Get a sneak peak of the new Little Free Library!
The Harrison County Public Library is delighted to partner with Arts Alliance of Southern Indiana in establishing a Little Free Library in Harrison County. This Little Free Library is a repurposed newspaper box that was designed and painted by local artist Jason Wright. Once the little library is placed, it will be stocked year-round by volunteers with free books, art supplies and nonperishable food items for our community. The Little Free Library is the first to be established through a collaboration between Harrison County Public Library and the Arts Alliance. This partnership plans to add more little libraries in the future.
From October 12 through November 6, the Little Free Library will be on display at the Corydon branch ahead of its official dedication.
If you would like to donate items to the Free Little Library, your donation of books, art supplies and non-perishable food items are welcomed and appreciated! Please contact the Arts Alliance of Southern Indiana for the drop off locations.
If you would prefer, you can give a monetary donation that will be used purchase these items. If you wish to donate, please click here to visit the Arts Alliance of Southern Indiana’s Little Free Library page. Donations will be distributed to little libraries across our area.
Why donate to a Little Free Library?
- Academically, children who grow up in homes without books are, on average, three years behind children who grow up in homes where reading is encouraged.
- Experiencing and creating art strengthen problem-solving and critical thinking skills.
- Crafting and creating supports language development in pre-school and elementary-age children.
Find your fREADom
Each year, the American Library Association (ALA) Office for Intellectual Freedom records hundreds of attempts by individuals and groups to have books removed from libraries’ shelves and from classrooms. The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom tracked 377 challenges to library, school, and university materials and services in 2019. In all, 566 books were targeted.
A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials based upon the objections of a person or group; banning is the removal of those materials.
Banned Books Week, which spans from September 27 to October 3, 2020, is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. BBW spotlights current and historical attempts to censor books in libraries and schools, and brings together the entire book community, including librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers, in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas — even those some might consider unorthodox or unpopular.
Learn more about why books are challenged here.
Readers across the country and around the world will participate in a Stand for the Banned Read-Out during Banned Books Week 2020.
Visit the American Library Association’s Stand for the Banned Read-Out playlists to view videos from past participants which include videos from Judy Blume, Chris Crutcher Stephen Chbosky and Dav Pilkey, as well as actors Jeff Bridges and Whoopi Goldberg!
Click here to review lists of the most frequently challenged books in previous years.
Let’s celebrate Latinx stories
Hispanic Heritage Month spans from September 15 through October 15. To celebrate Latinx perspectives, HCPL would like to share ebook, audio book and physical book titles at HCPL that commemorate the diverse and rich cultural history of Hispanics and Latinos.
Browse and download Spanish eBook and audio book titles from the Libby app and OverDrive.
Check out Spanish titles available at the Harrison County Public Library
If a title is currently checked out from HCPL, you can place a hold by logging in to your library account using your library card number and PIN.
If you need assistance with your PIN, please email us or call your local HCPL branch.
Latino Book Review Podcasts
Share your love of reading with the new Libby update
Now you can share your favorite reads on social media or directly with your friends using the Share button found in a book’s Reading Journey and details screen. A shared title page shows the book’s summary, basic details, and nearby libraries that offer the title through Libby.
Along with sharing titles, the new Libby update gives you the ability to export your reading data, including:
- Titles in a specific tag
- Their activity timeline
- A title’s Reading Journey, which includes bookmarks, notes, and highlights
Select how to export your data and use it how you would like, whether that would be posting a favorite tag to Twitter, graphing your 2020 reading stats, or revisiting your notes & highlights for a book club.
If you are new to the Libby app, this short video will help you to get started. If you have a question, visit OverDrive’s user-friendly Help Page or please email us or call the library at 812-738-4110.
Download Libby
Apple App Store
Google Play
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September 22, 2020 is National Voter Registration Day
Be #VoteReady!
If you have recently moved, changed your name, become a U.S. citizen or turned 18 years old, please visit the Indiana Voters Portal to update your registration information or register to vote.
On September 22, 2020, Americans will celebrate National Voter Registration Day with a massive cross-country effort to register voters well in advance of Election Day this November.
