June 24, 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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Registration now open for 2026 Difference is You Conference
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North Webster Community Public Library selected for NASA space weather research program
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Indiana State Library Escape Experience Kits
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Madison newspapers now available to search on INSPIRE
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Allen County Public Library expands 24/7 holds lockers to Waynedale and Tecumseh branches
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This week's new Indiana library jobs |
Library Assistant
Gas City-Mill Township Public Library
Assistant Director
Harrison County Public Library
Library Assistant (part-time)
Ivy Tech Community College - Fort Wayne
STEAM Lab Specialist
Johnson County Public Library
Library Director
Loogootee Public Library
Information Services Specialist II
Muncie Public Library
Youth Services Specialist II
Muncie Public Library
Executive Director
Warsaw Community Public Library
Office Manager
Whiting Public Library |
| 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. |
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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. |
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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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Registration now open for 2026 Difference is You Conference |
Registration is now open for the 2026 Difference is You Conference, which will take place on Friday, Sept. 25, from 9 a.m.-3:45 p.m., at the Indiana State Library in downtown Indianapolis.
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.”
Sessions include "All About the Indiana Young Readers Center and Center for the Book," "Empowering Powerful Connections Throughout Your Library Community," "Happy to Help (Positive Customer Service)," "Data in Action" and more. This year, the conference will introduce table talks. Library staff members will discuss topics such as circulation, genealogy, IT, cybersecurity and marketing at various tables throughout the conference. Attendees can network and discuss various aspects of working in a library by moving from table to table.
Sessions are eligible for LEUs for Indiana library staff.
The cost to attend is $30 per person. Registration closes on Friday, Aug. 7, and payment is due by Friday, Aug. 21. Lunch is included with the registration. Click here to register.
Please contact Paula Newcom, co-chair of the Difference is You Conference Committee, with any questions. |
North Webster Community Public Library selected for NASA space weather research program |
The North Webster Community Public Library has been selected to participate in a NASA citizen science initiative. The library recently received a scientific instrument that will allow the community to contribute to cutting-edge space weather research.
As part of NASA’s Electrojet Zeeman Imaging Explorer (EZIE) mission, the library has been chosen to receive a magnetometer, a sensitive scientific instrument used to measure changes in Earth’s magnetic field.
The EZIE mission, developed and led for NASA by the John Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), is designed to study Earth’s electrojets - intense electric currents that flow approximately 65 miles above the planet in the upper atmosphere. These electrical currents are a vital part of the connection between Earth and space and play an important role in the formation of the aurora, also known as the Northern and Southern Lights. By helping scientists improve their understanding of electrojets, the EZIE mission and the North Webster Community Public Library data will help researchers better predict and prepare for potentially hazardous space weather events including events that could have negative effects on air and sea travel.
The library has already installed the magnetometer and is excited to begin sharing data with NASA scientists, according to a release.
For more information about the magnetometer - or other citizen science programs - please contact the library at 574-834-7122. |
Indiana State Library Escape Experience Kits |
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, the State Library is highlighting its Indiana Escape Experience Kits. The kits include everything needed to create an escape room experience, such as mystery items, puzzles and primary source clues hidden away in boxes with secret code combinations. Each kit has a detailed leader guide, as well as a step-by-step video for setting up an experience. The kits take participants on a journey through primary sources to learn about Indiana history while discovering clues and figuring out puzzles to solve a mystery. Kits include "Indiana Aviation," "President Benjamin Harrison," "Amazing Hoosier Women," "Crispus Attucks Tigers," "Genealogy and the 1904 Diary" and "Indiana Quakers."
“Do you want to get your young people involved in Indiana history Then these kits are for you. Primary sources - artifacts created by the people who actually lived the history - are what bring history to life,” 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 |
What's Up Wednesday - Reaching Out to Residents Who Are Not (Yet) Library Users
When: July 8, 10-11 a.m.
Where: Online
Summer Lecture Series: A Famine of Cadavers: Inside Indy's 1902 Graverobbing Syndicate
When: July 11, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Where: Indiana State Library and online
Professional Development Roundtable
When: July 16, 2-3 p.m.
Where: Online
What's Up Wednesday: Get To Know EBSCO
When: July 29, 10-11 a.m.
Where: Online
Roundtable Informational Interest Meeting
When: Aug. 6, 11-11:45 a.m.
Where: Online
Summer Lecture Series: Combining Land and Probate Records to Get the Full Story
When: Aug. 8, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Where: Indiana State Library and online
How to get the Most out of Your TeachingBooks for Schools Account
When: Aug. 11, 3:30-4:15 p.m.
Where: Online
Webmaster Roundtable
When: Aug. 18, 2-3 p.m.
Where: Online
What's Up Wednesday - Community Compass Information Session
When: Aug. 26, 10-11 a.m.
Where: Online
Every Child Ready to Read In-Person Workshop
When: Aug. 28, 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Where: Hussey-Mayfield Memorial Public Library
Indiana State Library Lunch and Learn Series: Hosted Digital Collections and Indiana Memory
When: Sept. 8, 12-1 p.m.
Where: Indiana State Library and online
What's Up Wednesday - Youth-Focused Tabletop Role-Playing Game Programs in Public Libraries
When: Sept. 9, 10-11 a.m.
Where: Online |
| 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. |
Madison newspapers now available to search on INSPIRE |
The Indiana State Library’s collection of Madison newspaper microfilms is now available to view on Newspapers.com via INSPIRE, the lifelong learning library for Hoosiers. To view the newspapers, visit the
INSPIRE webpage and select the Newspapers.com tile. Click the browse button at the top to search through the towns alphabetically.
Madison is named for President James Madison, known as the "Father of the Constitution" for his role in drafting the U.S. Constitution. Madison is the county seat of Jefferson County, which is named after President Thomas Jefferson, the primary author of the Declaration of Independence. The county was laid out in tribute to Jefferson, but it wasn’t officially formed until 1811, when Madison was president.
Madison’s longest-running town paper, the Madison Courier, is still published today. Researchers can find the paper’s full run, from 1849 to the present, on INSPIRE. The publication was inspired by Andrew Jackson’s legacy. It started as a Democratic publication but harkened to the Republican platform in the mid-1850s. The newspaper’s name was changed three times. To avoid confusion, the Indiana State Library refers to it as “Madison Courier and variants.” |
| Allen County Public Library expands 24/7 holds lockers to Waynedale and Tecumseh branches |
The Allen County Public Library is expanding its popular 24/7 holds locker service to two additional locations: the Waynedale and Tecumseh branches. The new lockers will provide patrons with greater flexibility to pick up library materials any time of the day or night, regardless of branch operating hours.
The expansion follows a successful pilot of holds lockers at the Dupont Branch in 2024. The lockers allow patrons to retrieve previously reserved items from secure outdoor lockers at their convenience. In 2024, patrons placed more than 20,000 items for pick up in the Dupont lockers.
“The response to our original holds lockers showed us how much patrons value flexible access to library materials,” said public services manager Tonya Frandle. “Expanding this service to additional branches helps us better serve people with busy schedules or who work outside of library operating hours, making library access even more convenient.”
After selecting an item, patrons can choose Waynedale Holds Locker or Tecumseh Holds Locker as their preferred pickup location. Once items are ready, patrons receive a notification and can access their materials by scanning their library card at the locker kiosk and following the on-screen prompts. Patrons may place holds online or through the library's mobile app, ACPL Mobile.
The lockers are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and can accommodate items of varying sizes. Materials will remain in the lockers for up to seven days after notification. Some oversized items, interlibrary loans and select Library of Things materials are not eligible for locker pickup. |
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