Tag Archives: Indiana

Finding original marriage records

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Historically, original marriage records in Indiana were held solely by the county clerk’s office that issued the original record. So, if you need a copy of an original record, your best bet is to contact the county. But, if you’re not sure which county or you just need the information from the record but not the record itself, there are other sources for these records.

John Parrish and Florence Heaton marriage certificate, Marion County, Indiana, 1916. Katherine Parrish Mondor collection, Genealogy Division, Indiana State Library.

Why 1958 was an important year
In 1958, Indiana began to file marriage records at the state level rather than just at the county level. So, one copy of the record was retained at the county clerk’s office while a second copy was sent to the Indiana Department of Health. This makes it easier to locate more recent marriages, because the Indiana Department of Health can search all 92 counties at the same time.

Indexes vs. records
Many of the Indiana marriage records available to researchers at the Indiana State Library are indexes rather than record images. For example, Ancestry Library Edition currently does not offer scans of marriage records for Indiana. Instead, they offer indexes to the records that summarize what the record contains. FamilySearch offers both indexes and record images; however, while the indexes can be accessed freely from home, to access the images you will need to be at the Indiana State Library or another FamilySearch Affiliate Library or Family History Center.

FamilySearch’s Indiana Marriages database has over 1.2 million records.

You can also search our Indiana Marriages 1958-2021 index on Indiana Legacy, which is available at home to researchers for free.

These limitations are applicable to both very old records and more recent records. So, whether you are doing genealogy research or looking for your own record, you will have to work within the parameters of the databases.

Where else to look?
One issue that the librarians here at the State Library have noticed is that the indexes are not always correct. Verifying the correct county that issued a marriage record can be tricky, but we’ve developed a few tips to help you narrow down your search.

First, look at where the couple was living when they got married. The farther back in time you go, the less likely it is that a couple traveled to get married. Also, in order for a county to issue a marriage license, one of the members of the couple was supposed to live in that county.

If you’re not finding a marriage record in the index, or you think the index may have incorrect information, you can also search newspapers. For years, local newspapers included a list of marriage licenses issued in the county, usually on a weekly or biweekly basis. This can help you determine which county actually issued the license you need and also confirm the approximate date of the marriage. You can use Hoosier State Chronicles to search Indiana newspapers for free from home, or if you visit the Indiana State Library you can access Newspapers.com, NewspaperArchive, and the Indianapolis Star.

Marriage licenses listed in the Terre Haute Weekly Gazette, April 16, 1885.

For recent marriages, you can also check the Marriage License Public Lookup. This database covers the entire state from 1993 to the present. It is updated regularly, and new marriages typically take two weeks or less to appear in this index.

What about certified records?
Only the county clerk and the Indiana Department of Health can issue certified copies of marriage records. Any record you obtain from a genealogy database will not be certified and cannot be used for Social Security, Real ID or other official business.

What if I’m really stuck?
You can contact the Indiana State Library through our Ask-a-Librarian service and we will do our best to locate the marriage you’re seeking.

This blog post is by Jamie Dunn, Genealogy Division supervisor.

Indiana Digital Library users borrow 6.6 million digital books in 2023

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The Indiana Digital Library has announced that its patrons reached a new milestone: 6.6 million digital books borrowed in 2023. This achievement illustrates the library’s commitment to serving all members of the community in innovative ways, including with a large catalog of e-books, audiobooks and other digital media. Indiana Digital Library is ranked fifth of all public library e-book consortia and one of 152 total public library systems worldwide that surpassed one million checkouts last calendar year. View a complete list here.

Indiana Digital Library member libraries have been providing readers continuous access to e-books, audiobooks, magazines, comic books and other digital content for several years through the award-winning Libby app, the library reading app created by OverDrive. The large collection serves readers of all ages and interests, and usage has grown throughout the years. Some of the member libraries include Plainfield-Guildford Township Public Library, Perry County Public Library, Whiting Public Library, Brownstown Public Library and Berne Public Library.

“The Indiana Digital Library has, once again, exceeded expectations. The consortium is beyond thrilled to have reached the one million digital book checkout milestone for the second consecutive year,” said Jacob Speer, Indiana State Librarian. “The State Library will continue to support the Indiana library community’s collaborative effort to bring e-book access to the public while saving taxpayer funds.”

