 This week's new Indiana library jobs
Accounts Payable Specialist (part-time)
Avon-Washington Township Public Library
Youth Services Librarian
Carnegie Public Library of Steuben County
Access Services Assistant (part-time)
Hamilton East Public Library
Public Services Assistant (part-time)
Hamilton East Public Library
Youth Services Assistant (part-time)
Hamilton East Public Library
Circulation Leader (part-time)
Tippecanoe County Public Library
Those who would like an Indiana library job posting to be listed in the Wednesday Word should submit the position and its description to the Indiana State Library. Click here for submission guidelines and to submit.
Delphi library receives grant from North Central Health Services, Tippecanoe Arts Federation
Delphi Public Library
Library launches sensory-friendly storytime
Eckhart Public Library
'A Christmas Story' regales viewers with tales of Jean Shepherd's Region boyhood
Gary Public Library and Hammond Public Library
People go to libraries for more than books. That’s why some are hiring social workers.
Indianapolis Public Library
Library announces December programming
Jackson County Public Library
Library can help you get to know your family
Johnson County Public Library
Exhibit features winning illustrations from Coretta Scott King Illustrator Awards
Monroe County Public Library
After a decade, Morrisson-Reeves Library's 5th director plans May retirement
Morrisson-Reeves Library
Have you noticed the artwork in the library?
Owen County Public Library
Viva Mexico: Registration now open for library winter reading program
Washington Carnegie Public Library
2022 board meeting schedule set for Williamsport-Washington Township Public Library
Williamsport-Washington Township Public Library
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 Follow the Indiana State Library's blog for weekly posts covering all aspects of the State Library.
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 On Thursday, Dec. 16 from 10-11 a.m., the Indiana State Library will present "Preparing for a First Amendment Audit." The hourlong virtual webinar will be presented via Zoom.
According to the Office for Intellectual Freedom of the American Library Association, a first Amendment audit is a "loosely organized social media campaign to 'audit' government spaces and agencies for alleged First Amendment violations." Recently, individuals conducting these unofficial audits have targeted libraries, sometimes in a confrontational manner.
Cheri Harris, certification program director and legal consultant at the Indiana State Library, will analyze legal issues implicated by First Amendment audits, including constitutional free speech and privacy issues, relevant state laws and library policies to consider. The presentation will help prepare libraries for a calm interaction with tips on how best to approach these sometimes-contentious events.
The webinar is eligible for one LEU for Indiana library staff. Click here to read more and to register.
 Visitors to the Indiana State Library’s Young Readers Center can now see a startlingly accurate recreation of one of the Circle City’s most cherished and iconic monuments.
For the third time, the Young Readers Center is hosting to a 7-foot-tall Lego replica of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument that resides in downtown Indianapolis. The sculpture will be on display until Feb. 14, 2022.
Indiana artist Jeffrey Allen Smythe, of Center Grove, used in excess of 75,000 Lego pieces to build the replica monument. The initial construction back in 2017-2018 lasted 15 months, including three months of planning and sketching. Pieces used to create the sculpture, which includes a roughly 6-foot circular base area, were obtained from existing kits, Goodwill stores, auction houses and via online retailers and resellers. The piece was constructed at a 1:48 scale to accommodate Lego minifigures.
Smythe, who attended the Herron School of Art and Design and graduated from IUPUI with a degree in interior design, said, "I rediscovered a passion for Lego when my nephew outgrew his Lego sets and they ended up unassembled in storage tubs. I began sorting through the storage tubs and seeing which of his old sets I could rebuild from scratch.
"The monument is my first major build and was completed in March of 2018 for BrickWorld Indy," Smythe added. Since the initial build, Smythe has tweaked the design and grouped different combinations of characters around the base of the monument to tell different visual stories and provide lots of opportunities for viewers to seek and find.
The sculpture will be decorated with lights for the holidays and may be viewed during the library's regular operating hours. Please contact Suzanne Walker, Indiana Young Readers Center librarian, with any questions.
 Jingle Books, a project of The Indianapolis Public Library and the Office of Mayor Joe Hogsett, takes place from now until Dec. 23 during regular library hours. The project allows patrons to donate new or gently used books at bins located in all IndyPL branch locations. Families who visit the library can select books from display boxes to take home for free. All branch locations will have gift wrapping stations with wrapping paper and tape.
