Notices
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.
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.
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:
-
Download the absentee ballot application or stop by your local HCPL branch to pick up a free copy of the application.
-
Fill out the application completely. You may complete the form in your PDF reader or print a copy to complete by hand.
-
Submit the request to your local election office. You should request your ballot as far in advance of the election as possible.
-
When your ballot arrives, read it carefully and follow the instructions to complete it and return it.
To register to vote and to check your voter status, visit the Indiana Voter Portal.
Upcoming online Naloxone training for Harrison County residents
In a collaborative effort to reduce the harmful impacts of substance use disorder, Harrison County residents are invited to attend an online training session on the use of naloxone.
Sessions will be held on Wednesday, August 26 from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. and on Thursday, August 27 from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Attendees will learn how to administer naloxone, an emergency treatment used to reverse opioid overdose, through both nasal and injection methods. An opportunity to ask questions will be provided after the training session.
Following the training, attendees will be asked to complete a brief knowledge check and will receive two free doses of naloxone in the mail.
Naloxone is provided in partnership with Indiana Recovery Alliance, Indiana State Department of Health, and the Indiana Rural Opioid Consortium. This training is provided in partnership with the IU Center for Rural Engagement and the IU Interprofessional Practice and Education Center.
Click here to attend this free online event via Zoom, no registration is necessary. Attendees are not required to live in Harrison County to attend this training.
Wear a mask, help slow the spread
Today Governor Holcomb’s executive order, which requires those 8 years and older to wear masks in public places, goes into effect.
Holcomb said there were several determining factors to issuing the statewide mask mandate:
- To get children back to school
- To keep local businesses up and running
- There is an increase in COVID-19 positivity rate
- There is an increase in hospitalizations statewide
- More Indiana counties are seeing more cases
- Neighboring states are also seeing more cases
“The simple act of covering our faces, as odd as it may feel, can help us prevent the transmission of the virus, which is why this is the next prudent step that we as a state need to take,” Governor Holcomb said in his press conference last Wednesday.
Read Governor Holcomb’s full Exectutive Order here.
Patrons visiting HCPL may request a mask from staff if they do not have one with them. Please continue to practice social distancing and use the hand sanitizer readily available in each HCPL branch. Click here for the Center for Disease Control’s Hand Hygiene Recommendations. For more information on how to best protect yourself and others, please visit this CDC page.
Library Opens Doors to the Public with Grab and Go Service
When the Harrison County Public Library opens its doors to the public June 15, things will look a little different. “We are very happy to welcome you back, but expect some changes,” warned Alisa Burch, director of the library. “For the protection of our community, staff will be wearing masks and we ask the public to wear masks as well. Plexiglas sneeze guards and barriers will be in place on public service desks and you will be asked to stand behind the barriers to interact with staff.”
The library will enforce customer occupancy limits and patrons will be asked to limit visits to 60 minutes or less. “The thought behind Grab and Go service is that folks will come into the library, browse for materials, check out and leave. It is the exact opposite of what we normally do,” explained Burch. “For years we have strived to be a community gathering place where families stay and get comfortable. But for now we are asking the public to be patient and understand that they will not be able to linger.” Children under the age of 16 will be required to stay with their adult caregiver while in the building. Households will be asked to stay together and all patrons must adhere to social distancing and sanitation guidelines.
Some areas of the libraries will be restricted. Meeting rooms are closed. Some chairs have been removed. Some computers will be turned off to enforce social distancing. “Patrons may wish to call ahead for a computer appointment to ensure availability,” added Burch. Computer usage will be limited to 60 minutes unless approved by prior arrangement.
Children’s toys, games and children’s educational computers will not be available.
In-person programming such as storytimes and book clubs will not be offered. “However the summer reading program, Imagine Your Story, is being offered virtually. And each branch is offering some type of Crafts to Go,” said Burch. “The staff has been working hard since our March 17 buildings’ closure to provide wonderful virtual programming. Be sure to check it out on our website, www.hcpl.lib.in.us.”
Book drops have remained open. All returns are being cleaned and quarantined. “Patrons are still advised to use common sense when handling library materials,” said Burch. “Wash your hands before and after handling library books and DVDs, avoid touching your mouth or face and don’t eat while reading library books.”
“We ask that you do not enter the library or check out library materials if you or any member of your household are ill,” said Burch.
All library locations will return to normal service hours June 15. “We will continue curbside pickup of materials and curbside document services for those who may not feel comfortable entering public spaces yet. Call your local library branch for its curbside hours,” added Burch.
Library staff are committed to finding creative ways to offer the best service possible during the COVID pandemic. For more information call 812-738-4110.
HCPL offers online credit and debit card payments
HCPL is pleased to announce that the library now offers the option to pay online for curbside document services–such as copies, faxes and print jobs–as well as for lost and damaged items. These payments can be made through your library account in the Enterprise online catalog. Cash and check payments for document services can be made when you arrive at the library; please click here for full details regarding curbside document services.
In order to make an online payment for your documents, please notify the library in advance that you wish to pay by credit or debit card so that the copy, fax or print fee is added to your online account.
HCPL offers a PDF guide to making online payments, available here. If you have a question regarding credit and debit card payments, please email the library or call your local branch.