‘In the matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer;’ the saga of a government publication

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Publishing a book is normally a very lengthy and complex process. Texts must be read thoroughly, proofread, checked for accuracy and edited accordingly. Printing machinery must be calibrated and prepped with enough ink and paper. In the pre-internet era, instant publication of important information in print form faced many hurdles.

The Government Printing Office has always been accustomed to confronting this dilemma. Founded in 1861 as the official publisher of all federal government materials, the GPO has a considerable amount of experience in quickly churning out print materials for consumption by the American public. However, in June of 1954 they faced a particularly difficult challenge. The physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer was undergoing a hearing in front of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. At the heart of the hearings was whether Oppenheimer, the man who was selected by the U.S. military to helm the top-secret laboratory at Los Alamos where the atomic bomb was developed, should continue to hold a high-level security clearance and have access to the country’s most sensitive data on atomic weapons. Oppenheimer’s war record, post-war activities and the events leading to his hearing with the AEC in 1954 have been discussed in greater detail elsewhere. In summation, the hearing involved testimony from several dozen witnesses, many of whom were prominent men in political, military and scientific fields. This was not a public hearing and all witnesses were assured by the AEC that their statements would remain confidential.

Logo of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.

The chief instigator of the hearings was the chair of the AEC, Lewis Strauss. For a variety of political and personal reasons, Strauss had developed an intense dislike of Oppenheimer and displayed an obsessive fixation on removing him from a position of decision-making power. Concerned that Oppenheimer enjoyed too much public goodwill due to his part in developing the first atomic bombs and helping end the war, Strauss desperately wanted to portray Oppenheimer in as negative a light as possible. The result of the hearing was a foregone conclusion: Oppenheimer’s security clearance was going to be revoked regardless of any testimony for or against it and Strauss felt that making the hearing public would help show the American people that Oppenheimer was not the “atomic age” hero they all believed him to be.

Op-ed from the June 8, 1954 issue of The Indianapolis Star in support of Oppenheimer. From the article: “Dr. Oppenheimer is one of America’s most brilliant scientists. His country owes him a tremendous debt for his work on perfecting the atomic bomb, and later the hydrogen bomb. Certainly America owes him the greatest possible consideration for his services. Certainly we must bend over backward, even to the point of taking some risk, to uphold him now.” This is an example of the kind of sentiment Strauss was desperate to quash with the release of the transcripts.

Sometime shortly after June 11, 1954, Strauss strongly urged, and was able to convince, other members of the AEC to publish the transcripts of the hearings in their entirety and to do it as soon as possible. The AEC desperately tried to reach each witness and alert them that statements they had made under the assurance of confidentially would shortly become public knowledge and fodder for the press.

The transcript of the hearing ended up comprising a whopping 3,000 pages. Much of the discussions held within revolved around confidential national security issues and therefore someone would need to read through everything very carefully and redact any information deemed too sensitive for public consumption. Someone else would need to go through the entire transcript and perform basic editing. The final product, titled “In the matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer,” ended up comprising 993 pages and was officially released on June 15, 1954, mere days after Strauss convinced the AEC to go ahead with publication. It was no small feat that the GPO was able to produce this massive volume so quickly and thus make important information available to the American public.

The final product from GPO. Note the date stamped in the upper corner. The volume was released June 15, 1954. The Indiana State Library received their copy several weeks later on July 8, 1954.

The release received a front page headline in the Indianapolis Star.

Ultimately, the swift publication of the hearing did not have the affect Strauss wanted. Instead of damning Oppenheimer in the mind of the American public, many were alarmed at what they perceived as governmental bullying since parts of the hearing veered into salacious aspects of Oppenheimer’s personal life. Others noted that most of the security-related objections to Oppenheimer were well-known prior to his war work on the Manhattan Project. Essentially, the government had known most of the information released in the hearing and still trusted him to oversee the largest top-secret military project in history. The motivation to remove him from playing any role in the further development of atomic weapons was deemed political and petty and would eventually factor into Strauss’s own political downfall several years later.

