Idiosyncratically Named IMCPL

Matt Hannigan
IMCPL - Central Library
Master of Library Science, Ball State University (1978)

I am a great admirer of the IUPUI library system. Smart librarians, good collection, excellent databases, and nifty computers. At some colleges, one might be able to stumble through the undergrad years with access to Google and a decent comic book collection. But IUPUI isn't the pushover that Wassamatta U is, and a fine library can make a huge difference. While tipping my hat to IUPUI, my goal is to acquaint you with the offerings of the equally idiosyncratically named Indianapolis Marion County Public Library (IMCPL) - your public library in Indy.

Besides the promise of a nice place to come and peruse the New York Times with a cup of JOE (several of our branches have coffee shops or at least vending machines), why should you take note of the offerings of your public library? Location, collections, services, accessibility, programs, and perhaps the hope that the book you need isn't checked out just when you need it.

By the Numbers

Libraries live and die by statistics. We count practically everything - visitors, books checked out, website hits, gum wrappers left in books . . . well, you get the idea. I won't bore you with a bunch of numbers, but the Indianapolis Star recently noted that our 5,100,000 visits in 2004 was more than the attendance at a large number of local events/locations, among them the Indy 500, the Pacers, the Indians, the Colts, the State Fair, and several others [see sidebar]. We didn't just finish at the top of the heap, but we had more visitors than all of them combined! Popularity alone shouldn't be a reason you choose to come to the library, but all those visitors aren't just popping in for the free bookmarks. Libraries serve as a vital lifelong link to the cultural and intellectual life of many groups, including that of the overworked undergrad student.

Not Far Behind Village Pantry

Advertisements for Village Pantry used to say, "If We're Not In Your Neighborhood Yet, We're On Your Way Home." With 23 locations throughout Indianapolis the library isn't far behind Village Pantry's 35 locations. Several of our branches have a "regional" designation (Nora, Lawrence, Pike, Warren, Southport, Eagle, Wayne) and will have a larger selection of materials, but even the tiniest branch can be a good source of reading or viewing material.

Most of you are probably familiar with lUPUI's Glendale campus, located on the lower level of the Glendale Shopping Mall at 6101 North Keystone. This center provides support services, classrooms, courses by television, and access to IUPUI computers — a host of services in a location which may be more convenient than the downtown campus. (Not to mention the food court that's a cut above the usual campus fare.) While you're taking note of the convenient shopping at Glendale, come and visit the most popular spot in the Mall — not Old Navy or Payless — but the Glendale Branch of the Indianapolis Marion County Public Library, which had more than a half-million visitors in 2004. The Glendale Library has 37 Internet computers which nicely supplement the 10 in the IUPUI Glendale campus facility, as well as an AccessAbility room primarily set up to serve the visually impaired. Glendale also has four small study rooms, available on a first-come, first-serve, basis and the popular Le Cafe Coffee and Sandwich Shop, to serve your caffeine cravings. Glendale branch is open the same hours as the mall.

The 24th Branch

We think of our website (www.imcpl.org) as another branch - open 24 hours and offering services that formerly could only be handled in person or over the phone. In addition to searching the Web catalog and placing reserves - de rigueur these days - you can read electronic books (Netlibrary), join an online book club (Chapter-a-Day), read today's Wall Street Journal (Proquest), and send an inquiry to our "Ask a Librarian" service.

Entertainment

As a typical undergraduate you probably spend much of your time reading esoterica on such things as the Peloponnesian War, western hegemony, Laplace transformations and prose analysis of Proust (at least that's the kind of thing I told my parents when asked.) Occasionally though, I suspect you'd like to read Harry Potter, or a biography of Tony Hawk, or listen to a Coldplay CD, or maybe watch a Jet Li DVD. That's where we come in. This year alone we bought 14,000 DVDs. At this writing we have 427 copies of the latest Harry Potter juggernaut "Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince" and we own over 30,000 CDs. Even the largest super bookstore can't begin to compete with the selection at your local library, and it's already paid for with your tax dollars. You won't even need a separate library card. IUPUI student ID cards are honored at IMCPL branches. We'll just enter your number in our system when you first check out an item.

Getting on With the Details of Life

One can't live on a strict diet of rigorous study and intellectual debate. Sooner or later reality intervenes in the form of a broken automobile radiator, the excitement of true love, a 25-pound pizza-related weight gain, or the pitter-patter of tiny feet. A real strength of your public library is material that relates to the everyday beauty and mundanity of life. Here you can find books and videos on buying a cheap used car, writing scintillating love poetry, the latest "eat your cake and have it too" diet, and the joys of parenting (or the means of avoiding same). Hobbies, business start-up, origami, dressing for success, furniture making, cooking for one or fifty, and kayaking the Tsangpo - if anyone has done it or thought of doing it - we've got a book on it.

The Business Connection

Indianapolis has great sports teams, museums, theaters, and of course libraries. None of these would exist without a healthy business community forming the economic backbone of our city. IMCPL specializes in providing service to these local businesses in several ways. An obvious direct help is by acquiring books, videos, DVDs, magazines and databases which help companies in marketing, accounting and finance, product and service placement, demographics, and management. We also provide reference service to local businesses, answering questions by phone, in-person, and email on such topics as market share, financial ratios, business plans, and customer relations.

We are all grateful for the effect large companies like Eli Lilly, AUL or General Motors have on the local economy. It may surprise you to know that of the roughly 42,000 businesses in Indianapolis, 32,000 have fewer than 10 employees. That's why IMCPL is particularly concerned with service to small businesses locally. On a daily basis we might help a woman find data for her business plan that supports her idea of a medical transport service, or show a potential restaurateur how to find a location close to likely customers, but not too close to direct competitors. In these efforts we cooperate with other like-minded groups such as the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce, the Indianapolis Better Business Bureau, the Indianapolis Regional Small Business Development Center and the Service Corps of Retired Executives.

Elite Lecture Series

Kurt Vonnegut, George Will, Louis Rukeyser, Jane Bryant Quinn, Saul Bellow and Doris Kearns Goodwin. Pat yourself on the back if you recognize the names of these famous towering intellects. In addition to their many accomplishments, they all have come to Indianapolis to lecture at the annual McFadden or AUL lectures sponsored by the Library Foundation. These elite annual lecture series are the flagships of an extensive set of programs offered at all library branches including story hours, craft workshops, film showings, health forums, and family reading initiatives.

Wireless

All of our branches have Internet access, but you might want to take note of our branches with wireless Internet access (WiFi) — Irvington, Glendale, Pike, Haughville, College Avenue, Franklin Road and East Thirty-Eighth Street. All of our Internet computers also have Microsoft Word, Excel and Access.

The New Central

We'd love to have you visit the Interim Central Library at 202 N. Alabama - approximately one mile east of the downtown IUPUI campus. While our real home at 40 E. St. Glair is being brought into the 21st century with a renovation and beautiful addition, we are temporarily housed in the old Indiana State Museum building. The building is a lovely neo-Classical style building constructed in 1907 for a cost of less than a million bucks. It has a stunning open, four-story atrium and two-sided symmetrical marble staircase. Central is a good place to find state and local history, including extensive clipping files of the local newspapers. These files are a treasure trove of information on local architecture, musicians, artists, and neighborhoods.

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