Category: History & Culture

The Indianapolis Public Library is seeking social practice artists for 2026 programming related to the semi-sesquicentennial—the commemoration of the 250^th anniversary of the founding of the United States.

Project Scope

Artists will lead the creation of a social practice art piece constructed in collaboration with Library patrons. Artwork will encourage civic reflection and relate thematically to the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. Art may explore topics such as the passage of hope from one generation to the next, the shared American experience, and varied perspectives on what it means to live in America today.

Artists will plan, develop, and facilitate programs that invite the collaborative development of a cohesive art piece based on the concepts of social practice art. Artists will be paid up to $4,800 and are required to make multiple visits to various locations of The Indianapolis Public Library over the course of 2026. During Library visits, artists will lead both the collaborative creation of the art piece and civic reflection conversations.

The project will be led by up to 3 professional Indianapolis-based artists, each assigned to a different region of The Indianapolis Public Library system. Artists will be selected for their ability to facilitate social practice art experiences.

About Social Practice Art

Socially engaged practice, also known as social practice art, can include any artform which involves people and communities in debate, collaboration, or social interaction. The participatory element of socially engaged practice is key, with the artwork created often holding equal or less importance to the collaborative act of creating them. Social practice art stokes conversation through collaboration, emphasizing community building over artistic outcome. At the heart of this art project is conversation. This project will encourage patrons to participate in civic reflection with their neighbors through the act of making something together.

How to Apply

Submit your application online.

Deadline to Apply:
11:59 p.m. on Sunday, August 10, 2025 

Over 150 years of service, The Indianapolis Public Library has continuously grown and evolved, thanks to the dedication and support of its communities. Consequently, this enduring commitment has enabled us to adapt and expand our services, meeting the ever-changing needs and interests of our patrons.

The Beginning

In 1870, Abram Shortridge, superintendent of Indianapolis Public Schools, gathered leading citizens to draft legislation for a Board of School Commissioners and a public library. The Indiana General Assembly adopted this legislation in 1871. The Indianapolis Public Library opened in April 1873 at Indianapolis High School. Over the next twenty years, The Library had five Head Librarians and moved through three locations. In 1893, the City Library built its first permanent home.

Establishing Service

Head Librarian, Eliza Gordon Browning, led many significant changes during her time as Librarian. The most significant change being the opening of branch libraries. Between 1896 and 1897, the first five branch libraries opened. Since the School Board governed The Library, one of its primary responsibilities was to provide library services to the schools. In the 1890s, Browning established small collections in each school. Meanwhile, at City Library, she created children’s spaces, started story hours, and set up a school reference section. Then, in 1907, she opened the stacks and card catalog to the public. By 1909, her collaboration with Andrew Carnegie resulted in the construction of five new Carnegie Library branches.

By the early 1900s The Library outgrew the City Library. The Board began making plans for a new Central Library by purchasing land. In 1911, James Whitcomb Riley donated land. This donation set the plans for a Central Library into motion. Architect, Paul Cret, penciled designs for the new library from the trenches in France in 1914 during WWI. The new building opened in 1917 with a new Librarian, Charles Rush.

Finding Purpose fro 150 Years of Service

In the 1920s, The Library underwent significant changes. It reorganized into departments and adopted the Dewey Decimal System. Additionally, it launched a promotional push to increase usage and awareness of its services. Cerene Ohr, Supervisor of Branches, made it a goal to have the circulation of adult materials be at least equal to that of children’s materials, strengthening The Library’s identity as more than just an extension of the Schools. In 1928 the new Librarian, Luther Dickerson, made his own mark on The Library and its services by promoting The library as an agent of social services and as more than just books. These attitudes led The Library to expand its materials, increase programming, and integrate more deeply into community life.

Growing Pains

In a post-war era, large population growth and expansion of the city created pressure to extend services that The Library could not staff. By 1945, when Marion McFadden became Library Director, The Library ranked second in per capita circulation among cities with populations over 200,000. To extend services The Library began Bookmobile services in 1952. In McFadden’s final report to the Board she emphasized that “for The library to truly serve its changing communities it will need to separate from the IPS School System”. Harold Sander embraced and advanced this belief when he began his administration in 1957.

Building a New Identity

The rapid growth and annexation of Indianapolis in the 1960s drove the expansion and development of The Library. The 1960s saw eight new branches established – more than any decade before or since. In 1966, Marion County established a Public Library (MCPL), and the MCPL Board contracted with The Library to provide services to county residents. Subsequently, in 1968, The Library officially separated from IPS and merged with the county library to form The Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library (IMCPL). As a result, the responsibility of providing library services in schools fell to each individual school.

After separating from IPS, The Library still provided some services to both public and private schools. However, this separation significantly impacted the range and quality of offerings. Consequently, it wasn’t until the mid-1990s, with the creation of the Shared System, that The Library and Indianapolis schools established a formal partnership. This development enabled The Library to better meet schools’ needs. In 1972, Raymond Gnat became Director. Under his leadership, The Library increased operating hours by 135.5 hours per week. Of this, 112.5 hours were added at the branches. During Gnat’s administration, from 1972 through 1990, system-wide circulation doubled.

