August 5, 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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Discovery to Delivery 2026 proposal deadline extended, registration now open
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Collaborative Summer Library Program annual survey available
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Featured Indiana State Library kit: 'Numbers'
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Hendricks County schools
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Registration for 2026 Difference is You Conference closes 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's blog 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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| Discovery to Delivery 2026 proposal deadline extended, registration now open |
The Discovery to Delivery Conference Committee has extended its proposal deadline to Friday, Aug. 14, at 12 p.m. Eastern Time. Those interested in submitting a proposal should fill out the
proposal submission form.
The conference will take place on Friday, Oct. 2. Also known as D2D, the conference is hosted by the Academic Libraries of Indiana and the Indiana State Library and focuses on library resource sharing, interlibrary loans and institutional collaboration. The free one-day conference is open to all Indiana libraries - public, academic, school, special and institutional.
The 2026 theme is "Sharing on a Budget." The committee is soliciting proposals for breakout sessions and poster sessions. Presentations should be approximately 30-35 minutes in length with an additional 10 minutes at the end of each session for questions and discussion.
Suggested proposal topics include, but are not limited to: interlibrary loans and acquisitions; best practices; collaborations and partnerships; copyright compliance; customer service; e-resources licensing and e-books; Evergreen Indiana; Indiana Share; marketing interlibrary loan services; patron-driven services; professional development; staff training; statistics; and future visions for resource sharing.
Sessions are eligible for LEUs for Indiana library staff.
This year's conference will be hybrid, featuring on-site and Zoom options. The conference will be held at the Indiana University Indianapolis University Library, located at 755 W. Michigan St. in Indianapolis, from 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Click here to register. |
Collaborative Summer Library Program annual survey available |
The Collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP) is seeking input on 2026 summer reading programs. CSLP has created a survey so they can better assess the usefulness of the materials offered by the program on a national level. Every library that responds helps CSLP get a more accurate picture of overall satisfaction with the program.
The survey is not required, but public library staff who played an active role in administering or running 2026 summer library programming are highly encouraged to participate. One person per library can fill out the survey, or multiple library staff from the same library can complete the sections of the survey most relevant to their work, such as the sections about children, teen or adult programming.
Participants should be prepared to give general feedback on using the 2026 program theme and materials, and to share info about how they tracked participation. Even if a library did not use the "Unearth a Story" theme, they are still encouraged to complete the survey.
The survey is open now until Friday, Sept. 11. Click here to take the survey. |
Featured Indiana State Library kit: 'Numbers' |
The Indiana State Library’s Indiana Young Readers Center provides five types of kits for use by public library youth librarians and teachers across the state: Book Club kits, LEGO kits, DUPLO kits, Storytime kits and Indiana Escape Experience kits. Every other week, the Wednesday Word will feature one of these kits.
This week's featured kit is the “Numbers" Storytime kit. The kit contains 10 books that focus on numbers and counting. The kit includes a ladybug glove to go with the book “Five Little Ladybugs;” a set of 10 stuffed mice and a stuffed snake to go with the book “Mouse Count;” and a tree with fabric fastener numbers and felt leaves and apples to go with the book “Chicka Chicka 1, 2, 3.” The kit also includes felt board sets of five frogs, five ducks and five kittens. Each felt board set comes with a printed rhyme that can be recited while hanging the pieces on the felt board. An additional set of felt numerals and symbols is included. A CD
containing counting songs is also part of the “Numbers” kit. Every kit includes a teacher’s or librarian’s guide full of ideas for use with groups of children.
“As we are getting ready to head back to school, what’s more perfect than A-B-Cs and 1-2-3s?” said Tammie Buchanan, Indiana Young Readers Center librarian at the Indiana State Library.
Read more about the kits here.
Kits can be ordered and delivered via InfoExpress. Please contact Tammie Buchanan with any questions about reserving the kits. |
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Upcoming workshops and important dates |
| Welcome to Digital Collection Highlights. Every other week, librarians at the Indiana State Library share images from the library's ever-growing digital collections. Visit the Digital Collections
page to view the latest additions. |
The Hendricks County Museum and the Danville-Center Township Public Library have numerous digitized items from their vast physical collections available in Indiana Memory
, a collaborative effort to provide access to the wealth of primary sources in Indiana libraries, archives, museums and other cultural institutions. The collections have a variety of materials about schools and education.
The Danville-Center Township Public Library’s digital collection includes college catalogs, yearbooks, newsletters
, teacher reports and a variety of other materials from Central Normal College and Canterbury College. Central Normal College existed from 1878-1946 and was one of the country's earliest normal schools that specialized in teacher training. In 1946, the Episcopal Church took over the school and renamed it Canterbury College, refocusing as a liberal arts school. The school closed in 1951. It is estimated that more than 60,000 students attended both schools during their 23 years in operation.
The Hendricks County Museum’s collection focuses on the elementary, middle and high schools of Amo, Avon, Brownsburg, New Winchester, Pittsboro and other nearby towns. The collection includes class photographs, as well as photographs of school buildings, sports teams, reunions and school-related activities. The museum’s collection also includes materials from Central Normal College.
For more information about these collections, as well as materials that aren’t digitized, please contact the Danville-Center Township Public Library or the Hendricks County Museum.
Indiana Memory is a program of the Indiana State Library. |
Registration for 2026 Difference is You Conference closes this Friday |
Registration for the 2026 Difference is You Conference closes this Friday, Aug. 7.
The conference is the only statewide event designed especially for library support staff and non-MLS librarians. However, all are welcome to attend. The theme of this year’s Difference is You Conference is “Rooted in Connections: Reaching Out in Service.”
The conference will take place on Friday, Sept. 25, from 9 a.m.-3:45 p.m., at the Indiana State Library.
The cost to attend is $30 per person. Payment is due by Friday, Aug. 21. Lunch is included with the registration. Group registrations are available. Click here to register.
Sessions are eligible for LEUs for Indiana library staff.
Please contact Paula Newcom, co-chair of the Difference is You Conference Committee, with any questions.
The Indiana State Library is located at 315 W. Ohio St. in downtown Indianapolis. |
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