In This Issue
Community Update
Allen County Public Library
Elvis and the Summer Reading program are in the room
Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library
Parents can help children grow as readers
Indiana State Library
Studebaker films go digital
Indiana State Library
Voice Lessons
Indiana State Library
JEFF Fest 2015 kicks off in new home
Jefferson Township Public Library
Summer Reading Club Launch at the KHCPL
Kokomo-Howard County Public Library
Michigan City Library Beat
Michigan City Public Library
3D printers coming to Westchester library
Westchester Public Library
Email your news for inclusion
in The Wednesday Word
Branch Manager
Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library
CEO – Director
Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library
Children’s Librarian
Westfield Washington Public Library
Library Director
Boonville-Warrick County Public Library
Teen Librarian (Part Time)
Greensburg Decatur County Public Library
Branch Librarian
Lake County Public Library
Technology Manager
Kokomo-Howard County Public Library
Branch Librarian
Westchester Public Library
To see the complete list of current openings listed on the ISL Continuing Education Jobs page click here.
Audiovisual Preservation
2pm – 4pm
When: Thursday, June 11
Where: Webinar
Know Your Rights: Copyright in Digital Environments
12pm – 1:30pm
When: Friday, June 12
Where: Webinar
Islandora Hosting Services Demo
2pm – 3pm
When: Monday, June 15
Where: Webinar
Picture This: Introduction to Digital Imaging
11am – 1pm
When: Tuesday, June 23
Where: Webinar
Click here to visit the Evergreen page
Click the image to visit the ISL Talking Book and Braille Library page
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In a unanimous vote held during their regular meeting, the St. Joseph County Library Board has named Debra Futa to be the next Director of the St. Joseph County Public Library. Futa, a 36-year veteran of the SJCPL staff will succeed Donald J. Napoli as Director on July 1, 2015.
Futa will be only the 6th person to hold the title Library Director since the organization’s inception in 1889. “We were astounded at the strength of the candidates,” says Terry Rensberger, Library Board President. “Mrs. Futa brings with her many years of leadership and vision. We are very pleased to have her at the helm.”
Debra Futa began her career at SJCPL in 1979, as a work-study student and over time advanced in the organization earning a Master of Library Science (MLS) degree from Indiana University in 1983. During the course of her 36-year history at SJCPL, Futa served as an Assistant Librarian at the Roger B. Francis Branch, as Coordinator of the Bookmobile Program, head of the Computer Services Department (IT), and Chief Financial Officer before starting in her current role as Assistant Library Director.
Futa was tapped by Director Donald Napoli for the role of Assistant Director in 1996. “There isn’t a better person in the United States for this position,” says Napoli. “I originally chose her as Assistant Director because she is extremely talented and has always been able to give honest feedback, even to those in power. That’s a hard-to-find trait, but it’s a necessary skill for a director.”
In the 28 years she has served in Library Administration, Futa has served as part of the team that helped SJCPL navigate the economic downturn that began in 2008. She undertook a number of building and renovation projects, producing some of the most welcoming library locations in the country. On the heels of SJCPL’s winning of the Leighton Award in 2009, Futa worked to establish a development program to encourage philanthropic support of SJCPL and its various programs, like "One Book, One Michiana" which she introduced to the region in 2010. Futa is a life-long native of the region growing up in North Liberty.
Jamillah R. Gabriel, Purdue University Black Cultural Center librarian, has been selected as a recipient of the IMLS-RBS (Rare Book School) Fellowship for Early Career Librarians. Gabriel is one of 20 recipients in the first cohort of fellows culled from more than 110 applicants.
To read more of this article, click here.
Allen County Public Library will host ACPL Library Camp on Friday, August 7, 2015. This year’s theme is “Improvisational Innovation: Inspiring a Culture of Creativity at Your Library”.
This annual Un-conference will take place at the main library, located at 900 Library Plaza. Pre-registration is required, and the event is free to attend. Two LEUs will be available for Indiana Public Librarians. For more information, or to register, visit the ACPL Library Camp website.
