The Indiana State Library will host an Indiana Genealogy and Local History Fair on Saturday October 23, 2010, in downtown Indianapolis.  Enter the State Library building at 315 West Ohio Street.  Admission is free and the fair is open to the general public. Visit the tables in the “midway” to collect information from genealogical and local history organizations and Indiana libraries and shop the commercial vendors.

The Indiana Historical Bureau book shop (first floor of the Indiana State Library) will offer fair attendees a 20% discount and libraries and societies a 25% discount on purchases from the Indiana Historical Bureau book shop.

Tracing Women among Immigrants and Pioneering Settlers
9:30-10:30 a.m.  History Reference Room

This presentation explores the roles women and girls played among European immigrants to North America and among settlers who pioneered borderland communities. It also addresses the challenges to discern the voices of women and girls and find traces of them in the surviving record.  

Marianne S. Wokeck is Chancellor’s Professor of History at Indiana University–Purdue University, Indianapolis, where she teaches early American history. She is the author of Trade in Strangers: The Beginnings of Mass Migration to North America (Penn State University Press, 1999), a reflection of her research interest in the history of the North Atlantic World in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. 

Indiana Land Records: Not for the Faint of Heart
11:00a.m. – 12:00p.m.  History Reference Room

Presenter will provide a basic understanding of the types of historical records relating to land and property in Indiana with examples of how to find them and what they mean for researchers in local history and genealogy.

Dani Pfaff is Research Manager for the Indiana Historical Bureau and Acting Manager of the Bureau’s Historical Marker Program, working with staff to research and write Indiana history for the Indiana Historical Marker Program and other Historical Bureau initiatives. She has worked with the Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology, Indiana Department of Natural Resources, and members of Indiana Freedom Trails, Inc. on research for several Indiana Underground Railroad state historical markers.

Access to Public Records Act Essentials
1:30-2:30 p.m. History Reference Room

This presentation will provide a brief overview of the Access to Public Records Act and highlight some recent developments in the area of public access. Tips on how to maximize access, how to avoid common pitfalls when making requests to public agencies, and how to respond when an agency denies a request for access will also be discussed.

Andrew J. Kossack was appointed as Indiana's public access counselor in September of 2009. As public access counselor, Kossack provides advice and assistance concerning Indiana's public access laws to members of the public, media, and government officials and employees.  He also issues written advisory opinions in response to alleged violations of the Access to Public Records Act and the Open Door Law. Prior to his appointment, Kossack practiced employment law at Barnes & Thornburg LLP in Indianapolis.  He also served as a judicial intern for United States Magistrate Judge William T. Lawrence of the United Stated District Court for the Southern District of Indiana.