The highest-circulating title Indiana Digital Library readers borrowed in 2023 was “It Starts with Us” by Colleen Hoover. The top-circulating genre, romance, represents the most popular in a vast catalog that also includes thriller, suspense, children and young adult, mystery and more.

The top five e-book titles borrowed through Indiana Digital Library’s digital collection in 2023:

  • “It Starts with Us” by Colleen Hoover.
  • “Verity” by Colleen Hoover.
  • “It Ends with Us” by Colleen Hoover.
  • “Lessons in Chemistry” by Bonnie Garmus.
  • “Spare” by Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex.

The top five audiobook titles borrowed through Indiana Digital Library’s digital collection in 2023:

  • “False Witness” by Karin Slaughter.
  • “A Darker Shade of Magic” by V. E. Schwab.
  • “It Starts with Us” by Colleen Hoover.
  • “The Coworker” by Freida McFadden.
  • “Happy Place” by Emily Henry.

Residents of Indiana only need a valid library card from a member library to access digital books from Indiana Digital Library’s OverDrive-powered digital collection. Readers can use any major device, including Apple®, Android™, Chromebook™ and Kindle®.

Download the Libby app, or click here, to get started borrowing e-books, audiobooks and more anytime, anywhere.

Recently, Speer was in studio for an interview with WISH-TV in Indianapolis, in which he discussed the Indiana Digital Library. Click here to view the interview.

OverDrive is a mission-based company that stands with libraries. Named a Certified B Corp in 2017, OverDrive serves tens of thousands of libraries and schools in over 100 countries with the industry’s largest digital catalog of e-books, audiobooks, video and other content. Award-winning apps and services include the Libby library reading app, the Sora student reading app, Kanopy, the leading video streaming app for libraries and colleges and TeachingBooks.net, which offers one of the largest catalogs of supplemental materials that enhance literacy outcomes.

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

From the Statehouse to a building of its own

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The bicentennial of the 1825 legislation, “An Act to establish a State Library,” that created the Indiana State Library will be observed in 2025. Since its beginnings as the office library of the Secretary of State to being housed in rooms within successive statehouses to moving to a temporary location during Statehouse construction to finally becoming its own standalone edifice, the State Library has continued collecting materials, providing information services, adapting to technology and supporting library services for Hoosiers. Prior to the state’s 2016 bicentennial year, I took a brief research dive into “The Hidden History of the Indiana State Library” to find out more about the library’s temporary quarters while Indiana’s statehouse was under construction from 1878 until 1888. Since that dive, more online resources to browse have become available.

Indiana Memory is always a great online resource for historical photographs. To find items specifically about the Indiana State Library, and not every random item hosted, digitized and/or created by the State Library, a search strategy is necessary. To start, I used the Advanced Search, enclosed the phrase “Indiana State Library” in quote marks and only searched the Subject field.

Looking through the results, there was a photograph from 1929 when Governor Harry G. Leslie signed the bill that authorized the construction of the new Indiana State Library building.

Governor Harry G. Leslie signs the library building bill, 1929-03-09. Source: Oversize Photograph Collection, Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana State Library.

Why was a new State Library building needed? Below is a photograph, circa 1912, showing the cramped conditions of the library inside the relatively new, at the time, Indiana Statehouse. The State Library occupied four rooms in the third floor south wing from 1888 to 1933. Around 1912, there were advocates for a separate State Library building to be built by 1916, in celebration of the state’s centennial. The rooms previously occupied by the State Library are presently offices for the Legislative Services Agency and the Indiana House of Representatives. For those familiar with the Indiana Supreme Court Law Library, the two-story stacks and balcony seem familiar. However, the Law Library was, and still is, separately located in the north wing of the third floor, near the Supreme Court chambers.

Two levels of the Indiana State Library, ca. 1912. Source: Oversize Photograph Collection, Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana State Library.

Another view from around 1912 shows shelves and study tables along with the Indiana Governors Portraits Collection in the background, which the library was previously responsible for collecting and maintaining.

Bookshelves in the Indiana State Library, ca. 1912. Source: Oversize Photograph Collection, Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana State Library.

The current Statehouse is Indiana’s fourth capitol building, and third since the seat of government was moved from Corydon to Indianapolis. The building called “The Old Statehouse” was Indiana’s third capitol building from 1835 until 1877. It also housed the State Library in two rooms on the first floor, southwest corner. Around the late 1860s, several major structural issues became apparent, making plans and monies for a new statehouse critical. There are various exterior photographs of the old statehouse, particularly from when President Lincoln’s funeral train came to Indianapolis, and he lay in state inside the building. However, there are no known interior photographs of the State Library inside the old statehouse.

