Manuscripts Reading Room finds a new home

Posted on August 28, 2025 by indianastatelibrary

The Rare Books and Manuscripts Reading Room at the Indiana State Library has a new home.

The new Rare Books and Manuscripts Reading Room at the Indiana State Library.

Formerly on the second floor, the Rare Books and Manuscripts Reading Room has moved to the Indiana Historical Bureau’s Pamela J. Bennett Historical Marker Center on the first floor of the library near the Ohio Street entrance. The marker center was named after former Indiana Historical Bureau director Pam Bennett, who served the state for 42 years and passed away earlier this year. The Rare Books and Manuscripts Division is proud to help bring patrons to this space

Exterior view of the Indiana Historical Bureau.

Those familiar with the library are accustomed to our previous location on the second floor, on the north side of the building next to the Browsing Room, a space it has occupied since 2016. Notably, manuscripts were housed in both of these rooms at the time of the library’s opening when the entire space was known as the Indiana History Room. Items deemed the most precious were housed in a fire-proof vault below the room and the items available in the reading room had specially constructed cases to keep them safe from dust. At that time, manuscripts were not assigned to their own division, but were kept among the books and maps of what would eventually be known as the Indiana Division. It was then known as the Indiana History and Archived Division, so named since 1913 when the library was still housed in the Statehouse.

The previous Manuscripts Reading Room.

Beautiful as this room is, sound has been an issue over the last nine years, as it is now a throughway to the Indiana Young Readers Center, Great Hall and on to popular meeting spots the History Reference Room and Authors Room. Freeing up this room now gives patrons a scenic study space in the original building.

The library is celebrating its bicentennial this year and the building, which opened in 1934, is itself nearly 100 years old. Tracing the history of the manuscripts collection can be tricky given its long history that included an evolving mission and changing division lines. To complicate things further, the building also housed the Indiana State Archives and Indiana Historical Society through a 1970s expansion until renovations that were completed in 2003. From said renovations until 2016, the Manuscripts Reading Room occupied the space that now houses the Indiana Young Readers Center.

Current Authors Room with red chairs and books on shelves.

This space has been the Indiana Young Readers Center, the Manuscripts Reading Room and the Genealogy Room. Photograph taken in 1984.

Our Indiana State Library Collection (L570) includes documentation of other re-organization plans when space became an issue, a mere decade after the library’s opening. In the building’s history, the library has seen other physical and philosophical changes that included the manuscripts collections, but these spaces comprise the primary homes of the Manuscripts Reading Room. This new space in the Indiana Historical Bureau realizes an organizational merger of the Indiana Historical Bureau with the Indiana State Library in 2018 and will provide an excellent space for us to serve researchers who visit from around the state and the world.

Patrons wishing to view Rare Books and Manuscripts material must make an appointment at least 48 hours in advance for week days and 10 business days for our open Saturdays. Hours are from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. To make an appointment, email: manuscripts@library.in.gov or call 317-232-3671.

This post was written by Victoria Duncan, Rare Books and Manuscripts supervisor.

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

Posted on August 27, 2025 by indianastatelibrary

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!

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.

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.

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.

Indiana’s first cookbook: Part II

Posted on August 21, 2025 by indianastatelibrary

Last year, we covered Angelina Maria Lorraine Collins of New Albany, author of the first known cookbook published in the state of Indiana, “Mrs. Collins’ Table Receipts: Adapted to Western Housewifery” [Vault ISLI 641 C712t]. The book was released in 1851 and comes in at a respectable 144 pages. I would like to expand on the previous post by delving into some of the recipes and their ingredients.

Born on May 26, 1805 in Virginia and her name was sometimes shortened to Anna on documents. In May of 1830, she married James Collins in Clinton County, Ohio. James was also originally from Virginia. Shortly after their marriage, they relocated to New Albany where James was both a prominent lawyer and a politician who represented his community in both branches of the Indiana General Assembly. They had five children, although two died in childhood.

She wrote a follow-up book, a novel published in 1853 entitled “Mrs. Ben Darby, or, the Weal and Woe of Social Life.” As a lifelong advocate for the temperance movement in the United States, this fictional work was a polemic against the social problems of alcohol consumption.

Collins lived a long life and died Sept. 28, 1885.

Her cookbook is very different from modern iterations of the genre. There is no list of ingredients, no strict measurement standards to adhere to and no illustrations to indicate what the finished product should look like. The following are interesting examples from the book.