With a historic presidential election approaching, every eligible American voter should exercise his or her right to be heard at the ballot box, and National Voter Registration Day is the right day to start by getting registered.
Thousands of national, state, and local organizations and volunteers will be the driving force behind National Voter Registration Day 2020. Partner organizations will coordinate hundreds of National Voter Registration Day events on and offline nationwide, and leverage #NationalVoterRegistrationDay in all social media platforms to drive attention to voter registration.
www.NationalVoterRegistrationDay.org provides a listing of National Voter Registration Day events across the country, in communities and held virtually.
Founded in 2012, National Voter Registration Day is designed to create an annual moment when the entire nation focuses on registering Americans to exercise their most basic right—the right to vote. Nearly 3 million Americans have registered to vote on the holiday since the inaugural National Voter Registration Day in 2012.
- Healthy Voting Amid COVID: Know your options for voting in your state during COVID-19
- Know What’s on the Ballot: Learn about what’s on the ballot in your community
- Learn about Voting by Mail:
- Know the earliest possible dates and deadlines for requesting a mail-in ballot in your state.
- Use this free tool to request your mail-in ballot.
- See if your state is one of the 39 that allow you to track your ballot once you’ve mailed it in.
- Learn about Voting in-person (early or on Election Day):
- Many polling locations have changed due to COVID! Verify or find your polling site location
- Make sure you have proper ID to vote
- Help Others Vote:
- Serve as a poll worker or or help recruit them
- Sign up to be a nonpartisan election protection volunteer (for lawyers and non-lawyers alike!)
- Save the number of the election protection hotline in your phone–available in English, Spanish, Arabic, and several Asian languages. Then use this graphic to share widely with friends:
- Not quite old enough to vote this year? Find out if you can pre-register!
I Want to Get My Community #VoteReady
- Become a National Voter Education Week partner (October 5-9):
- Become a Vote Early Day partner (October 24):
- For nonprofit organizations: participate in Nonprofit VOTE’s digital activation calendar “Nonprofits Countdown to the Elections”
Celebrating a Diverse Indiana | 4th Grade Student Essay Competition
What is diversity and why is it important to Indiana?
Hey, fourth graders–write an essay reflecting on this question, and you could be honored at a virtual Statehood Day celebration!
First Place: CollegeChoice 529 Deposit of $250
2nd, 3rd, and 4th Place Winners: CollegeChoice 529 Deposits of $150
Click here for your entry form!
— ESSAY CONTEST RULES AND DEADLINES —
- The competition is open to any Indiana 4th grade public, private, or homeschooled student, in the 2020-2021 school year.
- A panel of judges will choose 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place winners.
- Essays must range from 100 to 300 words, handwritten or typed.
- Essays must be submitted with an entry form.
- Individual entries should use the 2020 Individual Entry form.
- Class sets should use the 2020 Group Entry Form. The following information should be included on each essay for class sets: student name, teacher name, and school name.
- All Entries may be mailed OR emailed.
- Mail your entries to: Indiana Center for the Book Indiana State Library 140 N. Senate Ave Indianapolis, IN 46204
- Mailed essays must be postmarked by Friday, October 16, 2020.
- OR:
- Email your entries as an attachment to youngreaderscenter@library.in.gov
- Emailed entries must be received by Friday, October 16, 2020.
Writing Prompt: Celebrating a Diverse Indiana – What is diversity and why is it important to Indiana? Essays should be well organized and reflective of the theme. Judges are looking forward to seeing your students’ interpretation of the theme. Some ideas to help them could be: What is diversity? What does it mean to live in a diverse state? In what different ways can a state be diverse? In its people? Its plants? Its economy?
Virtual Ceremony Hosted by the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center:
Winners of the essay contest will be honored on Friday, December 11, 2020 in a virtual ceremony. The winners will be expected to record their essays for a virtual ceremony open to any fourth grade class or student.
Any Indiana fourth grade class or student is welcome to attend the Statehood Day virtual ceremony, regardless of whether or not they participate in the contest or have a winner. Registration is required.