“We are excited to relaunch this rewarding partnership with the Indianapolis Public Library after a brief hiatus due to the pandemic,” said Hogsett. “Jingle Books gives the community an opportunity to help children develop their reading and literacy skills during the holiday season."
At a launch event on Dec. 1 at the Central Library, Hogsett, Indianapolis Public Library interim CEO John Helling and Sondhi Solutions representative Jeff Roeder donated the first books of the campaign.
Since the program started, 7,164 books have been donated to local children. Read the entire IndyPL press release here.
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CSLP 2022: Oceans of Possibilities
When: Dec. 9, 1-2 p.m.
Where: Webinar
Oceans of Possibilities - Summer Reading Roundtable #1
When: Dec. 13, 2-3 p.m.
Where: Webinar
Preparing for a First Amendment Audit
When: Dec. 16, 10-11 a.m.
Where: Webinar
Oceans of Possibilities - Summer Reading Roundtable #2
When: Jan. 11, 2022, 11 a.m.-12 p.m.
Where: Webinar
Oceans of Possibilities - Summer Reading Roundtable #3
When: Jan. 19, 2022, 2-3 p.m.
Where: Webinar
What's Up Wednesday - Be the Hero! Tween and Teen Live Action Roleplaying (LARPing) Games When: Jan. 26, 2022, 10-11 a.m.
Where: Webinar
Little Free Library Webinar
When: Feb. 3, 2022, 10-11 a.m.
Where: Webinar
Welcome to the Government Information Minute. Every other week, government information librarians at the Indiana State Library cover current resources on governmental data at the state, national and international levels, all to keep the public well-informed. Follow the Indiana State Data Center on Facebook and Twitter and feel free to leave comments and suggestions.
 Online access to public information about federal and state government agencies and officials is available through several different information sources.
At the state level, one can use Find an Agency to learn about the functions of various state agencies via their websites. IN.gov goes one step further with the Democracy Portal, where researchers can learn about Indiana legislature and courts. It also contains links to locate local elected officials, including the Officials Database Search. Additional information about local governments is provided by the Indiana Gateway.
At the national level, the Government Agencies and Elected Officials page helps one learn about members of the federal government. The U.S. Senate Statistics and Lists webpage provides links to biographical information about congressional committee members, officers and staff. The U.S. House website offers a Find Your Representative feature for discovering neighborhood representatives, as well as a Directory of Representatives for all states and districts.
 The National Endowment for the Humanities is currently offering Preservation Assistance Grants to small and mid-sized institutions, such as libraries, museums, historical societies, archival repositories, cultural organizations, town and county records offices, colleges and universities. These grants - with a maximum award of up to $10,000 - will help these institutions preserve and care for their significant humanities collections. These may include special collections of books and journals, archives and manuscripts, prints and photographs, moving images, sound recordings, architectural and cartographic records, decorative and fine art objects, textiles, archaeological and ethnographic artifacts, furniture, historical objects and digital materials.
Applicants must draw on the knowledge of consultants whose preservation skills and experience are related to the types of collections and the nature of the activities on which their projects focus. Within the conservation field, conservators usually specialize in the care of specific types of collections, such as objects, paper or paintings. Applicants should choose a conservator whose specialty is appropriate for the nature of their collections. Similarly, when assessing the preservation needs of library, museum or archival holdings, applicants should seek a consultant specifically knowledgeable about the preservation of collections in these types of institutions.
The program encourages applications from small and mid-sized institutions that have never received an NEH grant, in addition to community colleges; Hispanic-serving institutions; historically Black colleges and universities; tribal colleges and universities; and Native American tribes and Native Alaskan and Native Hawaiian organizations with significant humanities collections. Organizations or collections that represent the contributions of underrepresented communities are highly encouraged.
The grant application deadline is Jan. 13, 2022.
Click here for complete instructions on how to apply for the grant, in addition to more important dates, information about additional funding for projects related to "A More Perfect Union" and program statistics.
Please contact the Division of Preservation and Access team
at 202-606-8570, or via email, with any questions about the grant application process.
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