In French, the name for this creamy and jiggly dessert is simply “white dish.” This recipe calls for Russian isinglass, a thickening agent made from the dried swim bladders of fish which was used before gelatin became a pantry staple.

A homemaker in the mid-19th century such as Collins could not go to her local grocery store and easily pluck a box of crackers off a shelf. She had to make them from scratch using a recipe such as this. Based on the ingredients, these are likely comparable to modern saltines. Note, saleratus is what we now commonly call baking powder.

Corn has long been a principal crop in Indiana, so it’s no surprise that the state’s first cookbook would carry many recipes calling for its use. Corn pone is a dish similar to cornbread but somewhat more dense. Preparation of this dish varies from region to region and here Collins makes a reference to her native Virginia and is adamant that any deviations from her recipe will be a degraded monstrosity unworthy of the name “corn pone.” This seems to be in response to a gastronomic battle she has fought many times before with other cooks as a transplant to the Midwest.

The name for this dish is rather misleading, as it calls for no turtle parts. However, unlike most of the other recipes in the book which only call for seasoning with salt and paper, this uses more exotic flavors including Madeira wine, shallots and cayenne pepper.

To peruse more recipes, the entire delightful book has been digitized by the Indiana State Library and is available here. I hope you enjoyed this follow-up about one of the more interesting items in our digital collections.

This blog post was written by Jocelyn Lewis, Catalog Division supervisor, Indiana State Library. For more information, contact the Indiana State Library at 317-232-3678 or “Ask-A-Librarian.”

Stacks maintenance and the case of Servando P. Barroquillo

Posted on August 14, 2025 by indianastatelibrary

Stacks maintenance is a task that involves the inspection of books in the shelving areas of a library that are not accessible by the public. The inspection includes examining each book for damage and dusting each book and shelf.

When one is examining a book for damage, they sometimes find items in the book. Last year, when examining the bound periodical “Marine Biological Laboratory – Biological Lectures 1898” – call number ISLM 570 M337B 1894 – I found the following items:

The first item is a Loan Division card for interlibrary loan with two stamps.

The second item is a calling card for Servando P. Barroquillo. Calling cards, also called visiting cards, have now evolved into today’s business cards.

Barroquillo’s calling card is printed on cream colored textured card stock with the text of his name printed in black. Calling card etiquette of the day suggests cards be simple and plain without embellishments and Barroquillo’s calling card fits the standard. When arriving in a new place, the owner of the card could add his contact details to the card, as is evident on Barroquillo’s calling card. His address is given as Room 27, Hull Zoological Research Laboratory, University of Chicago. His telephone number, Blackstone 2347, is of a time when exchange names were still used.

But just who was Barroquillo, and why was he using this book? As a genealogy librarian, I had ways to find the answers – time to search!

A simple search for the name “Servando P. Barroquillo” through the Ancestry Library Edition database (free to use at the Indiana State Library) produces several returns. It proves beneficial that he has an unique name.

The first record chronologically is the 1910 census for Alameda County, California. He is listed as a boarder with no occupation in the household of Edward Eccleston. His age is given as 16, making his approximate birth year 1884. His birthplace the Philippines. The year of immigration to the United States is 1902.

According to the Oakland, California City Directory, in 1914, Barroquillo can still be found in Alameda County, California, working as a domestic servant in Oakland.

The “California, U.S. Historical Students Database, 1893-1946,” shows that, in 1915, a Servando Pontevedra Barroquillo is enrolled for his second year as an agricultural student at University of California in Berkley.

A World War I draft card states his birth date is Oct. 25, 1894. This is a 10-year age difference from the year of birth given in the 1910 census. Finding age differences like this is fairly common when doing genealogy research.

After discovering that Barroquillo was a student at University of California, I pause my search on Ancestry and Google “Servando Barroquillo” (Quotations around a name, signals to Google that you want the words searched next to each other in that exact order). The search did not result in anything too great. So, I tried again, this time adding the middle initial P, searching for “Servando P. Barroquillo.” This time, the returned results included a pdf file from the University of Chicago.

The documents are correspondence dating January 1917 through June 1917 from the Office of the President.

The file is filed with genealogical details.

The first document written on Jan. 11, 1917, is from Servando Barroquillo to the Philippines Bureau of Insular Affairs. The Bureau administered the customs and supervised the civil affairs of the Philippine Islands.