Visit this link to register for the online virtual ceremony: https://bit.ly/Statehood_Day
Questions? Email youngreaderscenter@library.in.gov.
This contest supports the following Indiana Educational Standards: 4.W.3.2, 4.W.4, 4.W.6.1 all, 4.W.6.2 all. The Indiana Center for the Book hosts this essay competition to commemorate Indiana’s 204th Statehood Day.
“Book of the Little Axe”: Join us today in reading the Libraries Transform Book Pick!
Read along with us!
The Libraries Transform Book Pick digital reading program returns with Lauren Francis-Sharma’s epic saga Book of the Little Axe. Join Harrison County Public Library and other book lovers nationwide in reading the same eBook and discussing it online using the hashtag #LTBookPick. eBook copies of “Book of the Little Axe” will be available from September 14 through September 28 without any wait lists or holds. You will only need your HCPL library card and the Libby app to borrow and read the eBook.
The eBook is the second selection of the Libraries Transform Book Pick, which offers simultaneous access to an eBook through public libraries to engage readers and foster conversation across communities.
The selection of “Book of the Little Axe” for the Libraries Transform Book Pick was made in consultation with experts at Booklist. The digital reading program is a collaboration between the American Library Association (ALA) and OverDrive. If you would like additional information, please click here.
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Am I eligible to vote?
Important dates to remember:
- October 5, 2020 – Deadline to register to vote
- October 22, 2020 – Application deadline for absentee ballots at 11:59 p.m. Absentee ballots must be received in the election office by November 3 at 12:00 p.m.
- November 3, 2020 – General Election day
To vote in Indiana, an individual must be a citizen of the U.S. who will be least 18 years of age at the time of the next general, municipal or special election. The voter must have resided in their precinct for 30 days prior to the next general, municipal or special election.
You have the right to vote if…
- You have been previously incarcerated
Voting rights are restored upon release from jail or prison. People who have been previously incarcerated should check their registration, and re-register to vote if it has been canceled. Individuals on parole, probation, home detention, or people who are in jail awaiting trial can vote. People who are in a community corrections program, such as work release or electronic monitoring, can vote. Learn more and view corresponding Indiana code.
- You are Transgender
Transgender people can vote, even if their gender does not match what is listed on their government issued ID. Transgender people must be registered with the name that is listed on their government issued ID. Full list of accepted photo ID forms below.
- You are a recently naturalized citizen
Recently naturalized Americans have the same voting rights as someone who was born in the U.S. Visit our Know Your Rights Page to learn more. Recursos en Español:
- You are a student
College students have a right to register and vote in the place they truly consider to be “home” — whether their dorm room, apartment or parents’ house. High school students who will turn 18 by the next General or Municipal Election, may register to vote before the registration deadline even if they have not yet turned 18.
- You are an individual with a disability
Each polling place in the state of Indiana must have at least one accessible voting machine and each location must be physically accessible.Voters that require assistance may designate a relative or friend to assist them at the polling place, or receive assistance from one of two poll workers who have completed the Affidavit of Voter Assistance at the Polls.
PHOTO ID REQUIREMENTS
Accepted photo identification is as follows:
- State of Indiana identification with the voter’s name, photograph, and an expiration date that is current or expired after the most recent general election
- U.S. government identification that meets the above criteria
- Student ID from a public institution in Indiana that meets the above criteria
- Military ID (need not include an expiration date)
Voters may also submit an application for a free photo ID at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. The Secretary of State provides further information.
Information supplied courtesy of ACLU of Indiana.
Request your absentee ballot for the 2020 General Election
Election day is Tuesday, November 3, 2020. Ballot requests must be received in the election office by Thursday, October 22, 2020.
For more information about absentee voting, visit the State of Indiana’s Absentee Voting page.
How to vote by mail:
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Download the absentee ballot application or stop by your local HCPL branch to pick up a free copy of the application.
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Fill out the application completely. You may complete the form in your PDF reader or print a copy to complete by hand.
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Submit the request to your local election office. You should request your ballot as far in advance of the election as possible.
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When your ballot arrives, read it carefully and follow the instructions to complete it and return it.