Weather data resources in Indiana

After this season’s early snowfall – followed by a long 10-day stretch of temperatures below 30 degrees – I thought it would be a good time to remind people of the weather data resources that we have right here in Indiana.

Let’s start with the Indiana State Climate Office at Purdue University. It has been in operation since the 1950s and is currently led by Dr. Beth Hall, the state climatologist. We frequently refer patrons to the office when they are searching for historical weather data for a certain geographic area in the state. Visit the website, and it immediately points you to several different places to start your search for current weather conditions and trends throughout Indiana. View current seven, 30 and 90-day Climate Maps for the state. You can find the monthly e-newsletter of Indiana’s CoCoRaHS, the Hoosier Observer, here as well. CoCoRaHS stands for Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, & Snow network, an organization made up of community volunteers who observe and report precipitation across the U.S., U.S. territories and Canada. View a slideshow about its history here. The office also allows you to submit a data request via the website if you are looking for specific weather data.

Picture of tire tracks on a snowy ground.

An affiliate of the State Climate Office is the Midwestern Regional Climate Center (MRCC), also at Purdue University. MRCC maintains data for Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin. Its online data portal is called CliMATE. The interface has been updated and it is full of data tools for the region. Compare today’s data with the weather for the last 10 years – the precipitation, snowfall, snow depth and high/low temperatures for each day, or choose a date in history and compare the data for each year. Compare the snowfall on this date for your county for the last 20 years! Brown County had 7.2 inches of snow on Dec. 9, 2005.

The MRCC provides an Ag Climate Dashboard, in cooperation with the United Soybean Board, for agricultural research into current precipitation, temperature, soil, environmental and crop conditions. It also points to tools that predict the probability of a freeze or extreme heat. View the MRCC Snowfall Climatology Toolbox, an interactive map that allows you to see snowfall data back to 1880. Additional GIS-based tools from the Midwest Climate Watch include the Tornado Tracks tool (1950-2024), showing touchdown points and tracks by magnitude across the Midwest and the Climate Perspectives Tool which displays max/min/mean temperatures and precipitation in real time.

The Indiana State Data Center resource Statistics by Topic will lead you to federal and state sources for authoritative weather data such as NOAA’s National Weather Service (Weather.gov) and Climate.gov. Ball State University’s Bracken Library also has an excellent LibGuide on Meteorology & Climatology that points to resources from NASA and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

Indiana travel advisory map.

Travel advisory map.

Don’t forget to check your local news by phone, TV or radio before you leave home or the office. In Indiana, the weather can change at the drop of a hat, so to stay safe on the roads, you can check the DHS Travel Advisory Map for your county. INDOT TrafficWise 511.org also has the latest live road images of your area of the state. NWS provides links to road conditions for the surrounding states.

Stay prepared for Indiana weather in the new year!

This blog post was written by Katie Springer, reference librarian and director of the Indiana State Data Center. For more information, contact the Reference and Government Services Division at 317-232-3678, or submit an Ask-A-Librarian request.

Indiana history textbooks

The Indiana book collection at the Indiana State Library does not claim to be a complete representation of all textbooks ever used in our state’s public schools, but it has a decent sampling. The collection includes the history textbook Indiana Yesterday and Today that many fourth graders in the mid-to-late 1980s would have used, including myself. There are examples of the 1991 textbook Indiana along with the 2014 textbook Indiana Social Studies Grade 4.

Book cover.Book cover.Book cover.

Early schools in the United States used texts such as McGuffey primers and readers. In 1852, the Indiana General Assembly enacted the Indiana Free School Law and created the State Board of Education. The Board would improve education for all students with standards for teacher training, school buildings, curriculum and textbook selection. In the latter 19th century, textbooks were readily available at lower costs, making competition fierce among publishers to have their titles appear on state-approved lists.