In the letter, he states he was born on Oct. 25, 1984, in Ponteverda, Capiz, Philippines and that he has been in the state of California since August of 1906. In the letter, he lists the educational institutes he has attended, including the University of Santa Clara and the College of the Pacific. He concludes the letter by asking for guidance to find opportunities to attend a medical school.

Since I know university and college archives sometimes share a digital history of the institution and that history can include student records, I continue to search the University of Chicago’s digital presence to see if I can find additional information.

I find the University of Chicago Campus Publications digital collection and search just the surname Barroquillo. The results return a newspaper article in the student newspaper the Chicago Maroon about Servando Barroquillo playing guitar at the Filipino Club.

Next, I search for information from the other institutions I know Barroquillo attended, University of California in Berkeley and the College of the Pacific.

While UC Berkeley does have university archives, little is available online. The student newspaper the Daily Californian, also provides little online. To research Barroquillo’s time at Berkeley, I would have to contact the university or visit in person.

The College of the Pacific is a college within the University of the Pacific. The University of the Pacific does have a healthy online collection for its university archives. On page 41 from the 1916 edition of the student yearbook The Naranjado, S. P. Barroquillo is listed as a member of the sophomore class. Page two of the student newspaper, The Pacific Weekly, dated March 29, 1916, announces that S. Barroquillo has signed up for an oration contest, speaking on the United States and international peace.

I also think to look for any Philippines Bureau of Insular Affairs that may be available online.

Searching the Online Books Page for books authored by United States. Bureau of Insular Affairs, my eye is drawn to the title Directory of Filipino students in the United States. Sadly, Servando Barroquillo is not listed in any of the volumes, though it appears a brother is listed.

Returning to my Ancestry search, I see that in the 1920 census Servando Barroquillo is living in Indianapolis. In 1928, he marries in Allen County, Indiana. The 1930 census shows that he has moved to Kane County, Illinois and he returned to Indiana by the time the 1940 census was taken. His death certificate shows that he dies in Allen County in the year 1944. His parents are listed as Pedro Barroquillo and Geralda Buenfa.

Now that I know the name of his parents from the death certificate and his place of birth from the 1917 letter he sent to Philippines Bureau of Insular Affairs, I decide to see if the Ancestry Library Edition database and the Family Search Affiliate Library database have any record sets on the Philippines.

In Ancestry, I select the search tab and from the drop-down menu. then I choose Card Catalog and type “Philippines” in the keyword box. The search returns some promising results including: Philippines, Select Births and Baptisms, 1642-1994; Philippines, Select Marriages, 1723-1957; and Philippines, Select Deaths and Burials, 1726-1957. I search all the above vital record collections for the surnames Barroquillo and Buenfa.

There are no promising results for the birth records.

In the marriage collection, I find a Jose Barroguillo getting married in Pontevedra, Capiz, Philippines. He was born in 1902 to Pedro Barroguillo and Guarda Buanafe. There is also an Amado Barraquilla getting married in in Pontevedra, Capiz, Philippines. He is born in 1906 to Pedro Barraquilla and Gerarda Buenafe. The men getting married appear to be brothers of Servando Barroquillo, but now I do not know the correct spelling of the surnames!

Several Pedro Barroquillos are found in the death records, but there is not enough information to determine which one is the correct Pedro Barroquillo. After trying several spelling variations of her name, I do not find any promising matches for Servando’s mother.

Next, I look to see if Family Search has any record sets on the Philippines. I select the search tab and choose Catalog from the drop-down menu, type “Philippines” in the place box and select online records. The search returns 308 results. The most intriguing results are the following: Philippines, Civil Registration (Spanish Period) 1706-1911; Collection, Indexes to bautismos, 1706-1898; Philippines births and baptisms: 1642-1994; Philippines deaths and burials: 1726-1957; Philippines marriages: 1723-1957; Indexes to Defunciones, 1800-1898; and Indexes to Matrimonios, 1757-1911.

The cards in the collections are generally arranged alphabetically under the name of each province or locality. The cards can be handwritten, but some cards are misfiled and others are in reverse order. Many of the indexes are incomplete and some reports are missing. Family Search also notes some of the records are in Spanish, Chinese, Filipino or Philippine dialects. This makes working with these collections quite difficult.

Even though I knew the province, Capiz. my search in the Philippine collections on Family Search was not successful. Many of collections just had a handful of cards for Capiz and some of the records were handwritten in Spanish.

