Tag Archives: rare

Manuscripts Reading Room finds a new home

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

Room with chairs, tables and monitors.

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

Door to Indiana Historical Bureau.

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.

Old reading room with wood walls.

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.

Rare Bible on display at the Indiana State Library

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On Saturday, Aug. 13, from 1-3 p.m., the Indiana State Library will present “The Mystery of the Darlington Bible,” a free program that will focus on a 14th century medieval Bible held at the State Library.  

The lecture will investigate the origin of the book, including production techniques, as well as the manuscript’s movement from medieval Spain to Indiana. In particular, the manuscript’s rich decorative program and beautiful illuminations will be examined in the larger context of medieval Bibles. Those with an interest in book history, Bible history and the Middle Ages will be most welcome. The Bible will also be on display during and after the program. 

Presenters include David T. Gura, curator of ancient and medieval manuscripts at the Hesburgh Library at the University of Notre Dame and concurrent associate professor at the university’s Medieval Institute; Seth Irwin, conservator at the Indiana State Library; and Marcia Caudell, supervisor of the Reference and Government Services division at the Indiana State Library. 

Click here to read more about the program and to register. Registration is not necessary to attend. 

The Indiana State Library is located at 315 W. Ohio St. in downtown Indianapolis. 

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

Introduction to Rare Books and Manuscripts

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The Rare Books and Manuscripts Division at the Indiana State Library includes an estimated 3 million manuscripts in 5,200 different collections ranging from the early 15th century to present day. People often ask, “What is the earliest item in your collection?” Believe it or not, the earliest items are cuneiform (kyoo-nee’-uh-form) tablets dating from 2350-2000 B.C. The division hosts many more treasures, including Civil War-era letters and diaries, family papers and the records of many political figures from the Hoosier state.

Uruk votive cone, circa 2100 B.C.

Our unit comprises of four full-time staff, two volunteers and one part-time contract position. We provide reference services, instructional sessions, scanning and photocopying, collection guides and digital resources for anyone to use. The Manuscripts Catalog, a new database to search our collections, allows patrons to receive generated citations, print PDF versions of collection guides and request materials using an online form.

Rare Books and Manuscripts staff at Crown Hill Cemetery, 2019. Left to right: Lauren Patton, Bethany Fiechter, Brittany Kropf and Laura Eliason.

In 2018, the division was awarded a National Historical Publications and Records Commission grant to digitize the papers of Will H. Hays. Hays served as the Republican National Committee chairman during 1918-21, campaign manager for President Warren Harding in 1920 and later became president of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America from 1922-45, where he established the Hays Code of acceptable content for motion pictures. Providing digital access to this collection will enable researchers unlimited access, leading to more research and discovery across multiple disciplines. To view our progress, visit the Will H. Hays digital collection.

Lucille Ball and Will Hays at the Film Critics Circle Reception, 1940.

The Rare Books and Manuscripts Division continues to acquire material defining Indiana’s history and culture. Help us preserve it by donating to the collection. For more information, visit our new Donating Manuscripts page.

For more information, please contact  Rare Books and Manuscripts at 317-232-3671 or via email.

Vintage Valentine’s Day cards

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Love it or hate it, today is Valentine’s Day. Here are three images of a Valentine’s Day pop-up card from the 1910s -1920s, courtesy of the Indiana State Library’s Rare Books and Manuscripts collection. The recipient, Hazel Whiteleather, married Indiana artist Floyd Hopper. Hazel worked at the Indiana State Library for 44 years before retiring in 1975.

You can find many more Valentine’s Day cards within the Rare Books and Manuscripts Division.

This blog post was written by Bethany Fiechter, Rare Books and Manuscripts supervisor, Indiana State Library. For more information, contact the Indiana State Library at (317) 232-3678 or “Ask-A-Librarian” at http://www.in.gov/library/ask.htm.

State library staff meet Governor Holcomb

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On Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017, staff from the Indiana State Library met Indiana’s 51st Governor, Eric Holcomb. After learning he was an American Civil War buff, Associate Director of Public Services Connie Bruder, Rare Books and Manuscripts Supervisor Bethany Fiechter and Rare Books and Manuscripts Program Coordinator Laura Eliason presented a Civil War carte de visite album commissioned by Governor Oliver P. Morton.

Bethany Fiechter shows Governor Holcomb a Civil War carte de visite album commissioned by Governor Oliver P. Morton.

The Governor Oliver P. Morton Civil War Soldiers Photograph Collection (P001) includes three carte de visite albums to perpetuate the remembrance of Indiana regiment officers. The portraits are arranged alphabetically by last name with notations indicating the name, rank, regiment and, if applicable, place of death.

L to R: Bethany Fiechter, Governor Holcomb, Laura Eliason and Connie Bruder.

Interested in more Civil War photographs? The Rare Books and Manuscripts Division has made available over 80 photographs here.

This blog post was written by Bethany Fiechter, Rare Books and Manuscripts supervisor, Indiana State Library. For more information, contact the Indiana State Library at (317) 232-3678 or “Ask-A-Librarian” at http://www.in.gov/library/ask.htm.