Statehouse draped for Lincoln’s funeral, 1865. Source: General photograph collection, Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana State Library.

Through Indiana Memory, researchers can access these historical photographs of the 1934 building under construction, completed and the 1976 addition.

Indiana State Library foundation work, 1933. Image courtesy of Ball State University. University Libraries. Andrew Seager Archives of the Built Environment.

Exterior of the Indiana State Library building, after 1934. Source: Oversize Photograph Collection, Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana State Library.

Indiana State Library and Historical Building with 1976 addition. Image courtesy of Indiana Landmarks Historic Architecture Collection.

Indiana State Library and Historical Building, Indianapolis, Indiana, 1984. Source: Indiana State Library slideshow, Genealogy Division, Indiana State Library.

Take a video tour of the Indiana State Library here. We look forward to celebrating 200 years of the Indiana State Library’s existence as a department within Indiana’s state government.

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

Interesting information about the Indiana Talking Book & Braille Library

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The Indiana Talking Book and Braille library would like to share some interesting information from our history and our current service. For more information about the National Library Service visit here, or visit the Indiana State Talking Book & Braille Library website.

  • The first embossed books were mailed to Indiana patrons in 1905. This means that the Indiana Talking Book & Braille Library has been serving patrons for 119 years. The Indiana Talking Book & Braille Library became a regional library of the National Library Service in 1934.
  • The original collection of embossed books was made up of 300 volumes; 200 were donated books. The Indiana Talking Book & Braille library now has over 25,000 braille books.

A photograph of an ordinary aisle in the braille room.

  • The concept of a national library for the blind was developed in 1897 by John Russell Young, the Librarian of Congress, when he established a reading room for the blind with about 500 books and music items in raised characters.
  • Congress created the National Library Service in 1931 out of concern for veterans who were blinded in World War I. Veterans still get priority today.
  • On March 3, 1931, the Pratt-Smoot Act established the National Library Service for the Blind and it became part of the Library of Congress.
  • Braille was created by Louis Braille in in 1824 while he was still a teenager. A more uniform system of Braille was established in 1933.
  • The first talking books were recorded as records in 1934. According to the National Library Services web site, among the titles chosen for the first orders of talking books were the Declaration of Independence; the Constitution of the United States; Washington’s “Farewell Address;” Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address;” Shakespeare’s “As You Like It,” “The Merchant of Venice,” and “Hamlet;” Kipling’s “Brushwood Boy;” and Wodehouse’s “Very Good Jeeves.”
  • Between 1935 and 1942, as part of the Works Project Administration, 5,000 talking book machines were created.
  • Children were added to the mission of the National Library Service in 1952. Patrons with physical or reading disabilities were added in 1966.
  • The Indiana Talking Book & Braille Library currently has over 23,000 large print books. Public libraries in the state of Indiana are welcome to check out collections for their patrons’ use.

The Indiana Talking Book & Braille library owns a large variety of large print books.

  • In 1979, the American Library Association published “Standards of Service for the Library of Congress Network on Libraries for the Blind and Physically Handicapped.” It has been updated multiple times since then.
  • In 1997, the FBI seized from music pirates $200,000 worth of state-of-the-art duplicating equipment and donated it to the talking book program.
  • In the history of the National Library Service, they have provided records and record players, cassette tapes and cassette players, reel to reel tapes, digital duplication of books on demand and digital players and refreshable braille e-readers to the talking book program.

Many different types of talking book players and their media.

  • The Indiana Talking Book & Braille library presents Indiana Vision Expo every two years. In 2023, the event had more than 150 participants. The next Vision Expo will be in September of 2025.
  • In 2023, the National Library Service made braille on demand books available to their patrons. These books are embossed and sent to the patron to keep.
  • In 2024, the Indiana Talking Book & Braille Library will be sending out braille e-readers to patrons who can use them.

A Zoomax Braille E-reader.

  • The Indiana Talking Book & Braille Library has seven staff members working toward getting books to their patrons.
  • In 2023, the Indiana Talking Book & Braille Library had almost 5,000 active users, and circulated more than 400,000 items.