In the early 20th century, the intensive study of state history was not in the recommended curriculum for lower elementary grades. Both Indiana history and state government were usually taught to seventh or eighth graders. Here are three examples of those texts:

Book cover.Book cover.Book cover.

By the mid-1960s, there was a shift in Indiana’s history curriculum, moving it to fourth grade. In response, authors of textbooks adjusted the reading level and gradually added more colorful graphics. Below are three Indiana history textbooks that were listed on the social studies textbook adoption list from the Textbook Commission of the Indiana State Board of Education [ISLO 379.156 no.3 1969]. The adoptions cover the five-year period beginning July 1, 1969. It was up to individual school corporations to choose which textbooks on the list best suited their students.

Book cover.Book cover.Book cover.

Explore the 19th through 21st centuries in the Indiana Collection through the Evergreen online catalog. You never know what will be listed.

This post was written by Andrea Glenn, Indiana Division librarian and state documents coordinator at the Indiana State Library.

Constitution and Citizenship Week at the Indiana State Library

The Indiana State Library just finished celebrating Constitution and Citizenship Week. Constitution Day and Citizenship Day are annually recognized on Sept. 17, on the anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution by delegates to the Constitutional Convention in 1787. Constitution and Citizenship Week runs from Sept. 17 to Sept. 23. The observance day was initially established by Congress in 1952, replacing “I Am an American Day,” and was officially adopted the name Constitution Week in 1956 to encourage citizens to reflect on the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.

Painting of Constitution signing.The Indiana State Library partnered with a local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) to create a U.S. Constitution themed display, located on the second floor of the library. The DAR organization has a long history of celebrating the Constitution, and has displayed a Constitution and Citizenship themed exhibit at the State Library for the last few years. In 1955, the group petitioned Congress to annually dedicate Sept. 17-23 for the observance of Constitution Week. The display will be up through the month of September.

Constitution Day display.The Indiana State Library also hosted a free Constitution Day Trivia event on Sept. 17. The event, which was open to the public, consisted of three rounds of questions on topics relating to the U.S. Constitution, U.S. Government and U.S. Census and Population. The winning team took home a Taste of Indiana gift basket. The Constitution Day trivia is the last trivia event of the year, but the Indiana State Library will be hosting future trivia events in 2026. The library also has pocket sized-constitutions, pens, bookmarks and Constitution-themed games and activity printouts for free for those interested.

Crowd watching speaker.

Constitution Day Trivia event.

The Indiana State Library participates in the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP), whose mission of federal depository libraries is to provide local, free access to information published by the federal government in an “impartial environment.” The Indiana State Library serves as the Regional Depository for the state of Indiana and ensures the public access to government information and civic engagement.

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

Marquis de Lafayette

In recalling early American history, we are accustomed to remembering the founding fathers, battles of the Revolutionary War, Native American removal or the beginning of the fight for women’s suffrage.

Are you aware, however, of an early bond between the United States and the country of France, by way of Marquis de Lafayette, otherwise named Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert Du Motier de La Fayette? This French courtier sought glory as a soldier, was a friend to the first U.S. President and inspired support for our new country.

Display case showing various Marquis de Lafayette items.

Marquis de Lafayette display on the second floor of the Indiana State Library.

After losing his father in the French and Indian War, Lafayette was very young, 13, when he decided to join the King’s Musketeers (Mousquetaires due roi) in his home country. The group is described as “an elite troop at the heart of power” in a 2023 thesis, “Les Mousquetaires due Roi,” by Julien Wilmart. Lafayette was officially accepted in 1771 and attended military training at Versailles, just one year after he inherited an immense fortune due to the death of his relatives.

These circumstances set into motion a tremendous push by one man to brave against the British on the side of the United States. The American Friends of Lafayette have created a timeline here about key events in his life.

I’d like to share the Government Information resources you can view online or in various institutions across the United States and France about Lafayette. These resources hold details of his relationship with the United States, his dedication to the cause of the American Revolution and the parallel history we share with the French Revolution.

