter is Oct. 27.

The Indiana Letters About Literature contest is also now open for the 2023-24 contest cycle. This contest is a reading and writing contest for Indiana students in grades four through 12. Students are asked to read a book, poem, essay or speech and to write to the author – living or deceased – about how the work affected how they see themselves or how they see the world. Letters are judged on how well they interpret the theme of the power of literature to change readers as well as on expression, voice, structure and grammar. One hundred state winners are announced each spring. All winners get published in the annual Indiana Letters About Literature anthology, and top winners receive cash prizes. All winners are invited to an annual virtual celebration where they will get to meet an Indiana author. This year’s author is Rob Harrell, Indiana author of “Wink.” The Indiana Letters About Literature program is supported by the James and Madeleine McMullen Family Foundation and the Indiana State Library Foundation. For more information about Indiana Letters About Literature, visit the contest website. The deadline for entries is Jan. 19, 2024.

The judges are hoping that hundreds of students enter each contest. For questions, please reach out to Suzanne Walker, director of the Indiana Center for the Book. Good luck to all the young Hoosier writers who enter either – or both – contests.

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

Get your Sammy fix with poets laureate and Indiana children’s authors

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Sammy the Interviewing Toucan, who works out of the Indiana Young Readers Center, is back with a whole load of content for all the Sammy fans out there patiently waiting for more of this sassy bird. Sammy was hard at work this summer catching up with all kinds of literary types. The corduroy puppet has put together two series of videos. The first features five of Indiana’s poets laureate, including current Poet Laureate Matthew Graham and the second showcases five Indiana authors who write for children.

First to hit the airwaves will be five interviews with the poets laureate available on the Indiana State Library’s YouTube channel the morning of Sept. 5. When asked what it was like to talk to poets, Sammy said, “Of course I was delighted. I especially liked the fact that so many of them talked about birds. Except Matthew. He talked about James Dean, but that was cool too. James Dean is about as famous as I am, so there’s that.”

Then on Sept. 11, five more videos will be released featuring Indiana authors who write for children including an interview with award-winning Margaret Peterson Haddix. “That was just a dream come true,” Sammy said. “I mean, MPH is legendary in children’s literature. And it was great getting to talk to so many authors about how reading books – all kinds of books – is great for kids!”

When asked what’s next for this busy bird, Sammy said, “Oh, I’m going to be the star of some Escape Rooms that my staff is working on. They’ll be available for Indiana librarians to check out starting sometime in 2024. There’s always something keeping me flying!” Mark your calendars and tune in to catch up with Sammy, authors and the poets laureate of Indiana.

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