The Scholarly Communication Committee of the Academic Libraries of Indiana (ALI) organization is pleased to invite you to participate in our first THATCamp on Friday, July 24th at the Ruth Lilly Medical Library in Indianapolis. Registration, parking, and food are provided by ALI, so this event is free of charge for all attendees. All you need to do is bring your ideas and enthusiasm! We strongly encourage librarians, graduate students, archivists, technologists, and anyone interested in learning or talking about the changing landscape of scholarly communications in the humanities or other disciplines. Attendance is limited, so please register as soon as possible.
THATCamp stands for "The Humanities and Technology Camp." THATCamps are "unconferences," which means that specific sessions will be determined on the day of the camp and will be based on the interests of the attendees. You can propose sessions prior to the day of the event, and you are welcome to bring your ideas for sessions on the day of the camp as well. You can also submit proposals for two minute "dork shorts" prior to the event. These short presentations will give you the opportunity to share your ideas, projects, or plans with attendees.
Register for THATCamp Indiana 2015
Propose a session or "dork short"
More on THATCamps:
THATCamp stands for “The Humanities and Technology Camp.” It is an unconference: an open, inexpensive meeting where humanists and technologists of all skill levels learn and build together in sessions proposed on the spot. An unconference is to a conference what a seminar is to a lecture, what a party at your house is to a church wedding, what a pick-up game of Ultimate Frisbee is to an NBA game, what a jam band is to a symphony orchestra: it’s more informal and more participatory. Here are the key characteristics of a THATCamp:
• It’s collaborative: there are no spectators at a THATCamp. Everyone participates, including in the task of setting an agenda or program.
• It’s informal: there are no lengthy proposals, papers, presentations, or product demos. The emphasis is on productive, collegial work or free-form discussion.
• It’s spontaneous and timely, with the agenda / schedule / program being mostly or entirely created by all the participants during the first session of the first day, rather than weeks or months beforehand by a program committee.
• It’s productive: participants are encouraged to use session time to create, build, write, hack, and solve problems.
• It’s lightweight and inexpensive to organize: we generally estimate that a THATCamp takes about 100 hours over the course of six months and about $4000.
• It’s not-for-profit and either free or inexpensive (under $30) to attend: it’s funded by small sponsorships, donations of space and labor, and by passing the hat around to the participants.
• It’s small, having anywhere from 25 or 50 to about 150 participants: most THATCamps aim for about 75 participants.
• It’s non-hierarchical and non-disciplinary and inter-professional: THATCamps welcome graduate students, scholars, librarians, archivists, museum professionals, developers and programmers, K-12 teachers, administrators, managers, and funders as well as people from the non-profit sector, people from the for-profit sector, and interested amateurs. The topic “the humanities and technology” contains multitudes.
• It’s open and online: participants make sure to share their notes, documents, pictures, and other materials from THATCamp discussions before and after the event on the web and via social media.
• It’s fun, intellectually engaging, and a little exhausting.
Click here for more info on THATCamp.
The next Genealogy for Night Owls event at the Indiana State Library is June 24. Don't miss this free opportunity to learn from expert genealogists on how to research your family history.
If you would like to attend, please pre-register by clicking here.
IPLA Strategic Planning Retreat
July 22, 2015
Jackson County Public Library
303 W Second St., Seymour, IN 47274
This is a FREE event
CYPD Conference
August 23-24, 2015
Marriott East, Indianapolis
Click here for more info
SAMS Conference
September 17-18, 2015
Westfield-Washington Public Library
333 W Hoover St, Westfield, IN 46074
ILF Annual Conference
November 16-18, 2015
Marriott East, Indianapolis
Click here for more info
The Indiana State Library (ISL) and the Academic Libraries of Indiana (ALI) Resource Sharing Committees are looking for that perfect symbol or logo to represent Resource Sharing in Indiana.
We realize that not everyone can draw, so entries do not need to be final designs, we are just looking for a sketch, a description or an idea that perfectly encapsulates resource sharing in Indiana. This means that this competition is open to idea people as well as to graphic artists.