This blog post was written by Judy Gray, Indiana Talking Books and Braille Library supervisor.

New prizes coming to the Indiana Library Passport in 2024

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The Indiana Library Passport, a digital experience that encourages everyone to visit libraries across the Hoosier state, launched in 2022. The passport, open to Indiana residents and outside visitors alike, showcases nearly 170 main libraries and branches.

After users provide their name, email address and mobile phone number, a link is sent to their mobile phone, which adds a button icon to their home screen. From there, users are free to begin visiting Hoosier libraries. Users access the passport to check in to a participating library using their phone’s location services.

In addition to being a creative way to inspire people to visit the state’s libraries, the passport automatically enters the user into a quarterly prize drawing every time they checked in to a library.

In 2024, a new batch of prizes will be available for passport users to win via quarterly drawing. Next year will see admission vouchers to the Indiana Medical History Museum; tickets to tour various historical locations across the state, courtesy of Indiana Landmarks; annual Indiana state park passes, courtesy of the Indiana DNR; and admission passes to Minnetrista, which includes access to the Bob Ross Experience, added to the growing list of available prizes.

Additionally, a limited-edition Indiana Library Passport mug is available while supplies last.

Click here to learn more about the Indiana Library Passport. Click here to see a list of past and present prize donors.

Libraries interested in joining the Indiana Library Passport – free of cost – should contact John Wekluk, communications director at the Indiana State Library.

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

InfoExpress statewide courier service – December update

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NOW Courier has continued to move Indiana library materials out of their warehouses -both main and annex locations – and back in to Hoosier readers’ hands. In the past month, Indiana State Library administration and Library Development Office staff had a chance to visit NOW’s new location on the east side of Indianapolis and see their sorting operation in action. NOW has a team of four dedicated sorters who are moving quickly through old, often mislabeled items, as well as new shipments being picked up and returned to the warehouse. While NOW’s priority is to deliver these materials themselves, a few Indianapolis-area libraries were invited to pick up their materials in order to speed up the process and help make room in the warehouse and loading area. Several libraries reported receiving full pallets of materials in the first two weeks of December, which is promising. NOW is continuing to sort the 50 remaining gaylords – large pallet-sized cardboard shipping containers – of materials shipped earlier this year and getting those materials out.

Additional signs of recovery include NOW delivery drivers making over 600 stops the week of Dec. 4, which is drawing closer to our normal service model of over 800 weekly stops. As NOW continues to hire drivers with appropriately-sized vehicles, libraries should begin to see their driver more frequently, in addition to more of their materials in the coming weeks.

The Indiana State Library will update libraries about the claims process – particularly how to submit bulk claims – and the 2024-25 subscription rates as soon as those are known in the new year. Until then, please continue to report service issues to the InfoExpress coordinator.

This blog post was written by Jen Clifton, Library Development Office.

Building a collection through donations

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The Indiana State Library Foundation provides the Indiana Collection with a small book budget annually. These funds purchase newly-published books, dissertations, plat books and select serial titles about Indiana. However, much of what the State Library hopes to collect can’t be bought. We are always evaluating and accepting donations. Items we’re most interested in collecting are trade catalogs from Indiana manufactures, annual reports from local and statewide organizations, commemorative history publications and event programs. We have the space, knowledge and resources to accept donations of rare and at-risk print items representing Indiana. Our mission is to ensure long-term access to these materials for future generations of Hoosiers.

A recent notable donation was received from the Orange County Historical Society. They had large collection of print newspapers from a local newspaper office. The Indiana State Library accepted 30 years of the Paoli Republican and 10 years of the Paoli News – which fills a gap in our archive holdings. Print newspapers are notoriously fragile and difficult to store because of their size.

Time takes a toll on newsprint quicker than other types of paper so newsprint should be transferred to another format for long term preservation. The Indiana State Library works with the Indiana Archives and Records Administration’s State Imaging Lab to put newspaper to microfilm, which is the preferred archival format. The State Library and IARA will work to put these papers on microfilm and the library will house the older issues with our print newspaper archive. These are services many local historical societies and libraries do not have to resources to complete. Working together to preserve history is an amazing feeling. Thank you to the Orange County Historical Society for their donation!

If you have printed matter relating to the history of Indiana you think would be best housed at the Indiana State Library, please reach out to Monique Howell.

To make a monetary contribution to the Indiana State Library Foundation – which supports our work to preserve the materials – please visit the foundation’s webpage.