Technology Leads the Way

In the 1980s and 1990s The Library and its services underwent a major evolution in large part due to new technologies and formats. Card catalogs were removed and replaced in the early 1980s by Online Public Access Catalog terminals. In 1996, The Library introduced public internet access by installing computers at each location. This change allowed the public to access online databases for the first time. As DVD circulation increased and internet usage grew, libraries expanded their spaces for computers and entertainment media. Consequently, the early 2000s marked the beginning of a digital era for The Library, which then started offering more digital resources, including online archives, downloadable audiobooks, and e-books.

A New Name for a New Era

The 2010s brought another significant change to the identity of The Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library (IMCPL) when it was rebranded as The Indianapolis Public Library (IndyPL). Usage of downloadable resources continued to rise. The Library started offering more materials, including music, magazines, and video streaming. Additionally, with the Center for Black Literature and Culture, the Chris Gonzalez LGBTQ Collection, and world language collections, The Library reflects our diverse communities. Furthermore, in 2020, The Library adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic by offering online access to digital materials and virtual programming, ensuring continued support and engagement during challenging times. Since 2020 The Library has opened two new branches and has joined hundreds of other libraries across the country by no longer charging late fines.

Thank you, Indianapolis, for your love and support of The Library and 150 years of service!

Learn more about our 150 years of service!

For more history about The Indianapolis Public Library check out these resources:

• Interested in the 150 years of service and history of Indianapolis Public Library Branches? Use this Topic Guide and Book List “History of the Indianapolis Public Library”.
  
  
• Interested in our Library System at large? Explore the Indianapolis Public Library Digital Archive on Digital Indy and the Indianapolis Public Schools Digital Archive on Digital Indy.
  
  
• Checkout The Library’s article and timeline in the Encyclopedia of Indianapolis that illustrates our 150 years of service.
  
  
• See, in-person. the collection in the Indianapolis Special Collections Room at Central Library.

Made possible by Friends of the Library through gifts to The Indianapolis Public Library Foundation.

Recent events have sparked a troubling resurgence of fear and unrest, driven by a series of racist attacks targeting Black individuals across the nation. We firmly denounce the senseless violence that led to the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Dreasjon Reed, and countless other Black lives lost to racial injustice. Our commitment to addressing these issues reflects our dedication to advocating for justice, equality, and an end to systemic racism.

As a public service institution, we owe it to our community to be introspective and address inequities that exist within our organization. Additionally, we are committed to using our position to help those seeking knowledge on these subjects to find understanding.

The Indianapolis Public Library has joined 163 (as of 6/2/2020) other public libraries across North America and signed on to the Urban Libraries Council Statement on Race and Social Equity.

Urban Libraries Council Statement on Race and Social Equity

As leaders of North America’s public libraries, we are committed to achieving racial and social equity by contributing to a more just society in which all community members can realize their full potential. Our libraries can help achieve true and sustained equity through an intentional, systemic, and transformative library-community partnership. Our library systems are working to achieve equity in the communities we serve by:

• Eliminating racial and social equity barriers in library programs, services, policies, and practices
• Creating and maintaining an environment of diversity, inclusion, and respect both in our library systems and in all aspects of our community role
• Ensuring that we are reaching and engaging disenfranchised people in the community and helping them express their voice
• Serving as a convener and facilitator of conversations and partnerships to address community challenges
• Being forthright on tough issues that are important to our communities

Libraries are trusted, venerable, and enduring institutions, central to their communities and an essential participant in the movement for racial and social equity.

– Urban Libraries Council (ULC) Statement on Race and Social Equity

Our Commitment to Racial Equity

As part of our commitment to the spirit and intent of this statement, we want to share some additional actions we have recently taken and are committed to undertake in the near future:

• Evaluating through an equity lens partnerships and community engagement, staff development, hiring practices, programs, collections, services, messaging, and organizational policies and procedures.
• Working to execute the full recommendations of findings from the City of Indianapolis Disparity Study and implementing policies with our Board of Trustees as a result.
• Offering racial equity and implicit bias training opportunities to staff.
• Suspending the accrual of all fines and fees until further notice.

We recognize that we are in the beginning stages of addressing racial equity both within our organization and within our community. We acknowledge the work we must undertake to do more and to do better. We will work alongside our community to foster understanding and communication about systemic racism and white privilege and the deep impact they have had on all of us.

The Library’s mission is to enrich lives and build communities through lifelong learning. We achieve this through sharing, curating, and fostering environments for our community to absorb and utilize information.

We are compiling a list of books, websites, and resources to help the community process recent events, talk to children, and begin conversations whose goals are the actions that result in change and healing. We will continue to add resources in the coming days and weeks.

Booklists and Resources

To Learn More:

• Resource: The National Museum of African American History and Culture Web Portal Talking About Race “Talking about race, although hard, is necessary. We are here to provide tools and guidance to empower your journey and inspire conversation.”
• Resource: Desmond Tutu Peace Lab Center Statement and Resources.
• Resource: TED talks to help understand racism in America
• Check out the library’s collection of Kanopy Streaming Videos focused on social and systemic injustice and racism in America.

For Sharing with Children and Teens:

• Resource: We Need Diverse Books “Imagine a world in which all children can see themselves in the pages of a book.” We Need Diverse Books is an organization that promote literature that reflects and honors the lives of all young people.
• Resource: We Stories We Stories engages White families to change the conversation about and build momentum towards racial equity in St. Louis.
• Resource: EmbraceRace Resources to help raise a generation of children who are thoughtful, informed, and brave about race.