The Wednesday Word: Library News from Around Indiana

The new INSPIRE is set to debut this Friday and will feature an enhanced look and search functionality. The new 360 Search uses results clustering in order to speed up searches and better organize data. Results clustering separates search results by subtopics, dates, journals and authors so that search results are organized and easy to browse.

Almost all search engines only rely on data supplied by content providers to filter searches - introducing errors into search results. 360 Search will not introduce errors into searches because of its knowledgebase database.

INSPIRE's interface is also being revamped to give it a fresher look and feel. The website will also contain new features designed to enhance the user experience.

Three New Resources Debuting this Week on INSPIRE

Last week we reported the upcoming additions of Hobbies and Crafts Reference Center and Home Improvement Reference Center to the suite of INSPIRE databases. Joining these Ebsco products on July 1 is Indiana History Online from Gale. This digital archive has a multitude of Indiana historical materials. Drawn from the collections of Joseph Sabin, one of the nation's premier bibliophiles, and other Gale sources, the archive provides access to a wide variety of documents: personal narratives and memoirs, pamphlets and political speeches, sermons and songs, legal treatises and children's books.

This archive aims to be as user-friendly and accessible as possible. You can browse the entire collection organized by subjects, authors, and titles. To locate documents in the collection most relevant to a specific research assignment or personal interest, you can also search by keyword, subject, author, title or full-text. This collection makes it possible to research Indiana history conveniently from your home, work, school, or local library computer.

LoC Representative to Pay Special Visit to Indiana

The Indiana State Library will host a public program on Friday, July 13 featuring Ms. Deborah Thomas, the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP) coordinator for the Library of Congress. Ms. Thomas will discuss the Chronicling America website and the importance of digitizing and preserving historic newspapers published in Indiana. The presentation will take place at the State Library at 315 West Ohio Street, Indianapolis, in the History Reference room from 10:30 AM to noon (EDT).

Indiana is one of twenty-nine states currently participating in the NDNP program. The Indiana State Library, in partnership with the Indiana Historical Society, is digitizing a selection of Indiana’s historically significant newspapers as part of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) NDNP grant. Newspapers digitized as part of this two-year project will be included in the Library of Congress’ Chronicling America website, which provides access to information about historic newspapers and select digitized newspaper pages. The NDNP is a long-term effort to develop an Internet-based, searchable database of U.S. newspapers with descriptive information and select digitization of historic pages.

This program is worth two (2) Technology Library Education Units toward public librarian certification. Please contact Indiana NDNP project manager Chris Ittenbach at cittenbach@library.in.gov or (317) 234-8153 if you are interested in attending the program. Visit either the project wiki or blog to monitor the Indiana NDNP project and receive real-time project status reports.

INSPIRE Promotional
Materials Survey

In addition to functional enhancements to Inspire.IN.gov, Indiana's Virtual Library also has a sleeker look complete with new logos and icons. The State Library is now in the process of developing new promotional materials and would like your input on the type and content of items that would be best utilized at your library.

Please take a moment to take a very brief six-question INSPIRE Promotional Materials Survey. The survey will be available through July 6, 2012. Your input is important and your time is greatly appreciated.

Upcoming Workshops,
Events & Important Dates

Summit on Serving Unserved Populations
When: July 11 @ 1:00 PM
Where: Indiana State Library

Testing & Education Reference Center Training for Inspire:
When: July 11 @ 1:00 PM
When: August 9 @ 10:00 AM
Where: Live Online

Midwestern Roots Family History & Genealogy Conference
When: July 19 (pre-conference)
July 20 & 21 (conference)
Where: Indianapolis Marriott East

Databases and the Common Core
When: July 23 @ 2:00 AM
When: August 2@ 9:00 AM
When: September 11 @ 4:00 PM
Where: Live Online

Gale Virtual Reference Library eBooks from Inspire:
When: July 25 @ 3:00 PM
When: August 15 @ 9:30 AM
Where: Live Online

Biography InContext for Inspire
When: July 31 @ 2:00 PM
Where: Live Online

New Director's Workshop
When: August 2 @ 8:00 AM
Where: Indiana State Library

Director's Refresher Workshop
When: August 8 @ 8:00 AM
Where: Indiana State Library

CYPD 2012 Conference
When: August 26 & 27
Where: Indianapolis Marriott East

Indiana Vision Expo & Vision Walk
When: September 29 @ 9:30 AM
Where: Indiana State Library

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