As a collections assistant, it is my job to go through collections that have been donated to the Indiana Historical Society and put them in order. I often come across fun objects like someone’s old doodles left in the margins of a letter or silly photographs taken of people when they weren’t expecting it. As […]
One part of my job as collections assistant in reference services is to find previously processed collections that, for whatever reason, aren’t as accessible to researchers as they could be. Often these collections were processed many years ago before our current collection guide format was established, and before collection guides were provided online. Recently while […]
I hope you enjoy the look of our new website! During the transition from old to new, I was unable to keep up with my monthly blog posts. Have no fear, though, because this cataloger is back and ready to share more printed materials and fascinating stories with you in 2018! Before I talk about […]
When recently researching Bethel A.M.E. Church, I came across a 32-page pamphlet that had long been in the Indiana Historical Society collection but had never been digitized. The Indianapolis Colored Directory and Year Book 1923 provides a great window into the African-American Community in Indianapolis. Labeled the “First Annual Edition,” it may well be one […]
This month, I am switching gears a little bit. I catalog maps on a somewhat regular basis, but not nearly as often as I catalog books and pamphlets. I have yet to blog about a map, and since I just cataloged an especially interesting one, I figure now is the perfect time! This is the […]
This month’s blog post is short, but sweet! I love a good, challenging puzzle. Therefore, I was instantly captivated by Mental Nuts: Can You Crack ‘Em?, a tiny pamphlet published in 1897, compliments of Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Company, South Bend, Indiana. The title page describes it as “a book of old time catch or trick […]
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 […]
