Patrons are encouraged to use our online services such as Ask-A-Librarian, INSPIRE and the Digital Collections. To request online assistance, email isl@askisl.libanswers.com, call (317) 232-3675, or chat with a librarian by clicking on the “Ask-a-Librarian” tab on the side of this page.
315 W. Ohio St., Indianapolis, IN 46202 317-232-3675, Toll Free 866-683-0008
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Construction of a new Indiana State Archives building on Ohio Street across from the State Library will begin in August 2023. Construction will last approximately 2.5 years and will affect street parking. During this time, please park in the Senate Avenue parking garage directly across from the library and bring your ticket in for validation.
Events
News
Genealogy Fair returns to Indiana State Library in October, July 26, 2024
The popular Genealogy and Local History Fair will return to the Indiana State Library on Saturday, Oct. 26, from 10:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
This year’s theme is “At the Crossroads of America: Westward Migration and Family History,” and will examine where the ancestors of many Americans went after they arrived in the United States, and how they got there. The fair will feature a full day of genealogy presentations and exhibitors.
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Indiana State Library renews INSPIRE contract; offers new learning resources for Hoosiers, June 27, 2024
The Indiana State Library has announced the renewal of its INSPIRE contract with EBSCO Information Services and TeachingBooks. INSPIRE, Indiana’s Lifelong Learning Library for Hoosiers, is a collection of more than 70 online academic databases and other information resources that can be accessed by Indiana residents at no cost at inspire.in.gov. The new contract enhances INSPIRE product offerings to provide a robust collection of online resources to all residents of Indiana who have internet access at school, home or work.
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Interested in pre-made escape room kits starring primary sources? Let us know! June 17, 2024
The Indiana Young Readers Center at the Indiana State Library has been hard at work developing six circulating escape room kits for Indiana librarians and teachers to check out and use with their patrons and students. The kits are not yet ready, but the IYRC is looking for Indiana librarians and teachers who might be interested in testing the kits while they are still in beta form. We are also interested in knowing how many librarians and teachers might be interested in checking out the kits once they are completed in early 2025.
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Indiana Digital Library users borrow 6.6 million digital books in 2023, February 8, 2024
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.
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From the Statehouse to a building of its own - January 26, 2024
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.
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