Indianapolis Public Library
|
Central Library (The Indianapolis Public Library) | |
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Front of Central Library | |
    | |
| Location | 40 E. St. Clair St., Indianapolis, Indiana |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 39°46′42″N 86°9′24″W / 39.77833°N 86.15667°WCoordinates: 39°46′42″N 86°9′24″W / 39.77833°N 86.15667°W |
| Area | 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
| Built | 1917 |
| Architect | Paul Cret; Borie and Medary Zantzinger |
| NRHP Reference # | 75000045[1] |
| Added to NRHP | August 28, 1975 |
The Indianapolis Public Library (formerly known as the Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library) is the public library system serving the citizens of Marion County, Indiana, United States and its largest city, Indianapolis. The library was founded in 1873 and has grown to include a Central Library building, located adjacent to the Indiana World War Memorial Plaza, and 22 branch libraries spread throughout the county. The library attracts over four million visitors each year and circulates nearly 16 million items. The library's mission is to enrich lives and build communities through lifelong learning. Its vision is to be a center of knowledge, community life and innovation for Indianapolis.
The Central Library building was designed by architect Paul Philippe Cret, (with Zantzinger, Borie and Medary) and completed in 1917.[2] A complete historic renovation and a major addition to the library was designed by Woollen, Molzan and Partners.[3] The newly renovated Central Library building opened on December 9, 2007, ending a controversial multi-year rebuilding plan.[4]
Indianapolis Special Collections Room
The Central Library also houses the Nina Mason Pulliam Indianapolis Special Collections Room containing a variety of archival adult and children’s materials, both fiction and nonfiction books by local authors, photographs, scrapbooks, typescripts, manuscripts, autographed editions, letters, newspapers, magazines, and realia. The collection features Kurt Vonnegut, May Wright Sewall, the Woollen family, James Whitcomb Riley, and Booth Tarkington.[5]
Branches
Besides the Central Library, The Indianapolis Public Library also operates twenty-two branch libraries and provides bookmobile services.[6] In April 2016, the boards of the Indianapolis and the Beech Grove public libraries voted to merge, with the Beech Grove library becoming the 23rd branch library of the Indianapolis library system on June 1, 2016.[7]
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| Branch Name | Year Est. | Current Location |
|---|---|---|
| Beech Grove Branch (effective June 1, 2016) | 1951 | 1102 Main Street, Beech Grove |
| Brightwood Branch | 1901 | 2435 N. Sherman Drive |
| College Avenue Branch | 1924 | 4180 N. College Avenue |
| Decatur Branch | 1967 | 5301 Kentucky Avenue |
| Eagle Branch | 1960 | 3325 Lowry Road |
| East 38th Street Branch | 1957 | 5420 E. 38th Street |
| East Washington Branch | 1911 | 2822 E. Washington Street |
| Flanner House Branch | 1967 | 2424 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Street |
| Fountain Square Branch | 1896 | 1066 Virginia Avenue |
| Franklin Road Branch | 1969 | 5550 S. Franklin Road |
| Garfield Park Branch | 1918 | 2502 Shelby Street |
| Glendale Branch | 1930 | Glendale Town Center 6101 N. Keystone Avenue |
| Haughville Branch | 1896 | 2121 W. Michigan Street |
| InfoZone Branch | 2000 | 3000 N. Meridian Street Inside The Children's Museum of Indianapolis |
| Irvington Branch (replaced the Brown Branch) | 1903 | 5625 E.Washington Street |
| Lawrence Branch | 1967 | 7898 N. Hague Road |
| Nora Branch | 1971 | 8625 Guilford Avenue |
| Pike Branch | 1967 | 6525 Zionsville Road |
| Southport Branch | 1967 | 2630 E. Stop 11 Road |
| Spades Park Branch | 1912 | 1801 Nowland Avenue |
| Warren Branch | 1974 | 9701 E. 21st Street |
| Wayne Branch | 1969 | 198 S. Girls School Road |
| West Indianapolis Branch | 1897 | 1216 S. Kappes Street |
References
- ↑ National Park Service (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
- ↑ "Indiana State Historic Architectural and Archaeological Research Database (SHAARD)" (Searchable database). Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology. Retrieved 2016-08-01. Note: This includes Lawrence Downey (July 1975). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Central Library (Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library)" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-08-01. and Accompanying photographs
- ↑ Woollen, Molzan and Partners website project page
- ↑ Swiatek, Jeff (December 21, 2007). "Storybook ending?: Next chapter in Central Library saga could yield a commercial boom for surrounding area". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved January 5, 2016. (subscription required (help)).
- ↑ Central to Our History: Indianapolis Special Collections Room, n.d., brochure, Indianapolis, IN: Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library.
- ↑ Indianapolis Marion County Public Library, Retrieved November 22, 2010.
- ↑ "Indy Library Board approves merger of Beech Grove Library". WISHTV.com. April 28, 2016. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
Further reading
- Berry, S.L. Stacks: A History of the Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library. Indianapolis: Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library Foundation, 2011.
- Downey, Lawrence J. A Live Thing in the Whole Town: The History of the Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library, 1873-1990. Indianapolis: Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library Foundation, 1991.
- Jean Preer (2013). "Counter Culture: The World as Viewed from Inside the Indianapolis Public Library, 1944–1956". In Christine Pawley; Louise S. Robbins. Libraries and the Reading Public in Twentieth-Century America. Print Culture History in Modern America. University of Wisconsin Press. ISBN 0299293238.