The full unredacted transcript of the hearing was declassified in 2014 and is available in its entirety from the U.S. Department of Energy here.

In 2022, the decision to revoke Oppenheimer’s security clearance was officially vacated. The full text of the decision made by the Department of Energy is available here.

Sources
Curtis, Charles P. “The Oppenheimer case: the trial of a security system.” New York: Simone and Schuster, 1955. (ISLM QC16.O62 C8)

Schlesinger Jr., Arthur M. “The Oppenheimer case.” The Atlantic, October 1954.

Stern, Philip M. “The Oppenheimer case: security on trial.” New York : Harper & Row, 1969. (ISLM QC16.O82 S69)

U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. “In the matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer: transcript of hearing before the Personnel Security Board.” Washington, D.C. Government Printing Office, 1954. (ISLM p.d. 925 O62i)

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.”

Solar eclipses on the horizon

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The coming year is a big one for astronomy enthusiasts – the United States will see two solar eclipses in the span of just six months! An annular eclipse will occur on Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023, and a total eclipse will occur on Monday, April 8, 2024.

An annual eclipse takes place when the moon is further away from the earth in its orbit, and it cannot completely cover the sun. In this case, while most of the sun is covered, there will be a bright ring around the moon. This October, the western U.S. will be in the path of this annular eclipse; in Indiana, it will appear as a partial eclipse, meaning a large portion of the sun will always be visible.

2023-24 eclipse map, courtesy of NASA.

In April 2024, however, Indiana is directly in the path for a total eclipse. A total eclipse takes place when the moon is just the right distance from the Earth, and it covers the entire sun when it moves between the sun and Earth. In this case, the path of the total eclipse will move from Northeast to Southwest Indiana; just after 3 p.m. Eastern Time, Indianapolis will experience the total eclipse. See what time the eclipse will occur over your town, as well as whether it will be a total or partial eclipse from your position, on this website.

Eclipses capture the attention of everyone, young and old alike, and many libraries want to offer programming surrounding this exciting event. STARnet, part of the Space Science Institute, has created a program called SEAL (Solar Eclipse Activities for Libraries) to assist with this. Funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, SEAL is offering in-person and virtual trainings that highlight activities libraries can do with their patrons.

While Indiana’s in-person SEAL training is now full, library staff can access virtual resources provided by SEAL in several places:

Additional resources include:

  • This webpage about the eclipses on NASA’s website.
  • Info on the eclipses, including an eclipse simulator, can be found on the Eclipse2024 site.

No matter where your library is located within Indiana, you’re sure to have patrons interested in the eclipses. With STARNet’s resources, your library’s programmers can “shoot for the stars!”

Submitted by Beth Yates, Indiana State Library children’s consultant.

A day in the life of the Talking Book and Braille Library staff members

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The following details the general day-to-day workings in the basement level of the Indiana State Library where the Indiana Talking Book and Braille Library conducts its circulation operations. Those who work in this department help many people who are unable to use standard printed reading material – and may not be able to use the library – gain access to library materials. This allows hundreds of people to take part in the Talking Book and Braille Library every day.

The process begins in the basement of the Indiana State Library, where hundreds of books are circulated to and from patrons. The basement is like nearly any other part of the library’s stacks, with the small exception being that all items are a part of the Talking Book and Braille Library and each item being circulated is a different form of an accessible book. From large print books to audio books to braille, every day there is an ebb and flow of accessible reading material sent out and returned, and here is how it works:

The day starts with requested large print books being pulled from the shelves in the stacks of the basement. They are then checked out to be sent through the InfoExpress courier service to the requesting libraries to be held for their patrons. From there, these books are transferred to the State Library’s circulation desk where they are processed by circulation staff and sent on their way via the courier service. Any incoming books are brought down and checked back in as well.

TBBL staff opening the returned mail to check in the talking books cartridges.