Not satisfied with my research in the Philippines record sets, I tried a searching with Family Search’s Full Text search. Full Text search is an experiment offered from Family Search Labs. In the name box I type “Servando Barroquilla.” One of the items returned was a delayed birth certificate.

Delayed birth certificates were created by the county courts in the 1940s to document a birth when no birth record was found. An adult requested a delayed birth certificate from the county court (usually the county they resided in) to provide documentation for applying for social security or a passport.

The delayed birth certificate for Servando Barroquilla has his parents named as Pedro Barroquilla and Gerarda Buenafe. Since Servando Barroquilla was the informant for the certificate, I now know that I have the correct spellings of his parents’ names!

My next Full Text search is for the name “Pedro Barroquilla” with the keyword Buenafe. This final search includes results for Notarial Records in Pontevedra, Capiz for the years 1916-1917. The records mention his wife’s father: Calixto Buenafe, blind and of the age of 90!

After a few hours of research there is now a fairly complete snapshot of the life of Servando Barroquilla, and why he would be interested in a book on biology.

Stacks maintenance, however; is never finished!

This blog post is by Angi Porter, Genealogy Division librarian.

Resources to learn more:

Tracing your Philippine Ancestors; Call number: ISLG 929.19599 V222T
Etiquette of Visiting Cards
House of Cards: The Politics of Calling Card Etiquette in Nineteenth-Century Washington
Tips for Reading Civil Registry Records in Spanish
Philippines Genealogy
National Archives of the Philippines (NAP)
Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA)

Box making at the Indiana State Library enters a new phase

Posted on August 12, 2025 by indianastatelibrary

After a year with the Gunnar AiOx Hybrid XL boxmaking machine, the Indiana State Library has started to innovate in designs to improve performance and efficiency. While automated boxmaking was reducing the labor and materials cost per box, there were a number of areas where the templates included with the Gunnar Mat Creator software weren’t providing the best results for each type of box without modification.

As the new conservator for the library, I set a goal of learning to use the machine, making its use more efficient and improving the quality of the boxes. I have also connected with an online users’ group that includes members from the University of Texas, University of Pennsylvania and other libraries, learning from their years of experience designing custom templates for this machine.

One area where library staff had struggled was in the use of the “nesting” feature. The software program would automatically place boxes in an arrangement on a sheet of acid-free corrugated board based on whether it was 32”x40” or 40”x60” without regard for the direction of the corrugations or ridges in the board. Box hinges that flex when the box opens will tend to crack and split when folded in the wrong orientation. I have revised our box instructions to reflect that the hinges must be aligned parallel to the ridges. In practice, this means that we had to rotate some of the boxes on the computer screen to fit in the correct direction on the board.

Another new process has been to redesign existing templates to use board efficiently. For example, we were using a magazine box template that came with the machine, adapted to fit the size we use in the library. It had a design that could only fit two boxes on a 40” x 60” board. I created two new designs that could fit four boxes on a single board. The new designs also were rotated so the vertical folds were aligned with the ridges in the board to make the boxes fold more neatly.

A third process was to move beyond the three basic box types in order to house a wider variety of materials. I designed a three-part box to house scrapbooks and unbound or disbound volumes of loose pages. This box was designed for items that will be stored flat, rather than standing up on a bookshelf. I also used this as the basis for a similar design that can use multiple trays for 3-dimensional objects in the collection. The outer box fits the same footprint as a standard manuscript box, while inner trays organize the contents.

A shallower blade depth setting and slower cutting speed was used to cut folder stock, which is thinner and more dense than corrugated cardboard. This thin board can be used to make four-flap wrappers for pamphlets or slings for pamphlets stored in envelopes. Envelopes are not ideal for preservation, but a sling helps to reduce the damage caused by grasping the pamphlet to remove it or insert it into an envelope. This is a more cost-effective method of reducing the damage caused by inadequate older housings than replacing the envelopes with sturdier pamphlet binders or four-flap wrappers. The new four-flap wrappers will be reserved for fragile, high-use pamphlets, since they require more material and labor than a sling.

As I become acquainted with more of the library’s preservation needs, I find more opportunities to create new box templates. Often there’s an existing template that just needs a few changes, to add a drop-down front or a drop spine or to add tabs and slots to assemble the box without glue or to combine parts of two old templates. I look forward to continuing to maximize the efficiency of the Gunnar AiOx Hybrid XL.

