July 29, 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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Great Reads author Candace Fleming to visit Indiana State Library next month
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August IN-DUG meeting to feature Census Bureau outreach specialist
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NICCL schedules second virtual roundtable on AI
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Rain Day and government precipitation resources
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Syracuse Public Library rolls out Library of Things
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Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library Foundation to hold book sale this weekend
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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. |
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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 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. |
| Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library Foundation to hold book sale this weekend |
The Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library (EVPL) Foundation will host its annual Summer Book Sale on Saturday, Aug. 1, and Sunday, Aug. 2, at the Washington Square Mall in Evansville. The hours of the sale are 10 a.m.-8 p.m. on Saturday and 12-3 p.m. on Sunday.
Thousands of items, including books, movies, audiobooks and CDs, will be available for purchase, mostly ranging between 50 cents and $2. Cash and checks are accepted. A credit card payment option will be available with a minimum purchase of $10.
“Every year, book lovers and educators mark their calendars to be sure to attend the sale the first Saturday and Sunday in August,” said Eric Weyer, president of the EVPL Foundation Board.
All proceeds from the sale are used to support library programs and services. |
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Great Reads author Candace Fleming to visit Indiana State Library next month |
In celebration of the Library of Congress National Book Festival, the Indiana State Library will welcome author Candace Fleming next month. Fleming has been chosen by the Indiana Affiliate Center for the Book to represent Indiana at the National Book Festival, which will take place on Saturday, Aug. 22, in Washington, D.C. The Indiana Center for the Book is one of 56 centers affiliated with the Library of Congress Center for the Book. The affiliates promote reading, libraries and literacy across the country.
Fleming’s picture book “Imogene’s Last Stand” will be part of the festival’s Great Reads from Great Places program. Each year, each Center for the Book selects one juvenile and one adult Great Reads title. “Imogene’s Last Stand” is this year's juvenile selection. Selections are written by authors from their state or territory, take place in their state or territory or celebrate local culture and heritage.
Fleming, originally from Indiana, will share her passion for storytelling, writing and history on Saturday, Aug. 8, at 2 p.m., at the Indiana State Library. Her book tells the tale of a young girl from a small town who discovers the town’s abandoned historical society and works to restore it and save it.
Fleming is the author of more than 50 books for children and young adults, including the 2021 Sibert Medal-winning “Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera” and the 2021 American Library Association YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award-winning “The Rise and Fall of Charles Lindbergh.”
The program is free and will take place in person with an option to attend virtually. Registration is required for the virtual presentation and can be completed here.
The Indiana State Library is located at 315 W. Ohio St. in downtown Indianapolis. |
August IN-DUG meeting to feature Census Bureau outreach specialist |
The next Indiana Data Users Group (IN-DUG) quarterly meeting will take place on Tuesday, Aug. 18, from 10-11 a.m.
Data users of all levels are invited to join the quarterly IN-DUG meetings. The August meeting will feature Adam Grundy, Census Bureau outreach specialist. Grundy will share the latest economic data updates. He will also present an in-depth demonstration of a data tool called Census Business Builder that showcases economic and demographic data on a map.
Grundy is an outreach specialist professional with more than 17 years of experience, possessing a unique combination of technical, statistical and business expertise. Grundy has written several key articles for the Census Bureau’s America Counts series that have been published on the main Census Bureau website. He also received a U.S. Department of Commerce Bronze Medal Award in 2020 for his remarkable customer service.
Click here to read more about the IN-DUG quarterly meeting and to register.
The meeting is eligible for one LEU for Indiana library staff.
Those with questions about the meeting can contact Katie Springer, director of the Indiana State Data Center at the Indiana State Library. |
NICCL schedules second virtual roundtable on AI |
The Networking and Innovation for Community-Centered Libraries (NICCL) group has scheduled its second virtual roundtable of the year to discuss artificial intelligence. The roundtable will take place on Friday, Aug. 14, from 10 a.m.-12 p.m.
The discussion will focus on how AI is intersecting with library systems, services and strategy. Practical applications, emerging challenges and real-world experiences with AI in library environments - from automation and discovery tools to policy and governance questions - will be explored.
"Whether you are actively deploying AI tools or still evaluating their place in your organization, your perspective will be valuable to the discussion," the group said in a statement.
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 to register for the roundtable. Attendees will receive a link to the meeting through email.
Learn more about NICCL here. |
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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. |
Rain Day and government precipitation resources |
July 29 is Rain Day. According to the Rain Day Festival website, Rain Day started in the late 1800s at the JT Rogers & Co. Drugstore on High Street in Waynesburg, Pa. when local farmer Caleb Ely remarked to pharmacist William Allison that it always seemed to rain on his birthday, July 29. The comment inspired Allison to keep an annual record of rainfall on that date.
Though Rain Day is celebrated in July, climate scientist Brian Brettschneider used data from the U.S. National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) to determine that, overall, June is most frequently the wettest month in the U.S.
NCDC started as a government agency, the National Weather Records Center (NRWC), in 1934. The agency was renamed to NCDC in 1967. It was the largest active archive of weather data in the world. In 2015, NCDC merged with the National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC) and the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) to become the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). Other government resources also collect and disseminate precipitation data.
The National Weather Service (NWS) provides weather forecasts and warnings of hazardous weather to the public for the purposes of protection, safety and general information. By visiting the NWS Graphical Forecast page, users can view the probability of precipitation by using the dropdown menu located above the forecast database display graphic.
Through the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS), researchers can view a quantitative precipitation forecast, which depicts the amount of liquid precipitation expected to fall in a defined period of time in the U.S. NIDIS is a multi-agency partnership that coordinates drought monitoring, forecasting, planning and information.
These resources can help determine if it might rain, and how much rain might fall, at today's Rain Day Festival in Waynesburg, Pa. |
| Syracuse Public Library rolls out Library of Things |
The Syracuse Public Library has announced the launch of its Library of Things, a lending program that allows patrons to borrow useful physical objects like musical instruments, tools, craft items, educational toys and more.
The library offers items for children and adults. Patrons can find blue paper item tags on special pegboard displays upstairs and downstairs in the library. Once a patron selects an item, they can take its tag to a circulation desk where they will receive the item.
Adults 18 and older who have an Evergreen Indiana library card in good standing can check out items. To check out a Library of Things item, patrons must sign a loan agreement.
The Library of Things also includes entry passes to Science Central, Ox Bow County Park and Indiana State Parks through the Syracuse Public Library's Adventure Backpacks.
The borrowing period for items is one week. The borrowing period for the venue passes is three days. Library of Things items must be returned to the circulation desk. Items cannot be returned in the outside drop box.
To learn more about the Syracuse Public Library's Library of Things, click here. |
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