Next, large print and braille books are mailed directly to patrons through the Talking Books and Braille Library. These books are pulled from shelves in the same manner as the other books, as well as checked out, but rather than being sent to circulation, these books are bagged up along with their associated mailing cards and set in mail tubs to be sent out later in the day through the United States Post Office. The cases used for the braille books are tough, black, Velcro-enclosed boxes that help in the safety of the books during transportation. All these books are mailed as “free matter for the blind,” and no postage is paid by the library or the patrons.

After all the outgoing physical books have been finished, next comes the audio book duplication. Audio books are distributed through the Talking Book and Braille Library via Duplication on Demand. USB drives that are larger than traditional drives, and are easier to manipulate, are then placed inside a small machine connected to a computer known as Gutenberg. While connected to Gutenberg, books that have been assigned to patrons are copied onto the USB drives and within a few minutes are ready to be sent out. The cartridges are pulled from the machine, causing their mailing cards to be printed along with the books contained on the device. The cartridges are placed inside their special blue mailing cases, along with their card for the destination, and sent along with the rest of the mail. Every day, anywhere from 100 to potentially upwards of 500 of these are sent out, with each USB containing anywhere from one to around 10 books.

A mail tub with outgoing talking book cartridges.

Alongside the Duplication on Demand cartridges, digital players must be sent out as well for patrons to be able to listen to these books. Players are held on to, often for years at a time, so the amount of players circulating each day is far lower than the amount of cartridges. They are kept waiting on shelves ready to be sent out as needed. Headphones are occasionally sent along with these players and are kept in the same area. Mailing cards are printed for all requested devices and they are checked out in KLAS, and sent out as well. This marks the end of the outgoing materials from the basement section of the Talking Book and Braille Library.

Talking book players are stored here until they are either sent to a patron or sent to the repair shop for evaluation and cleaning.

Next comes the incoming material. Every day, just as hundreds of books split between the three types go out, a similar amount comes in. Mail tubs arrive in the middle of the day at the loading dock. Mail is separated and sorted, and then the process of checking everything in starts. Books are checked back in, making them available to be borrowed again. Duplication on Demand cartridges are separated from their cases and scanned to become available to be overwritten with new books the following day. Players are marked to be refreshed or repaired and placed on holding shelves where they will be sent to the repair group in Fort Wayne. The repair group is a volunteer organization that works with talking book players from the Indiana State Library, as well as a few other states. Once at the repair group they will be checked for any issues, fixed of any that are found, and returned later to become available for circulation once again. Alongside these returned materials from patrons, repaired machines could arrive with this mail as well.

Hopefully, this look into the day-to-day operations of the Indiana Talking Book and Braille Library has been informative and insightful.

This post was submitted by Derrick Fraser, Indiana Talking Book and Braille Library. 

Love found and lost in the Hoosier State

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One of the tasks I have as a librarian with the Indiana State Library is fact checking the Indiana Legacy’s Indiana Marriages Through 1850. I fact check the marriage index by searching the Indiana marriage records that are available through the Family Search Affiliate Library database.

When searching for the marriage of Columbus C. Pease and Rachel Conger in Dearborn County, I found supplemental material; a poem written by Judge A. J. Cotton, the judge that solemnized the marriage.

In this gay world of fruits and flowers

There’s nought that some will please

But twill be seen this damsel fair

At least is fond of PEASE

I believe the poem came naturally to Judge Cotton, as he seems particularly inspired by observations in his community as demonstrated by his published book of poetry, “Cotton’s Keepsake: Poems on Various Subjects; To Which Is Appended a Short Autobiographical Sketch of the Life of the Author, and a Condensed History of the Early Settlements, Incidents, and Improvements of the Country, From the Early Settlers Themselves.”

When it came to adding a little something extra, it seems that Indiana marriage officiants in the 1800s couldn’t help themselves. When searching for the marriage of Samuel H. Owen and Mariah L. Hitchcock of Floyd County, I found the Reverend B. H. Hickox drew love birds as an addition to the marriage seal.

Close-up of the love bird seal.

Sometimes, it was a spouse who took creative liberties. A rhyming notice from David Andrews appeared a few times in The Western Sun and General Advertiser newspaper during the month of May 1840.

