In This Issue
 Public Services Associate II (PT/Juvenile & Adult)
Indianapolis Public Library – Nora Branch
Circulation Clerk (Part-Time)
Elkhart Public Library
Adult Services Paraprofessional (Part-Time)
Hamilton East Public Library
Technology Assistant (Part-Time)
Tipton County Library
Youth Services Manager
Monticello-Union Township Public Library
Young Adult Library Assistant (Part-Time)
Linton Public Library
Book signing planned for latest on 44th Indiana Civil War unit
Allen County Public Library
Chills without thrills
Hammond Public Library
Don’t miss Tuesday’s event on the future of teaching
Indianapolis Public Library
IU East librarian receives national honor
Indiana University East Library
More Indiana Bookmobiles
Logansport-Cass County Library
New Castle library plans Christmas open house
New Castle-Henry County Public Library
Major overhaul planned for Notre Dame's library
University of Notre Dame Library
NASA’s Orion Spacecraft Carrying Items From Purdue
Purdue University Library
 Email your news for inclusion
in The Wednesday Word
All public library directors are invited to complete the national 2014 Digital Inclusion Survey. This survey includes questions on public access technology, digital literacy and training, and library programs.
Data collected through this survey will be incorporated into interactive tools and maps pairing information related to digital library services with demographic data, helping libraries better understand their community needs. The survey results will also be used to inform policy- and decision-makers about the essential contributions of libraries in the areas of digital literacy, economic and workforce development, civic engagement, broadband, and public access to the Internet.
The survey deadline has been extended to December 12th. If you have any questions or need any assistance, please contact IPAC at ipac@umd.edu or (301)405-9445.
|
On Thursday, December 11, the Indiana State Library will host many activities associated with Statehood Day. Statehood Day is a celebration of Indiana’s 198th birthday coordinated by the Indiana State House Tour Office and the Indiana State Library. Activities begin at 9 a.m. at the statehouse and continue at 10 a.m. at the ISL.
From 10 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. visitors will be able to make their own Statehood Day commemorative buttons in the ISL Great Hall.
Following the button making, there will be a tour of the ISL from 10:45 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. At the end of the tour, the winners from the Hoosier Bicentennial Moments essay contest will read their winning essays followed by special guest speakers Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz and Indiana Supreme Court Justice Mark Massa.
After a break for lunch from 12 p.m. to 12:45 p.m., there will be music performed by our very own Suzanne Walker! Suzanne will perform songs from a collection of historical music by Indiana musicians.
For more information on Statehood Day, please visit Indiana Statehood Day page at www.in.gov.
On Friday, December 5, High School age students from the Indiana School for the Blind & Visually Impaired were given a special tactile tour of the Indiana State Library.
Before the tour, students were given a chance to experience the process of recording talking books first hand with librarian Linden “Lin” Coffman. “Each student was able to sit in the sound booth and read from a Braille book which was then recorded and given to the students before they left for the day,” said Coffman. “I think they all had a great time experiencing the process of recording a talking book.”
Librarians Maggie Ansty and Laura Williams then guided the students through the great hall where they were able to touch many of the unique architectural features of the ISL building including: the card catalogue, the coins on the floor, the vintage elevator doors as well as the carved owls scattered throughout the building.
“Many of the students had never heard of a card catalogue,” Talking Book & Braille Library Supervisor Maggie Ansty stated. “So it was a treat for the students to experience our beautiful walnut card catalogue from the 1930’s.”
Next stop on the tour was the manuscripts department. The manuscripts librarians pulled several items from their collection so the students could hold them in their hands. One of the items was a coffee can from the civil war that still had some coffee grounds intact. The students were able to shake the can to hear the sounds of the ancient coffee grounds.
Students also had the opportunity to use a U.S. Currency Reader, which allows the user to scan the edge of a bill and identify its value aurally with a small speaker located on the device.
The Indiana State Library would like to welcome everyone in Indiana to come and visit the Talking Book & Braille library. The TBBL provides digital audio books, large print books and books in Braille to Indiana residents who are unable to read regular print because of a visual or physical disability. For more information about the ISL and TBBL, please our website at www.in.gov/library.
