Backlogs are inevitable, especially in institutions like ours. Materials come in at a quick pace, which makes it difficult for library staff members to process and/or catalog everything in a timely fashion. We do our best, but sometimes it takes years – even decades – for items to reach the front of the line. Just […]
If you work in the Indiana Historical Society Library & Archives, and you are from Indiana, sometimes you come across your own family in the collection. This week I had the pleasure of digitizing materials in the Covered Bridges collection. Although many of Indiana’s covered bridges have been lost, their history has been well preserved […]
“[I] am determined to keep a Journal but have never had the courage to begin before, for it is a great undertaking…I think I’ll call it ‘The Log of the Hoosier Adrift.’ Because a log is a good thing to have when any one is adrift.” In 1878, a clever and verbose Indianapolis native named […]
Do you know what a “thrift barn” is? Do you even want to know? If so, all the evidence you’ll need is here in the Indiana Historical Society’s new library case exhibitEat + Drink. Among thousands of menus collected by Hoosier restauranteur Reid Duffy, the Rabbit Patch restaurant in Speedway stands out as the only […]
After spending time fighting the Civil War with Capt. David Enoch Beem, I have returned to working on the Larry Foster Collection. Reading a group of Civil War letters can be emotional and can leave a person feeling cold, tired, a little frightened and even a bit breathless at times. Beem generally wrote on stationery, […]
Every once in a while, I find surprises tucked inside books and pamphlets. In catalog records, they are referred to as “accompanying material.” Examples include bookmarks, letters, photographs, tickets, receipts and stamps. Sometimes, the material pertains to the item in hand, such as an errata slip listing corrections made to the text after publication. Other […]
Several pocket guides came my way recently, and the timing couldn’t have been more perfect. As we enjoy the spring seasonand eagerly await summer, we are surrounded by the beauty of nature. New growth and new life abound, so if you are interested in learning more about your natural environment, the following books are for […]
On April 12, 1861, the first shots of the Civil War were fired at Fort Sumter in South Carolina a war that nearly divided this country forever. Battle names, places and dates are often what we think of: the First Battle of Bull Run in July 1861; Antietem in September 1862; Gettysburg in July 1863. […]
Indiana has produced many talented authors throughout the years. Famous examples include George Ade, Theodore Dreiser, Meredith Nicholson, Gene Stratton-Porter, Booth Tarkington, Kurt Vonnegut and Lew Wallace. No list is complete, however, unless it includes James Whitcomb Riley, also known as the “Hoosier Poet” and the “Children’s Poet.” Riley was famous for using dialect verse, […]
“I’M LOOKING FOR THE ORIGINAL RECIPE FOR SUGAR CREAM PIE.” More than once, excited patrons have written to our library in search of this holy grail of Indiana recipes. After all, the chocolate chip cookie has a verified origin story. Why not our official state pie? However, like the Devil’s Lake Monster or the Beast […]