Historically, when a woman deserted a marriage, a husband could claim that he was not financially responsible for anything the wife may purchase by credit. David was sure to notify all that he was not responsible for any of Maryann’s debts.

In Knox County, Indiana on Sept. 13,1825, a David Andrews and a Mary Ann McFadden were married, this very well may be the same couple that had marriage woes in 1840.

David seems to have had trouble with his whole family as there appeared ads in the same newspaper for a David Andrews and a George Andrews that had runaway, however these ads did not rhyme.

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

Resources
“Cotton’s Keepsake: Poems on Various Subjects; To Which Is Appended a Short Autobiographical Sketch of the Life of the Author, and a Condensed History of the Early Settlements, Incidents, and Improvements of the Country, From the Early Settlers Themselves” by A.J. Cotton, Indiana State Library, call number: ISLI 977.201 D285c 1977.

“Cotton’s Keepsake. Poems on Various Subjects”
“Our Land Our Literature” – Alfred Johnson Cotton
“Strangers to Us All: Lawyers and Poetry” – Alfred Johnson Cotton
“Wiggles and Squiggles”

Walking in your ancestors’ footsteps – Genealogy road trip tips

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While doing genealogy research it’s common to imagine what your ancestor’s day-to-day life was like. You may find yourself wondering what shops they visited; where they worshiped, mourned and celebrated; or what sights and sounds existed where they lived. You may even feel a sense of connection to where your ancestors dwelled and a desire to immerse yourself in the area’s history.

John P. Parrish – Image from Indiana State Library Digital Collection.

Have you ever thought about how nice it would be to peruse the archives in your ancestral hometown and dig into your family history research? Answers to your most puzzling genealogical questions may be hiding on a dusty shelf of a local repository. Precious records that can’t be found online may only be available at the area courthouse or archives.

If you engage in this type of thinking, consider a trip to your ancestor’s hometown. Walk in their footsteps, learn about local family history and explore a new destination all at once!

Here are some quick tips on how to make the most of an ancestral trip:

Research in advance and make note of any addresses, business names or towns where your ancestors lived or worked that you are interested in visiting. Census records, newspapers, atlases or city directories are useful in determining locations. If you are researching where your ancestor immigrated from look for naturalization records, passenger lists, vital and other types of records to help you identify their place of origin.

Elenor Carter and other family members – Image from Indiana State Library Digital Collection.

Learn the local history to gain an understanding of what it was like for your ancestors in their lifetime. Websites like Family Search and Internet Archive have a variety of free local history books in their digital collections to read on your home computer. Search your local public library catalog to see if they have books that you are interested in. The Indiana State Library, for example, has numerous county histories within the collection. Just search the library’s catalog to explore our holdings.

Dry goods store – Image from Indiana State Library Digital Collection.

Identify the research topics of interest, the types of records you would like to find and the locations where they are held. The Family Search Research Wiki has information on where records are held by location. Then, visit the websites of the local library, archive, genealogical or historical society. Sometimes they offer research guides with information about their holdings. For example, the Indiana State Library has a variety of guides including this handy list of genealogical resources at the library by Indiana county.

Arndt home on Stolpe, Germany – Image from Indiana State Library Digital Collection.

As with any trip, it’s a good idea to make a list of the items you will need to bring with you. For a genealogy trip some additional items to include are:

  • Flash drive or storage device to save research.
    • Tip: Don’t forget to backup any items that you save as a failsafe in case you lose or damage a storage device during your trip.
  • A camera to take photos of gravestones, sites and landmarks.
  • A notebook, laptop or tablet to organize your research.
  • If you have living relatives that agree to an interview, think about bringing recording devices along.
    • Tip: You could use a smartphone app to serve this purpose but consider a back-up method in case of tech issues, such as a handheld recorder.
  • Research that you’ve already done or important documents to which you will need to refer.
  • List of locations you wish to visit.
  • List of research goals.

Emma Powers, Grace Gossett and Margaret Gossett – Image from Indiana State Library Digital Collection.