This blog post was written by the Indiana State Library conservator Valinda Carroll.

Updated 2025 database collection now available on INSPIRE

Posted on July 31, 2025 by indianastatelibrary

Beginning Friday, Aug. 1, a new resource package from EBSCO is available via the Indiana State Library’s INSPIRE website. The suite includes essential information covering career development, business, psychology, history, religion and more. The following EBSCO databases are now available:

Academic Search Elite includes 1,329 active full-text journals and magazines covering the social sciences, humanities, general science, multi-cultural studies, education and more. It also includes 60,000 videos from the Associated Press.

Business Source Elite offers 492 active full-text journals and magazines covering business, management, economics, banking, finance and accounting. It includes Harvard Business Review, Academy of Management Journal, MIS Quarterly, Forbes and others.

Consumer Health Complete provides 274 active full-text journals and magazines, plus more than 330 animations with audio narration and 3,746 health reports.

Consumer Health Reference eBook Collection delivers 481 e-books covering diseases, weight management and exercise, allergies, senior care, social emotional health and more.

ERIC contains 1,900,000 records, covering education literature and resources. It includes 590,000 links to full-text documents.

Health Source: Consumer Edition provides access to 68 full-text consumer health magazines and reference materials covering fitness, nutrition, diabetes, aging and more.

Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition delivers 167 active full-text journals and magazines covering pediatric nursing, critical care, nursing management, medical law and more.

Job &Career Accelerator gives job seekers tools, including resume builders, interviewing tips, career advice and more.

LearningExpress Library Complete includes academic skill-building, test prep for entrance exams, military, U.S. citizenship and more.

MAS Ultra was designed for high school libraries and contains 459 full-text magazines covering history, science, health and more. It includes more than 55,000 full-text primary source documents, plus videos from the Associated Press.

MasterFILE Elite was designed for public libraries and contains 929 full-text magazines and journals, plus reference books and images covering business, health, general science and multicultural issues.

MasterFILE Premier Reference eBook Subscription contains 500 reference books encompassing a rich selection of titles covering architecture, literature, cooking, health and wellness, science, self-help, religion, current events, sports, travel and more.

Middle Search Plus was designed for middle schools and provides 176 popular full-text magazines plus thousands of primary source documents and videos. Subjects include history, current events, science and sports.

Middle Search Reference eBook Subscription delivers 320 full-text e-books and reference books from leading educational publishers. Topics include social studies, math, history, language arts, technology, geography, culture and science.

Military & Government Collection offers 289 full-text journals and periodicals pertaining to all branches of the military and government. It is designed to offer current news to military members, analysts, policy makers, students and researchers.

Newspaper Source provides cover-to-cover full text for 522 national (U.S.), international and regional newspapers. In addition, it offers television and radio news transcripts from major networks.

Primary Search is designed for elementary school libraries. It includes full text for 103 of the most popular children’s magazines, e-books and easy-to-read encyclopedic entries.

Primary Search Reference eBook Subscription includes reference e-books from top children’s publishers including Cricket Media, Sleeping Bear Press and more.

Professional Development Collection delivers 451 full-text journals with information specifically for educators, professional librarians and education researchers.

Psychology & Behavioral Sciences Collection contains 315 active full-text journals and magazines for psychologists, counselors, researchers and students. It offers particularly strong coverage in child and adolescent psychology and counseling.

Religion & Philosophy Collection provides 134 active full-text journals and magazines covering world religions, religious history and political philosophy.

While some EBSCO databases – like Rosetta Stone and the Film and Television Literature Index – will no longer be available, INSPIRE will still provide access to TeachingBooks for libraries and schools. Additionally, the INSPIRE interface will continue to connect learners to resources like Newspapers.com, Hoosier State Chronicles, Indiana Memory and Indiana Legacy.

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

Marquis de Lafayette

Posted on July 24, 2025 by indianastatelibrary

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.

International Games Month is approaching

Posted on July 17, 2025 by indianastatelibrary

International Games Month, the month-long celebration of games in libraries run by the American Library Association’s Games and Gaming Round Table, is fast approaching. Below is a rundown of the sponsors who have signed up so far for the November event. For more details about these companies and designers – and what they are donating this year – please visit the International Games Month sponsorship page.