The Palace at Versailles presents a brief biography online about him here.

The Library of Congress has several items showing his history, starting with A complete history of the Marquis de Lafayette published in 1826. It also holds a collection of Marquis de Lafayette papers, 1757-1990 in its Manuscript Division.

The National Archives makes available transcripts of original letters from John Adams to Lafayette, 3 February 1778, to Benjamin Franklin in 1779, from Thomas Jefferson to Lafayette, 16 June 1792, and many letters from George Washington from various collections. The Archives even capture statistics of the wounded and killed at Yorktown sent to Lafayette by Alexander Hamilton in 1781. The National Park Service details his experience at Yorktown here.

The Thomas Jefferson Encyclopedia entry on Marquis de Lafayette explains in detail Lafayette’s impact on both the U.S. and French Revolutions.

A key player in the French Revolution, Lafayette was imprisoned by the Austrian and Prussian governments, and wrote letters while in exile. These are available at the National Library of France (BnF) here: Lettres de prison et d’exil .

Not only did Lafayette establish himself as a friend of the Revolution and fight for the United States; he was invited by President James Monroe to return for a Farewell Tour in 1824-1825, where he made one stop in Indiana – at Jeffersonville, on May 12, 1825. The American Friends of Lafayette sponsored a bicentennial commemoration of Lafayette’s Farewell Tour in 2024-2025, featuring stops in the 24 states he visited then. View a map of his stops here.

Lafayette’s original accounts of the tour are available at the National Library of France (BnF) here Voyage du général aux Etats-Unis d’Amérique, 1824-1825.

A beautiful display on Marquis de Lafayette is now viewable on the second floor of the Indiana State Library, installed by Roxanna O’Bryant. Please come for a visit! For more details about the bicentennial commemoration of Lafayette’s Farewell tour of the United States, stay tuned for our Dec. 11 blog post.

This blog post was written by Katie Springer, reference librarian and director of the Indiana State Data Center. For more information, contact the Reference and Government Services Division at 317-232-3678, or submit an Ask-A-Librarian request.

Indiana Department of Workforce Development data

I’d like to introduce you to data from the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, one of the State Data Center’s long time partners in providing access to public data about Indiana. The Indiana DWD produces data and reports about state employment at multiple geographic levels using its website Hoosiers by the Numbers, or HoosierData.IN.gov. With assistance from another SDC partner, the Indiana Business Research Center, they have created dashboards and data visualizations to make it easier for us to understand the current state of employment and labor market in the state.

Let’s start with the county quick stats.

You can drill down immediately to county-level data on the first page of Hoosiers by the Numbers with a clickable map of all 92 counties. With one click, you’ll receive a county profile full of data highlights covering population, education, commuting, labor force, industry and income.

If you choose St. Joseph County in northern Indiana and click the tab for commuting, you’ll see that the total picture of this county in 2023 includes workers who came from the state of Michigan and also from Elkhart, LaPorte and Marshall counties in Indiana to work in St. Joseph. The majority of workers (84%) traveled by car/truck/van to get to work. Five percent of workers used a motorcycle, bicycle or walked to work. One percent took public transportation. Almost 10% of workers worked from home.

You can look county-by-county to see a comparison of where people came from to work in Indiana counties and how they traveled to get to work. You can download your results in Excel, Word or PDF formats.

If you choose the tab for industry, you’ll see the people who worked in various industries within each county. For Vanderburgh County in the southwest corner of the state, the majority of people worked in health care and social assistance services in 2023. Manufacturing, retail trade and food service round out the top four.

Under the income tab, you’ll see an industry breakdown with the average pay a person received. In Marion County, the top income in 2023 was in company management ($121,032), followed by Utilities ($115,447). The bottom industries in the county were food services ($27,629) and retail trade ($41,036).

To the right of the quick stats, you’ll find the workforce economy dashboard. Here, you can take a quick look at a real-time statewide picture of employment and how different indicators are increasing or decreasing by the month.