Call or email the library, archive or genealogical society in advance to give them a heads up about your visit. Some locations require appointments, and it is helpful to learn about their rules for visitors ahead of time. Be prepared to provide them with the specific questions you are trying to answer or research goals. This way you will know what to expect when you arrive. After all, there will be so much to see and do!

If you are considering a trip to the Indiana State Library, reach out to us by phone at 317-232-3689 or by using our wonderful Ask-a-Librarian service. We are happy to help.

Cpl. Thomas answering telephone – Image from Indiana State Library Digital Collection.

Would you like to learn more? Pick up a copy of the following books to help you prepare for your trip:

“Visiting Your Ancestral Town: Walk in the Footsteps of your Ancestors” by Carolyn Schott is full of great suggestions and advice to make the most out of your trip!

For more specifics on how to conduct research during your trip, pick up a copy of “Searching on Location: Planning a Research Trip” by Anne Ross Balhuizen.

Those with German ancestors may be interested in reading “Researching in Germany: A Handbook for your Visit to the Homeland of Your Ancestors” by Roger P. Minert.

Safe travels!

This blog post is by Dagny Villegas, Genealogy Division librarian.

2023 National Book Festival – Indiana’s involvement

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The Library of Congress is once again presenting the National Book Festival, and Indiana is excited to be part of it. The 23nd running of the festival will take place in-person on Aug. 12 at the Washington Convention Center. A selection of programs will be livestreamed, and videos of those presentations can be viewed online after the festival concludes. The theme for this year’s festival is “Everyone Has a Story.”

Indiana is participating in the festival in a variety of ways. The Indiana Center for the Book will staff the Indiana booth in the Roadmap to Reading area of the festival, and two books by Indiana authors are being highlighted at the festival as part of the Great Reads from Great Places initiative. “The Rabbit Hutch” by Tess Gunty is the selection for adult readers and “Grace and Box” by Kim Howard is the selection for youth readers.

The Indiana Center for the Book is partnering with Indiana Humanities to host a program with Tess Gunty in-person on July 17. You are welcome to join Indiana Humanities and the Indiana Authors Awards for a conversation between National Book Award winner Tess Gunty and Indiana author Susan Neville at the Indiana Landmarks Center on Monday, July 17 at 6:30 p.m. Eastern. The event is free but registration is required.

“Grace and Box” won the Indiana Authors Award in the Children’s category in 2022 and was also nominated for the Indiana Early Literacy Firefly Award in 2022.

In addition to these two authors, Indiana author Chasten Buttigieg will also be at the festival in-person. Buttigieg’s book “I Have Something to Tell You – For Young Adults: A Memoir” is featured in a program guide put together by Indiana Humanities and Indiana Center for the Book. Use the program guide to participate in the festival. Explore the writings of one of the authors. Learn more about the Library of Congress, our national library. Listen to a podcast interview in a group and discuss it afterwards. Above all, enjoy connecting with Hoosier literary heritage.

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

Service animals in public accommodations

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The Indiana General Assembly wrapped up its 2023 session several weeks ago. Many new laws were passed including HEA 1354. HEA 1354 modifies a few things in Indiana law regarding service animals and also codifies some of the longstanding principles regarding service animals in public establishments. HEA 1354 is effective as of July 1, 2023.

HEA 1354 narrows the definition of service animal to just dogs and miniature horses. Previously, Indiana law was pretty open and recognized any animal that was trained as a hearing animal, guide animal, assistance animal, seizure alert animal, mobility animal, psychiatric service animal or autism service animal. HEA 1354 requires public accommodations to make reasonable modifications in policies, practices or procedures to permit the use of a service animal by an individual with a disability.

In determining whether reasonable modifications in policies, practices or procedures can be made to allow a miniature horse into a specific facility, a public accommodation must consider the type, size and weight of the miniature horse and whether the facility can accommodate these features; whether the handler has sufficient control of the miniature horse; whether the miniature horse is housebroken; and whether the miniature horse’s presence in a specific facility compromises legitimate safety requirements that are necessary for safe operation.