TTRPGkids
Hatchling Games
Cards Against Humanity
The Science Ambassador Scholarship
Almost Bedtime Theater
Rowan, Rook & Decard
Roll for Combat
Three Sails Studios
R. Rook Studio
Exeunt Press
Ten Acre Games
Mythworks
Junk Food Games
Restoration Games
Indie Press Revolution
Dinoberry Press
Monarc Writer
Clawhammer Games
Johnson Ofair
Brackish Draught
Central Michigan University Press
Less Than Three Games

Companies donating physical copies of their games will want to register before Sept. 30. For those giving away digital copies or discount codes for their stores, they have until Nov. 1 to register. The sooner that companies register, the better their odds of getting drawn for rewards! This is an epic year for IGM, so sign up today.

To help hype up the approach of IGM, I am also planning several webinars over the next four months. These webinars are all co-sponsored by GameRT and are eligible for LEU’s for Indiana library staff.

“What’s Up Wednesday – More Than Alt Text: Game Design for Accessibility“

Wednesday, Sept. 24, 10 a.m.

From braille editions to designing content for neurodiversity, we’ll discuss the current methods of creating and editing games to work toward a more inclusive game space. Join our experts for this participatory discussion of accessibility in game design, space design for patrons with disabilities and how libraries working with game designers is a win for all. This will be similar to the presentation that this panel gave at GenCon 2025 as part of the Game Design Academy.

Presenters: Chris Hooper, Steph Campbell, Katie Lear, George Bergstrom and Sarah Nurrenenbern.

“What’s Up Wednesday – How to Run a Tabletop Game Design Workshop at Your Library“

Wednesday, Nov. 12, 10 a.m.

Do you want to turn your library into a game lab for a day? Join ENNIE-nominated game designer John Mulligan from Exeunt Press to learn how to run a tabletop game design workshop at your library. Explore how teaching game design fundamentals builds literacy, enhances your library’s programming, and strengthens connections within your community. We’ll cover how to define the workshop’s scope – board games, TTRPGs or both – and choose core topics like the different kinds of fun, game loops and theme vs. mechanism. Attendees will get tips on incorporating engaging, hands-on activities and promoting the class, so people show up ready to learn. We’ll also share resources to help you create your own program materials.

Exeunt Press is an independent tabletop game design studio creating innovative games that blend storytelling with structured mechanisms. Explore a dark forest, sell cursed items to unsuspecting customers or become a stale muffin. Weird and wonderful games await.

Presenter: John Mulligan

Finally, those interested in receiving gaming news can sign up for Skeleton Code Machine, an ENNIE Award-nominated weekly publication that explores tabletop game mechanisms in board games and roleplaying games. Spark your creativity and think differently about how games work. Join thousands of other readers and get game design inspiration delivered to your inbox each week.

This post was written by George Bergstrom, Southern regional coordinator, Professional Development Office, Indiana State Library.

Ways for libraries to partner with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources

Posted on July 2, 2025 by indianastatelibrary

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources would like to share four ways that Indiana libraries can partner with the agency.

Indiana State Parks partners with libraries for the Adventure Backpack Program. Libraries can purchase up to five laminated letter passes which will travel with each backpack and will be shown at a property entrance gate along with the backpack. Participating libraries supply the backpack and its contents. The letter pass and backpack is returned to the library. Each letter pass is $50 and is good for one calendar year beginning on Jan. 1.

A new One-Day Pass is a card that can be given as a prize for reading programs or used as giveaways in contests or at events. The card allows recipients to visit the state park of their choice any day of the year. Similar to the annual pass, the One-Day Pass allows the cardholder and all persons accompanying the cardholder in a single private, family-type non-commercial vehicle to any property administered by the Indiana DNR for one day only, where entrances are designated and fees are charged. It is not valid for entrance to state historic sites or Falls of the Ohio Interpretive Center. The cost is $7 per pass with a minimum purchase of 10 passes. The card may be used at any time, including holidays and weekends, and expires Dec. 31, 2025

The One-Day Pass is an effective and useful option to promote and reward! It can be used for:

Summer and winter reading programs.
Adult learning programs and book discussions.
Attending health and wellness or nature programs.
Computer classes and reading challenges.
Patron engagement in annual events.
Guest speakers.
Employee recognition.

Bradt Natural Area, Versailles State Park.