The Hoosiers by the Numbers website is designed to be navigated by a row of tabs at the top.

There are two ways to navigate the site by audience. If you are currently looking for a job, explore the job seekers resources to study up on the labor market you’re diving into and preview the employment outlook projections, as well as the hourly wage dashboard to see the average wage or salary for the different occupations across the state. If you are an employer or business owner, explore the employer resources.

The tab for topics allows you narrow your search for workforce data by topic. For example, choose clusters to view Indiana data by industry cluster or choose economic indicators to look at the statewide indexes and monthly GDP growth chart. You can also view all of the data on the topic of occupations.

Under the tab for “Tools” on the main page, you can click on a variety of data tools, including infographics. For example, “What did Hoosiers study in college?” can show you how many people of varying generations studied a range of topics. But don’t stop there. Under the “Regions” tab, choose the business lookup tool to explore a listing of businesses in your county, georeferenced to pop up on the map. Each listing includes the name, industry, address, number of employees and annual sales.

The Indiana DWD produces current monthly county city, and MSA employment reports that you can access through this website.

Lastly, the DWD Data Request Portal allows you to request data directly from the agency and explains the difference between what is publicly available and what is restricted. Both are available upon request.

Please bookmark this website and plan to revisit it throughout the year, as it is continually updated with the most up-to-date labor market data in Indiana. As always, contact the State Data Center for more information about locating the data you need!

This blog post was written by Katie Springer, reference librarian and director of the Indiana State Data Center. For more information, contact the Reference and Government Services Division at 317-232-3678, or submit an Ask-A-Librarian request.

*A note on the terminology. When data is seasonally adjusted, this means the seasonal patterns are removed from the data using statistical techniques. This is done to smooth out the data and make a clearer picture of the employment data trends. For more information, see the Census Bureau webpage for time series and seasonal adjustment. The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas also offers a good explanation.

Discover the wonders of the Indiana State Library

Have you ever wondered what treasures lie within the walls of the Indiana State Library? From interactive tours to diving deep into the state’s rich history, there’s something for everyone. Here’s a list of activities that will make your visit both fun and enlightening:

Clifford The Big Red Dog’s house

Families with young children will love visiting Clifford The Big Red Dog’s house in our Indiana Young Readers Center. It’s a delightful spot for kids to engage with their favorite storybook character. Did you know that Clifford the Big Red Dog’s adventures started right here in Indiana? Norman Bridwell, the creative genius behind this iconic tale, hailed from Kokomo.

Trace your ancestry
Are you interested in genealogy? Our Genealogy Division offers resources to help you trace your family tree and discover your ancestry. Who knows what you might discover about your past! If you’re new to genealogy or just starting out, don’t worry – we have you covered with our comprehensive genealogy FAQs.

Image credit: Map Collection, Indiana Division, Indiana State Library.

Learn about Indiana history
Dive into the rich history of Indiana with our extensive collection of historical documents, photographs and maps. Whether you’re a history buff or a curious mind, there’s plenty to explore. One of my favorite things to do is browse our online digital collection or search Hoosier State Chronicles, which contains 186,601 newspaper issues comprising 1,589,638 pages and 619,771 articles!

Explore maps, rare books, manuscripts and exhibits

Our library boasts an impressive collection of maps, rare books, manuscripts and rotating exhibits. Each visit can reveal new and intriguing finds. This year, to celebrate our bicentennial, a significant portion of our exhibit space will be dedicated to showcasing items from our collection. Don’t forget to check out our virtual exhibits online from the comfort of your home!

Learn about our State Data Center

Discover a wealth of information available at our State Data Center. It’s the perfect place for researchers and anyone looking to delve into data and statistics about Indiana. One of our State Data Center Director’s favorite resources is the original volumes of each U.S. Census return, located on the second floor of the library. These allow you to look at the original censuses from 1790 through 1870 and cover the entire United States. Indiana is covered starting in the 1810 volume (Indiana Territory).