A public accommodation may charge the handler for damage caused by the service animal if a public accommodation normally charges an individual for damage the individual causes. A public accommodation may ask an individual with a disability to remove a service animal from the premises if the animal is out of control and the animal’s handler does not take effective action to control it or if the animal is not housebroken. If a public accommodation excludes a service animal for reasons permitted by law, the public accommodation must give the person with a disability the opportunity to obtain services without having the service animal on the premises.

It was already the case that service animals in training are entitled to access public accommodations, but HEA 1354 adds that the service animal in training must be under the control of its trainer at all times while on the premises of the public accommodation. A service animal must be under the control of its handler at all times as well, while on the premises of a public accommodation. A service animal must have a harness, leash or other tether, unless the handler is unable because of a disability to use a harness, leash, or other tether; or use of a harness, leash or other tether would interfere with the service animal’s safe, effective performance of work or tasks in which case the service animal must be under the handler’s control by other effective means, such as the use of voice control or signals.

HEA 1354 declares that a public accommodation is not responsible for the care or supervision of a service animal. Further, a public accommodation cannot ask about the nature or extent of an individual’s disability but may make two inquiries to determine whether an animal qualifies as a service animal. The public accommodation may ask whether the animal is required because of a disability and what work or task the animal has been trained to perform.

A public accommodation cannot require documentation, such as proof that the animal has been certified, trained or licensed as a service animal. A public accommodation also may not make inquiries about a service animal’s qualifications when it is readily apparent that the animal is trained to do work or perform tasks for an individual with a disability.

An individual with a disability is permitted to be accompanied by a service animal in all areas of a place of public accommodation where members of the public, program participants, clients, customers, patrons or invitees are allowed to go.

A public accommodation cannot ask or require an individual with a disability accompanied by a service animal to pay a fee for access to the public accommodation or comply with other requirements not applicable to a person without a service animal.

An individual with a disability is defined as an individual:

(1) who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities:

(2) who has a record of a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities; or

(3) who is regarded as having a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.

A public accommodation is defined as an establishment that caters or offers services, facilities or goods to the general public.

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

History Escape Room Kits from the Indiana State Library!

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Attention teachers and youth librarians! There’s a new kit coming from the Indiana State Library created especially with middle and high school students in mind. History Escape Room Kits will be available for teachers and librarians to check out starting in January of 2024.

Escape rooms are a popular way to engage students in learning, problem solving and critical thinking. Students enter a room or a space and are presented with a problem or mystery. They are “locked in” until the mystery is solved. They must scour the room for clues and work together to solve a series of puzzles that involve all manner of skills: map reading, image analysis, math problems, analyzing short passages, searching through newspapers, teamwork, leadership and more. If they succeed in solving the puzzles (usually in a limited amount of time) they can solve the mystery and “escape.”

The Indiana State Library’s History Escape Room Kits are being developed for Indiana’s public libraries and schools. All programs will be steeped in history and based on primary sources available from the Indiana State Library’s collections and the collections of the Library of Congress. The programs will be housed in containers and shipped to libraries and schools using the State Library’s courier network. Possible themes for the kits include: Genealogy with the Iris Baughman Diary, Jazz on Indiana Avenue with Sanborn Maps, Presidents and Vice Presidents of Indiana (including Benjamin Harrison), the Flu Pandemic of 1918 with WWI letters, Famous Political Speeches in Indiana and Indiana Basketball focused on Crispus Attucks High School.

Each History Escape Room kit will align with Social Studies Standards in Indiana for grades 6-12. These standards include map reading, industry in Indiana, primary and secondary sources, and events and movements in the 20th century. Escape rooms could be used by teachers as an engaging activity both during and after school hours. Youth librarians could use them as a pre-planned out-of-the-box program. History Escape Room kits will be designed for up to 16 youth to work on together but could be used by groups as small as four. Teachers could check out two to three copies of the same kit to accommodate larger classroom sizes.