As nonprofit organizations, libraries may request a donation in the form of a buy one, get one free Annual Entrance Pass. Both the purchased and donated passes must be entered in an event to raise funds, or as prizes for reading programs. The cost is $50 with each pass good for one calendar year beginning on Jan. 1. Those interested in the Adventure Backpack Program letter passes, the One-Day Pass or the Annual Entrance Pass should email Julie Plank, program director with the Indiana DNR, and include their contact information and the number of passes they would like to purchase. Purchasers will be contacted by phone for credit card information and emailed an itemized receipt immediately after credit card has been accepted and the order is completed. Passes are placed in the mail within 24 hours of purchase.

Library staff may also request copies of the 2025 Indiana Recreation Guide. The colorful recreation guide provides patrons with information about state parks, state forests, fish and wildlife areas, nature preserves and off-road state recreation areas. Each page displays activities available at each location, such as boating, fishing, camping, golf, swimming and more. The guide is free of charge. To receive a carton of 100 guides, send a request via email with a contact name and the name and address of the library. Include the number of requested cartons. No P.O. boxes. The 2026 Indiana Recreation Guide will be released in February of next year.

Please note that libraries are not permitted to purchase state park passes for circulation. Indiana State Parks shall not replace lost or stolen passes and will not refund or exchange passes.

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

Understanding the role of librarians in legal information services

Posted on June 23, 2025 by indianastatelibrary

Each day, patrons visit the library seeking guidance on a wide range of topics, including legal matters. Whether it’s locating a rental agreement form, understanding divorce proceedings or researching local ordinances, public libraries are often the first stop for individuals facing legal challenges.

Given that libraries have a longstanding reputation as a trusted source of information, it is only natural that members of the public turn to librarians for help in navigating the complex world of law. However, while librarians are well-equipped to assist with legal research and information access, there are strict ethical and legal boundaries that govern how far that assistance can go.

It is helpful for patrons to understand what librarians can and cannot do in terms of legal reference assistance in the library in order to minimize frustration and maximize a positive outcome. While librarians are not attorneys and do not offer legal advice, they can provide a wide range of support within the scope of their professional role. Librarians can help patrons locate relevant laws, regulations, ordinances and court opinions. Whether its federal, state or local law, librarians can direct users to authoritative sources, both in print and online. Library staff can also demonstrate how to use legal research tools such as Westlaw and Lexus Nexus, as well as secondary sources like legal encyclopedias and self-help guides. Some of these resources require subscriptions so the resources available could be limited based on what databases or services the library pays for. Librarians can point patrons to trusted sources of free information including legal aid websites, government portals and non-commercial databases that provide reliable up to date content. This is particularly important in an era where misinformation is easily encountered online. Libraries sometimes even collaborate with legal aid organizations and community partners to host clinics, workshops and informational events. Librarians can inform patrons about upcoming programs, eligibility requirements and how to schedule appointments with qualified legal professionals.

While library staff play an important role in facilitating access to legal information, there are clear ethical and legal limits designed to protect both the patron and the librarian. These restrictions are in place to prevent the unauthorized practice of law. Librarians are not authorized to analyze how a particular law may apply to an individual specific situation. They can provide access to legal texts but they cannot offer interpretations or recommended courses of action. While librarians may assist patrons in locating the appropriate legal forms they patron may need, the librarian cannot help the patron complete the form or provide suggestions about what to include in any particular section. Doing so would constitute legal advice. If a patron asks if they should “plead guilty,” “file a motion” or “appeal a case,” these types of questions fall squarely within the realm of legal advocacy and must be directed to a licensed attorney.

Patrons need to understand that the limitations placed on librarians are not a reflection of unwillingness to help but are grounded in the professional and legal standards that protect all parties. Librarians are trained to provide neutral and objective assistance. By observing the boundary between legal information and legal advice, librarians ensure that patrons are not misled or inadvertently harmed by well-meaning but unauthorized guidance. Maintaining these boundaries also upholds the library’s reputation as a trustworthy and unbiased institution. When legal issues arise, patrons can rely on the library as a starting point for research and resource navigation and they can be confident that any further recommendations will be directed to qualified professionals. The law can be intimidating for individuals who are unfamiliar with legal systems, terminology and procedures. Libraries help lower the barrier to legal access by offering free resources, research support and community connections.

This blog post was written by Sylvia Watson, library law consultant and legal counsel, Indiana State Library.

Monday	8am-4:30pm
Tuesday	8am-4:30pm
Wednesday	8am-4:30pm
Thursday	8am-4:30pm
Friday	8am-4:30pm
Saturday	See website
Sunday	Closed

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