This post was written by Monique Howell, Indiana Collection supervisor.

All the student news that’s fit to print!

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“The city newspaper, that is thrown upon the porch every day brings world, national and state news. One reads this news because it is informative. The mailman delivers the Martin County Tribune to the homes in Loogootee. The local incidents in the Tribune not only inform the reader but become a part of his conversation.

Now a school paper is to be published monthly and carried to practically every home by school children. This paper, The Echo of LHS, will bring to the attention of its readers the activities of the school. It too, will be informative and will stimulate conversation; furthermore, it will set into vibration inert feelings. One will read the Echo, talk the Echo, and sincerely feel The Echo.” – The LHS Echo, Dec. 20, 1929, Loogootee, Indiana.

School newsletters and newspapers were, and still are, a vital part of a school’s distribution of information about students, class news, events, graduations, sports, editorials and sometimes jokes and short stories. Students interested in journalism often wrote the articles and a student-run print shop produced the newsletters for distribution as part of the school curriculum. Here are a couple of great examples – The Orange Peel from the Sarah Scott Junior High School in Terre Haute and the Annex News from the Roosevelt High School in Gary.

Colleges and universities also published their own as well, such as the College Cycle, published at the short-lived Ridgeville College, in Ridgeville, Indiana. These often focused on academic editorials and articles. In the March 1893 issues, one can read about “Characteristics of the Elizabethan Literature” or “Science and Literature in the Primary School.”

Some were very specific, such as The Clothesline, the publication of the Block’s High School Fashion Board. The board was organized in August 1940 and met at Block’s Department Store in downtown Indianapolis. These have information about the board members who are students from local high schools, editorial column, general fashion information, school information, society news, sports and general articles.

The state schools and institutions also published newsletters. The students at the Charlton High School, part of the Indiana Boys’ School in Plainfield, wrote and printed a monthly school newsletter, called The Charlton Hi-Lights. It was sponsored by the Indiana Department of Commerce and the Department of Education and includes editorial sections, book reviews, illustrations, quotes, quizzes and general information about the school and students.

The Indiana State Library has a small collection of these newsletters, and many have been digitized and are available in our Education in Indiana digital collection. You can research or peruse them via the Suggested Topics link, then Student Newspapers and Periodicals.

If you have any old school newsletters at home and you’re not sure what to do with them, we are always looking for donations to help build our collections.

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

Note on terminology: Language used in the primary sources sharing does not reflect language that would be used today.

 

Remaining 2023 Indiana State Library LEU opportunities

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Believe it or not, 2023 is coming to a close, but we still have many opportunities for you to get LEUs this year, in-person and online.

“Every Child Ready to Read & School Readiness in Storytime” – in-person:
Dubois County Public Library – Jasper Branch, Nov. 17, 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. EST
Talking, singing, reading, writing and playing! Parents who do these five things (while sprinkling in early math & science skills) can set their children up for success in school. This workshop will introduce attendees to the Every Child Ready to Read program, as well as the basic tenants of the Reimagining School Readiness program, and will discuss ways to encourage reading and school readiness during storytime. Join us for this interactive workshop that will provide you with concrete examples for using ECRR in your library.

Note: This workshop includes a lot of crowdsourcing and brainstorming! If you are a storytime practitioner, please reflect on your storytime favorites (books, songs, rhymes, etc.) before the workshop and come prepared to share!

Webmaster Roundtable – virtual:
Nov. 28, 2-3 p.m. EST
Would you like to connect with other library staff members in Indiana who are tasked with their library’s webpage? This roundtable shares skills, brainstorms and mentors each other.

“What’s Up Wednesday – Anatomy of a Book Challenge” – webinar:
Nov. 29, 10-11 a.m. EST
As the pressure to remove and censor books from our libraries increases, librarians have to be prepared to defend everyone’s right to read. Learn how one school corporation has dealt with several recent challenges to their school library collections and has been able to educate their staff and community on the tenants of intellectual freedom. While challenges can be stressful situations, the presentation will offer you several tools, resources and guidance to help you find some unintended positive outcomes when these contentious situations find their way to your library.