Ease of use is front of mind for these kits. Teachers and librarians should be able to receive a kit, watch a video and get their room set up in 20 minutes or less. All solutions and hints will be included for the lead librarian or teacher, and all kits will be tested with actual teens before release. Interested libraries and schools will be able to reserve kits through KitKeeper, the same service that is used to book Storytime Kits, Book Club Kits, and Lego and Duplo Kits.

Training on using the kits will be available both at the Indiana Library Federation’s Youth Services Division conference held on Aug. 13 in Indianapolis, and at fall trainings held by the Indiana State Library yet to be scheduled.

The Escape Room Kits are 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.

Questions? Reach out to Suzanne Walker, Indiana Young Readers Center librarian.

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

Explore the great outdoors with the National Parks Services

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Summer has finally arrived, and it marks the ideal time to explore the great outdoors. The National Park Service is a wonderful resource for those looking for outdoor recreational activities like bicycling, camping, climbing, equestrianism, fishing, hiking, hunting, swimming, snowshoeing and more. NPS provides digital and print resources to assist in planning one’s summer adventure with all the necessary information needed to maximize a summer adventure.

In search of trip ideas or hunting for planning guides, NPS offers travelers a wealth of helpful information to explore all of America’s national treasures. The NPS website allows users to search for national parks by states and provides generalized resources for special events or groups. The image above shows the number of national parks in Indiana along with interesting factoids related to Indiana’s national parks: George Rogers Clark, the Indiana Dunes and Abraham Lincoln Boyhood.

Selecting a specific park, like Lincoln Boyhood, will cover everything needed to plan a visit. The Park Service includes resources for kids, offers tips to maximize visit experience, educational matter, guides, alerts (closures, restricted access, etc.), site history and photos. Each park has unique features for visitors to enjoy. Some national parks provide access to wide variety of recreational activities that one may not associate with a national park, such as stand-up paddle-boarding, geocaching, sport climbing, pack-rafting, e-bikes or electric kick scooters. Not every park allows every activity, so check each park’s website to see what is allowed or not, along with any potential fees or closures before visiting.

The Indiana State Library, as a Federal Depository Library, has access to thousands of federal documents, including NPS published guide maps that provide information on the park and its trails. The guides, like the one pictured above, are available to check out and can be extremely helpful when out in nature where the access to the internet is spotty at best, though that’s part of the appeal of exploring a nature park. Author Wallace Stegner in 1893 coined it best, “National parks are the best idea we ever had. Absolutely American, absolutely democratic, they reflect us at our best rather than our worst.” Happy exploring!

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.”

Helpful tools for libraries

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As a library employee, do you ask yourself these types of questions:

“I wonder what website development software other libraries are using?”

Or…

“I know I heard about a new tool for tracking reading logs – what was the name of it?”

Or…

“What are some platforms for e-books, e-magazines and digital videos?”

We all know that in this ever-changing technological world, it is hard to keep up. Especially, if you have a zillion things on your to do list. And you might hit a brick wall when doing a Google search for library-related tools.

I was having a hard time keeping up with of all of the new techy tools. I had an idea brewing in my head – kind of a one stop shop for a list of techy tools. So when the world stopped meeting in person back in 2020, I had some extra time to put my idea into practice.

In August of 2020, I started the Helpful Tools for Libraries webpage on the Indiana State Library’s Continuing Education page.

This is a list of tools that might be helpful to your library. I wanted to curate a list in one place of these tools. It has since broadened to include things like a link to library internships, library security videos and much more. These tools aren’t endorsed by the Indiana State Library and there are certainly other tools out there that I don’t know about. Some of the tools are free and some have a cost. But, they are used by many libraries in Indiana.

This list is not meant to take the place of the library Listservs. Those are invaluable to being able to ask questions in real time and to collaborate with other library staff.

If you know of a tool that you have found to be useful in your library job, just let me know and I might add it to this list. I can be reached via email.

Enjoy the tools!

This post was written by Northeast regional coordinator Paula Newcom of the Indiana State Library Professional Development Office.