If you have an idea, please send it in, or if you know someone who is good at this type of work, please share this message with them and encourage them to enter.
The deadline for entries has been extended to 1 July 2015. Details are available here.
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 A one-on-one conversation with Kim Brown-Harden
By Ryan Brown
This week, I sat down with Federal Documents Librarian Kim Brown-Harden to talk about her contribution to the Indiana State Library. Kim and I worked together on Government Information Day this year and it was a big success. If you were a part of that great event, then you are probably already familiar with her. If not, this is your chance to get to know her.
RB: First question…do you think this tie is too crazy with this shirt?
KBH: [Chuckling] No. But, I actually think you should have worn polka dots with the stripes. Maybe one of those ties with guitars on it.
RB: [Smiling] Hmm…I don’t know about that, but I do have a Haribo tie with gummy bears on it that is vintage.
KBH: Oh yeah, gummy bears.
RB: My dad was a candy broker for several years and it is one of the things I inherited from him. If I can find a shirt that matches it I will.
[Both RB and KBH smiling]
RB: Ok, back to business. What is your position at the State Library and what services do you provide?
KBH: I am a reference librarian at the State Library and I am also the Federal Documents Coordinator and the Depository Coordinator for the State of Indiana. What that means is I am the liaison between all of the depository libraries in Indiana, which are about 30. I am the liaison between them and GPO, which is the Government Publishing Office. I make sure that if they have any questions about the documents or the federal depository program, I am that liaison between them and the GPO.
RB: How did you get into that? You probably have a Master of Library Science…
KBH: Yes, I do have a Master of Library Science and I have a bachelor's in Business Administration.
RB: Where did you go to school?
KBH: I started at Purdue. I Left Purdue, came home and starting going to University of Indianapolis for my bachelor’s degree. After that, I started working for the Marion County Library system. At that time I was in HR which is a weird convoluted way of starting a library career. I started off in HR there and then went to accounting. I worked in accounting for a bit. At that time they were trying to get more minority librarians, so they were paying for us to go to IUPUI to get our master’s. But halfway through the program they stopped paying for it, so I was at a point where I could either stop or I could keep going. That’s basically my crazy route to becoming a librarian.
RB: When did you start working for the Indiana State Library?
KBH: I came to the State Library in 2008 I believe. I was a children’s librarian at one of the branches of the Marion County system.
RB: Oh wow, so this is a drastic change.
KBH: Yeah [chuckling] and I loved what I did and I loved the relationship I had with my supervisor at the time. I was pretty much free to do whatever I wanted to do. I could order my own books, create my own programs. It was pretty autonomous and I liked that. What I did not like at the time was that we had to work every other week night and every other weekend. So I got tired of being out so late and not really having a weekend. I applied here as a children’s consultant when I first applied. They didn’t hire me for that, but they did end up hiring me as a librarian in the Indiana Division. They had no clue what to do with me. They really didn’t, because they didn’t really have a position for me. So I just kinda did things as I went. At the time there was a state documents coordinator in the Indiana division and she left for a maternity leave. I filled in for her and she decided to leave and not come back so I ended up becoming the state documents coordinator in the Indiana Division before transferring over into reference to do federal documents.
RB: Let’s talk a little about this office space here. It is not typical of an office. You are in a balcony overlooking the Rare Books & Manuscripts Division. How awesome is that?
KBH: Yeah, it is really nice and I like that I can turn around and look out the window. The view from here is beautiful.
RB: I gotta say, I think we are fortunate to work at the State Library, because I visited a friend that works at another state agency and it was a maze of cubicles. That is just not how it is over here. Besides working at the state house, this is about as good as the gig can get.
KBH: Yeah it really is. Like I said, the views are just wonderful.
RB: You talked a little bit about how you service other libraries; do you also service patrons that walk in?
KBH: Yes. We take turns at the reference desk and help patrons that come off the street. They may have a question about federal documents or general reference questions. We also take questions via or “Ask a Librarian” service which is online. We also take reference questions over the phone.