Don’t forget to check out the DataPoint Newsletter, created for Indiana Data Users and subscribe for the latest Indiana Data news and lore, plus learn about professional development opportunities for data and GIS professionals.

Visit the Indiana Historical Bureau
Stop by the Indiana Historical Bureau, located inside the Indiana State Library, to learn about the Indiana Historical Marker Program and how it commemorates significant historical sites throughout the state. This year, some of the markers they will be dedicating include William P. Jungclaus, Riley Hospital for Children, Bess Sheehan and the Piankashaw Tribe. Don’t forget to check out their podcast Talking Hoosier History and their blog Untold Indiana.

Attend programs and conferences
We host a variety of programs and conferences throughout the year. From author talks to educational workshops, there’s always something interesting happening at the library. Check out our library calendar to see our upcoming events.

Whether you’re a student, researcher or just someone with a thirst for knowledge, the Indiana State Library has something to offer. Your Indiana State Library is free and open to the public, so plan your visit today and discover the many wonders waiting for you!

This blog post was submitted by Michelle Sharp, collections and outreach manager at the Indiana State Library.

Small business data resources

Data research goes hand-in-hand with business research. Though small businesses are a small percent of the data requests we receive at the State Data Center @ the Indiana State Library throughout the year, this data makes up an important part of the landscape of patrons served by our nationwide SDC network.

The U.S. Census Bureau recently released an annual data product called Nonemployer Statistics. What is a nonemployer, you might ask? Don’t worry! I ask this question all of the time. It turns out that this is the Census Bureau’s fancy way to say: “This business is run by one person only – the business owner. They don’t pay anyone else to run the business with them.” Here is the Nonemployer Statistics Glossary definition for the term:

A nonemployer business is one that has no paid employees, has annual business receipts of $1,000 or more ($1 or more in the Construction industry), and is subject to federal income taxes.

A nonemployer business is by nature considered a small business, and this is why I’d like to share the Small Business Resources you have at your fingertips through the State Data Center network. If you are a librarian or teacher, you can share these with your patrons and students, in hopes that their enterprising spirits are inspired during this year’s busy holiday season.

Federal Resources
Census Bureau’s State Data Center Program
There is an SDC in every U.S. State and major territory. You can request data – including economic and business data – and assistance from local experts using each statewide network here.

Census Bureau’s Census Information Center Program
The SDC’s companion program, the CIC Program, works closely with local data users to provide local communities of practice and policy analysts with training on using census data. Their statewide network can be accessed here.

U.S. Small Business Administration
The SBA can help you obtain funding for your small business by way of helping with research for loans and grants. Find information about business planning, running your business, and disaster planning here. View this current SBA blog article for “5 Small Business Trends for 2025.”

The SBA Indiana District Office is in Indianapolis and serves the entire state.

SCORE
A partner with the SBA, through SCORE.org, find a business mentor, plus access to free learning resources for starting and growing your small business.

State Resources
Indiana Secretary of State
Indiana’s INBIZ service lets you do research on current businesses, file to register your business, find state forms and answer questions about legal requirements.

Indiana Business Research Center
The IBRC at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business is a partner of the State Data Center Program. Carol Rogers, a long time friend of the SDC, can assist data users in answering Indiana’s economic quandaries.

Center for Business and Economic Research, Ball State University
Ball State’s CBER is a partner of the State Data Center Program. The research team at CBER is dedicated not only to the Muncie area, but statewide coverage. Its director, Michael Hicks, is a frequent contributor to current literature about Indiana’s economy.

Indiana Economic Development Corporation
The Indiana Economic Development Corporation network has 10 regional Small Business Development Center offices and a University Center at the Purdue Center for Regional Development.

I hope you find these resources useful!

This blog post was written by Katie Springer, reference librarian and director of the Indiana State Data Center. For more information, contact the Reference and Government Services Division at 317-232-3678, or submit an Ask-A-Librarian request.