The Genealogy Division of the Indiana State Library has received the Family Studies of Brown County, Indiana collection, which documents the family history of 265 early residents of that county. Although not intended to be a complete study of each family, the information compiled by Kenneth and Helen Reeve is invaluable to researchers with Brown County connections. To see a list of the families included in the collection, please visit the ISL catalog.
|
ISL Director Jacob Speer
A One-On-One Conversation with ISL Director Jacob Speer
By: Ryan Brown
This week, I sat down with new ISL Director Jacob Speer and picked his brain about his personal and professional affiliation with the library. The following is a series of questions and answers from our interview.
RB: What got you interested in becoming a librarian?
JS: I have always been interested in reading and literacy. I was a journalism and English major in college and when I was done with college I was looking around at what I wanted to do and I thought, “I really like libraries.” I worked at the University of Iowa at the main library as an undergrad and I really enjoyed it. When I moved to Washington [D.C.] I got a job in a special library and I thought, “This is for me.” I wanted to go back and get my graduate degree [in library science] because I thought it would be a good career opportunity and I like the way libraries can impact lives. There’s a lot of interesting things going on in libraries and a lot of interesting people that to meet.
RB: How did you become the Director at ISL?
JS: I ended up going to Indiana University for my master’s, so I was aware of the Indiana State Library. After getting my master’s, I moved to Chicago and I was working in another special library and I started thinking, “I really want to work in a more traditional library doing traditional library services.” A position became available in the Indiana division downstairs and I thought, “That’s for me, I’m going to apply for this.”
After about nine months in the Indiana division, I was promoted to the head of the Library Development Office. I really enjoyed my time there because we served and supported a lot of other libraries and library types, then the director position in Zionsville at the Hussey-Mayfield Memorial Public Library came open. Zionsville is a great library and has a really great community that supports their library, so I was really happy to get that job in June of 2010 and I was there for about three-and-a-half years. I really enjoyed my time there. Then I had a brief stay in Iowa at the Waukee Public Library. That was a move more for family -- because we would be close to family – but when this position became available [director of ISL], I thought it was a really great opportunity and my wife likes it in Indianapolis, so we decided to come back. It is a great opportunity to be the director of the Indiana State Library and have the ability to work with all the libraries in Indiana.”
RB: What is your favorite item at the State Library?
JS: First, I think the building is a treasure. The Art Deco style of the building is really interesting, as far as one item, there is so many fantastic collections at the library…I would say the tablet with Cuneiform script that is the earliest form of writing is a favorite.
RB: What type of activities do you enjoy outside of working at the State Library?
JS: [Chuckling] I haven’t done it a lot recently since we had the kids and moving, but I like to ride my bike and I like to play tennis and read and spend time with my family.
RB: What is your favorite book?
JS: I enjoy many authors and genres of literature. John Updike’s work, particularly his Rabbit series is a favorite of mine.
RB: Where do you see things heading for the Indiana State Library in the next five years?
JS: There will be an emphasis on Indiana Memory and digitizing select collections of the State Library including newspapers, and figuring out how to continue to evolve INSPIRE and all library services so that they meet the needs of the public. The State Library will also play a role in assisting libraries to remain strong and relevant via training, services and resources.
Welcome to Evergreen 2.7
When: December 12, 2014
Time: 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Where: Webinar
Welcome to Evergreen 2.7
When: December 15, 2014
Time 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Where: Webinar
Welcome to Evergreen 2.7
When: December 17, 2014
Time: 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Where: Webinar
Train the ECRR 2.0 Trainer
When: January 8, 2014
Where: Johnson County Public Library
Every Child Ready to Read 2.0
When: January 15, 2015
Where: Tippecanoe County Public Library
Every Child Ready to Read 2.0
When: February 12, 2015
Where: Brownsburg Public Library
Teaching Books Webinar: Literacy Connections Across the Curriculum
When: February 17, 2015
Where: Webinar
Teaching Books Webinar: Literacy Connections Across the Curriculum
When: February 18, 2015
Where: Webinar
Teaching Books Webinar: Summer Reading Program Supports.
9:00am-9:50am
When: Tuesday, April 21
Where: Webinar
Teaching Books Webinar: Summer Reading Program Supports.
4:00pm-4:50pm
When: Tuesday, April 21
Where: Webinar
|