Adventure Begins at Your Library – CSLP 2024 Training & Roundtable – in-person:
Lawrenceburg Public Library District, Dec. 1, 10 a.m.-12 p.m. EST
Warsaw Community Public Library, Dec. 8, 10 a.m.-12 p.m. EST
Porter County Public Library – Valparaiso Branch, Dec. 15, 10:00 a.m.-12 p.m. CST
Hussey-Mayfield Memorial Public Library, Dec. 18, 10 a.m.-12 p.m. EST
Brown County Public Library, Dec. 19, 10 a.m.-12 p.m. EST

Get started planning your 2024 Summer Library Program by attending one of our Collaborative Summer Library Program trainings/roundtables across the state!

Join the Indiana State Library for this training where you will be introduced to and receive updates about the 2024 CSLP Summer Reading Program “Adventure Begins at Your Library,” followed by a round table discussion of programming ideas.

What does this mean? Bring your program ideas! Each participant should bring at least one program idea to share with the group. Program ideas may or may not be related to the CSLP theme “Adventure Begins at Your Library,” and can be geared for any age. We want to hear what your library is up to and what you’re excited about!

CSLP’s Summer Symposium (FREE National Virtual Conference on Summer Reading) – virtual:
Dec. 7, 11 a.m.-4:30 p.m. EST
The Collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP) will host the third annual CSLP Summer Symposium on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023! This half day FREE & virtual offering is for public library staff to connect, learn and collaborate as we plan for summer library programming around the upcoming theme of Adventure Begins at your Library.

Sessions will include:
“Simplifying the Adventure of Summer Reading: Observations from a Seasoned Storyteller,” presented by Jenifer Strauss.
“2024 Manual Highlights: Adventure Begins at Your Library!,” presented by Alyssa Graybeal and manual committee chairs.
“Once Upon an Adventure: Practical Tips for Gathering Stories to Promote Your Library,” presented by Angela Hursh.
“Taking Adventure Outdoors: Programming and Partnerships,” presented by Amanda Raiche.

“Navigating Privacy Issues in the Public Library” – webinar:
Dec. 12, 10-11 a.m. EST
The library is a public place where individuals go to seek information and resources for reasons and purposes that they may want to keep private. It’s no surprise, then, that privacy issues arise every day in the public library. In this webinar, we will answer some common questions about privacy, including: What patron or employment records must be disclosed and to whom? Can a citizen take video of staff and other patrons – and the materials they are accessing – in the library without their consent? Can a staff member post cute photos of children participating in library programming on the library’s social media? This webinar will provide you with an overview of various state and federal laws that address privacy in the library and considerations for crafting related library policies.

Don’t forget, you can also earn LEUs for watching Indiana State Library archived webinars. Information on how to obtain your LEU from the recordings can be found on our Continuing Education site under LEU Policies.

This blog post was written by Courtney Brown, Southeast regional coordinator from the Indiana State Library’s Professional Development Office.

InfoExpress statewide courier service – November update

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As we enter November, library courier service schedules have yet to return to normal. Indiana State Library staff continue to meet with NOW Courier, our current service provider, at least weekly to receive an update on progress since NOW assumed the contract in September.

To help alleviate some of the volume, Evergreen Indiana libraries underwent a second transit pause for two weeks in October to reduce volume in the system and allow the courier additional time to get caught up. This was helpful, and as of this week, NOW Courier staff tell us they have sorted through all parcels picked up from the previous courier. Even with this backlog resolved, many items shipped this summer are still in the system (either at the warehouse awaiting delivery, or at the shipping library awaiting pickup). Indiana State Library staff are asking libraries to refrain from submitting lost item claims until we have been notified by NOW Courier that only new items are in the warehouse.

NOW has been prioritizing locations with a large volume of items for delivery in order to clear space in their loading dock and annex locations. Most libraries have received at least one visit, and in some of the hub libraries schedules are drawing closer to normal. Unfortunately, we are aware that some library locations have yet to receive a visit, due to route staffing issues or volume prioritization. NOW reports they have hired four additional permanent drivers to the routes serviced by the central Indianapolis hub. This will helpfully improve service to Indianapolis libraries, the donut counties and even those further out serviced by this hub.

Indiana Humanities and the Indiana State Library have temporarily suspended their book club kit and other circulating kit services until service normalizes.

We are still far from normal service as subscribed. We encourage libraries that have not had any service since Sept. 1 to please contact InfoExpress. The Indiana State Library will continue to share updates with the library community at least weekly.

This blog post was written by Jen Clifton, Library Development Office.