The Public Documents Room at the Indiana State Library

“Patience is the companion of wisdom” – St. Augustine

The Indiana State Library has been collecting federal documents for well over a century, some dating back to the early days of the republic.

All material collected by the state library and published by the Government Printing Office before 1966 is housed on the library’s third floor in what is referred to as the P.D.  – or Public Documents – Room.

The shelves are crammed with every kind of document concerned with every sort of query – from polar expeditions that surveyed the heavens to explorations that documented fauna in Asia.

Papers relating to trade with foreign countries, treaties and diplomacy can be found side-by-side on the metal shelves along with state department-issued pocket travel guides.

At first glance, so unwieldy a collection may discourage the Hoosier enthusiast, but if one is willing to burrow (imagine the ground hog), there are discoveries aplenty. Congressional hearings, bland in appearance and recorded on thin white paper, capture the thousands of voices of those called before congress.

The Coast and Lighthouse Reports record buoys and stations on domestic bodies of water, including Lake Michigan. Soil surveys contain thoughtful county essays on farming, equipment, architecture, labor, and, well, soil conditions. Cattle, sheep and horse diseases are well chronicled, as are the travails of the railroad industry in the United States, from the metal used to lay tracks to the working conditions of the men who did it.

Is the family lore correct? Did Indiana experience one of its hottest summers in 1947? Climatological summaries of the state provide the answer, as do yearbooks compiled by the Department of Agriculture.

Maybe Grandpa Fisher really did thread the Rajah through the choppy waters of Westport, Massachusetts, in 1851, hands clasped behind back, headed to the southern seas in pursuit of whales. Find out by consulting “Whaling Masters Voyages, 1731-1925,” which lists ships, captains and ports.

Home to hundreds of thousands of documents, reports, papers, plates, graphs and census material, no mere introduction can do the P.D. Room justice.

So, visit the card catalog on the second floor of the Indiana State Library – which houses information on the P.D. Room holdings – and delve into a hidden world.

This blog post was written by Kate Mcginn, reference librarian, Indiana State Library.

Digital FDLP

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

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

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

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

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

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

‘In war, truth is the first casualty’

Any account of the first World War is grim. Battles lasted months and soldiers died by the thousands while “attacking” between enemy trenches, but for the United States Army Signal Corps – the official photographers of the American Expeditionary Forces – their task was to present the conflict in such a way that it bolstered morale both in the trenches and back home.

The thousands of images retained by the AEF suggest a history at odds with the realities of the war. The Indiana State Library houses four small scrapbooks of labeled photographs, all taken by the Signal Corps, that appear to focus on the lighter aspects of the conflict while glossing over the darker aspects of the war.

These posed images…

…stand in stark contrast to the few action shots captured from the front lines.

During the less than two years the AEF saw action in Europe, 50,000 US soldiers died in combat and over 200,000 troops were injured, yet photographs of No Man’s Land and the wounded are scarce.

There are, however, plenty of photographs of men playing volleyball, sorting mail and repairing holes.

Along side the United States Signal Corps, and despite being forbidden by their governments to do so, soldiers also photographed the war, many using a Kodak Vest Camera that really could fit into a pocket and even enabled photographers to scribble notes on the back of the film before it was developed. Photographs taken by these troops bear witness to a different conflict.

Promoting the image of a necessary and successful war, the Signal Corps also turned its lens on women serving donuts, entertaining the troops and embroidering.

There are also snaps of women more immediately involved in the conflict, French women assisting with camouflage and the Hello Girls commissioned by General Pershing to handle communications as female operators were significantly faster than their male counterparts.

The thousands of images taken by the Signal Corps to document The War to End All Wars are worthy of attention for a host of reasons, and perhaps one of those is to remind us that every picture tells a story, if not a complete one.

This blog post was written by Kate Mcginn, reference librarian, Indiana State Library.