February 11, 2026
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Indiana library jobs
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In the news
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Upcoming workshops and important dates
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2026 Indiana Early Literacy Firefly Award ballot announcement
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Indiana State Library welcomes new Indiana Young Readers Center librarian
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Avon-Washington Township Public Library receives Arts Project Support Grant
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2026 tax season has arrived
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NICCL to hold virtual roundtable on AI this Friday
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This week's new Indiana library jobs |
| Those who would like their Indiana library job posting to be listed in the Wednesday Word must submit the position and its description to the Indiana State Library. Click here for submission guidelines and to submit. |
| Is your library making news?
Email news links for inclusion in the Wednesday Word's "In the news" section.
To be featured in the Wednesday Word, please email a press release and a photo. |
Follow the Indiana State Library'sblog for weekly posts covering all aspects of the State Library.
Indiana library employees who would like to contribute a guest blog, please send an email with an idea. |
Miss an issue of the Wednesday Word?
Back issues of the Wednesday Word are available here. |
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Free training for librarians and library employees on LinkedIn Learning |
The Indiana Library Passport, a creative digital experience that encourages everyone to visit libraries across the Hoosier state, is open to Indiana residents and outside visitors alike. The passport has more than 170 libraries and branches to explore.
Read more about the passport here. Libraries interested in joining the Indiana Library Passport – free of cost – should contact the communications director at the Indiana State Library. |
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2026 Indiana Early Literacy Firefly Award ballot announcement |
The Indiana State Library and the Indiana Center for the Book are celebrating the 12th year of the Indiana Early Literacy Firefly Award in 2026. The Firefly Award, an initiative of the Indiana Center for the Book, is administered by the Indiana Early Literacy Firefly Committee. The purpose of the award is to encourage parents, caregivers and very young children to interact together with exceptional picture books, as picture books serve an important role in the first years of the life of a child.
The 2026 Nominees are "Bear's Lost Glasses" by Leo Timmers, "Duck Goes Meow" by Juliette Maclver, "Every Monday Mabel" by Jashar Awan, "Let's Be Bees" by Shawn Harris and "Little Freddie Two Pants" by Drew Daywalt.
This year, every public library system in Indiana will receive 10 print copies of the ballot and six sheets of Firefly stickers for marking nominees and winning titles. The packet of printed materials should arrive by late February or early March.
All locations that wish to collect votes are welcome to print out as many ballots as they wish from the Firefly website. Voting is limited to children who live in Indiana and who are under the age of 6 as of Friday, July 31, 2026. It is expected that most Indiana children will require help from a parent, caregiver or librarian. Children should circle their favorite Firefly nominee on their ballot and turn it in to their local voting location. Voting locations should tally the votes and send them in an email to the
Indiana Center for the Book. Votes are also accepted online on the Firefly website.
Tallies will be accepted through Friday, July 31. Late tallies cannot be accepted. The winner of the award will be announced on Tuesday, Aug. 4.
In order to support libraries in their Firefly endeavors, the Indiana Center for the Book will be releasing a program guide. Please watch the Firefly website for the release announcement. Libraries are encouraged to provide access to the books, have special Firefly storytimes, have voting programs and promote the awards as they see fit. Libraries are free to share their celebrations with the Indiana Center for the Book.
For more information - and for future updates on the program guide and social media materials - please visit the Firefly website. |
Indiana State Library welcomes new Indiana Young Readers Center librarian |
The Indiana State Library has announced Tammie Buchanan as its new Indiana Young Readers Center librarian and Indiana Center for the Book director.
With more than three decades of experience in classroom teaching, school librarianship and public library service, Buchanan brings a well-rounded expertise across education and library settings to the State Library. She is currently the co-chair of the Indiana Library Federation Annual Conference Committee and co-chair of the Read Aloud Committee.
"I am excited to be joining the team at the Indiana State Library, and I am looking forward to celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the Indiana Young Readers Center this year," Buchanan said.
One of Buchanan's tasks in the Young Readers Center is managing the State Library's circulating kits. The kits may be used by public library youth librarians and teachers across the state of Indiana. These kits will be featured in upcoming issues of the Wednesday Word.
In her personal time, Buchanan loves music, crafting and spending time with her 15-year-old son.
Buchanan can be reached via email. |
| Avon-Washington Township Public Library receives Arts Project Support Grant |
The Avon-Washington Township Public Library has announced that it has received a $4,000 Arts Project Support Grant from the Indiana Arts Commission in partnership with Noblesville Creates, with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.
The grant will fund a series of eight arts programs called “Crafting Connections” for tweens, teens and adults. The funding allows the library to bring professional art teachers to Washington Township, directly benefiting patrons who otherwise would not have easy access to art classes, including seniors and home school students.
Classes include "Ceramics and Sgraffito" with Danielle Pugel, "Basket Weaving and Broom Making" with Bev Larson, "Painting" with Amanda Keller, "Fused Glass Night Lights" with Janette Fluharty and "Felted Fiber Paperweights."
Classes and registration information can be found on the library’s website. |
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Upcoming workshops and important dates |
| 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. |
2026 tax season has arrived |
The Indiana Department of Revenue (DOR) has started accepting filings for 2025 Individual Income tax returns, as has the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Hoosiers should wait to file their tax returns until they receive all their
official tax documents and statements. Typically, employers must deliver Form W-2s to employees by Jan. 31, but since that day falls on a weekend this year, Monday, Feb. 2 was the official final day for employers to send W-2s. Attempting to file tax returns without all required information can postpone a refund if one is due.
Indiana state tax forms and instructions are available online to download and print. In its January 2026 Tax Bulletin, the DOR encouraged customers to use electronic filing, online payment and direct deposit to significantly improve the accuracy and speed of the return and refund processes. Those filing taxes can read important updates on the
Latest News & Notices
page. Customers who wish to contact DOR directly can use INTIME’s secure messaging for the most efficient service.
Federal tax forms and instructions are also available online to download and print from the IRS site. Those filing can read the latest IRS news releases for information about changes. The IRS Free File
service through IRS.gov is available for millions of taxpayers filing their federal taxes. On IRS.gov, taxpayers can use the
Let us help you page that covers most topics for filing season and beyond. In addition, people can get free help online with self-service options.
The deadline to file both state and federal tax returns, request an extension to file and pay any taxes owed for 2025 is Wednesday, April 15. To ensure an on-time USPS postmark on mail-in tax payments and documents, customers should ask a retail associate at a Post Office retail counter to "hand-cancel" their mail for free. |
| NICCL to hold virtual roundtable on AI this Friday |
The Networking and Innovation for Community-Centered Libraries (NICCL) group has scheduled a special roundtable to discuss artificial intelligence on Friday, Feb. 13.
Formerly known as the Northern Indiana Computer Consortium for Libraries, NICCL is an organization composed of member libraries that meet quarterly for technology-based training and networking. Attendees are encouraged to share technology endeavors from their own libraries, as well as what they've seen in other libraries. The roundtable also offers an opportunity for attendees to ask technology-related questions to those in the group.
Attendees do not need to be members of NICCL, nor do they need to be on staff as a member of their library's IT department.
The roundtable will be hosted online via Microsoft Teams.
Please contact Rich Weiland of the Adams Public Library System or Beth Gaff of the Peabody Public Library to register for the roundtable. Attendees will receive a link to the meeting through email.
Learn more about NICCL here. |
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