RB: What does a typical government documents or reference question sound like?
KBH: A typical one would sound like, “I am researching law blah, blah about whatever. I was wondering if you have any background information. What kind of materials do you have?” Or they may say something like, “I’m searching for a patent, or something that my great-great-grandfather did.” But, really a lot people find what they are looking for online, so we don’t get quite as many in-person or phone reference questions for government documents like we used to.
RB: Is that because information is more accessible?
KBH: Yes it is. Most government agencies have put their materials online, so most people like the ease of looking for things from the comfort of their home at their computer.
RB: So this would relate to the event that you put on recently called “Government Information Day.” Tell me about how that correlates with what you do here.
KBH: What we try to do is to keep government information sources and materials in the minds of people and patrons and let them know that it is free. It is their right to access it. Hopefully people got out of Government Information Day the different types of government information, how they can use it, and how they can apply it to their everyday lives. It is not just a stodgy old government book from the 1940’s, government documents are still relevant and we pretty much use them for everything.
I had a school visit a few weeks ago and I let them know that we even have puzzles and comic books that are published by the federal government. Just because it says government document or federal document, it may not be exactly what you think it is.
RB: That is reflected by the recent display you have in the great hall.
KBH: That display was really a joy to put together. We took a lot of federal docs that we thought were rare or unique, so we have documents in there from 1700’s until today. We have everything from puzzle pieces to a cigarette pack that was used in the Eisenhower campaign. I think people would be amazed at how many times they have been encountered by a government doc or a fed doc.
RB: What is your favorite item that the library has in its collection?
KBH: Oh…let’s see. I think I have two. One is a game by NASA called “Space Travel Hazards” and if I didn’t think I would get in trouble, I would play that game while I was at work. [Laughing] It is a board game and it is really cool. Another one is actually in the display called “America the Beautiful.” It is little funny cartoons and limericks about litter and the ways that people pollute the environment.
RB: Is that related to that old PSA with the Indian crying on the shore?
KBH: It could be.
RB: Alright, enough library talk. What does Kim do outside of the library?
KBH: Oh boy, outside of the library Kim goes to the gym. I do a lot of Zumba.
[Interrupting and laughing]
RB: Wait…wait, wait, wait. Does Kim always speak in the third person?
KBH: [Laughing] No, only when Ryan makes me speak in the third person. [Laughing more] Ha. I do a lot of Zumba, I didn’t used to like it, but I love it now. I am very active in my church and do things at church. I like to spend time with my nieces and nephews, I have a ton of nieces and nephews and like to spend time with them when I can. I’m really kind of boring. I am the typical librarian, I like to read.
RB: What is the last thing that you read?
KBH: Last thing I read was “Gray Mountain” by John Grisham. Highly recommend it.
RB: What kind of books do you normally seek out?
KBH: My tastes vary. One of my favorite authors is James Patterson, so I’m hooked on his series, all of them; “Women’s Murder Club”, “Alex Cross”, “Private”, I like all of those. Um, I like John Grisham, he is also another favorite. I read everything from that to…I am doing a devotional right now “Women in the Bible.” It’s a whole year study about different women in biblical times.
RB: That’s cool.
KBH: Yeah, that is really nice. So, I don’t read one particular thing, I am all over the place.
RB: Is there any last words you would like to say about the State Library or any words that would encourage people to come visit?
KBH: I would encourage everyone to visit. First of all, the library itself is beautiful. If you have never visited, it is really nice to come in and just look around. From the outside it looks very stuffy, but inside it is really architecturally beautiful and I think people miss out on that because they basically judge a book by its cover and don’t come in to see it.
RB: No pun intended.
KBH: Another thing about me, and you and I have talked about this before is that I want to learn how to play drums. I am looking into that pad you suggested.
RB: I just visited some music stores for the first time in a while this past weekend and picked up a new pair of drum sticks, because I want to go back and study some rudiments.
KBH: Cool. See…we could start a State Library band! [Laughing]
RB: Yeah, or at least a drum circle.
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