Indy Library Scores $3M in Grants

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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe Indianapolis Public Library Foundation has been awarded more than $3 million in grants. A portion of the funding from Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment Inc. will establish the Center for African-American Literature and Culture at the library’s downtown Indianapolis location.
The library says the center will focus on the works of African-American writers from Indiana and beyond. It will also feature specialized programming, including author talks and author fairs.
The Lilly Endowment grant, totaling $3.1 million, will also fund the Indianapolis Public Library’s efforts to digitize community records from Indianapolis Public Schools, the Indianapolis Fire Department, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and the city’s Parks and Recreation Department. The library says more than one million pages of records, 150 3D objects and 400 films will be digitized ahead of the city’s bicentennial in 2020.
The Indianapolis Foundation has also awarded a nearly $200,000 grant to the library to support a "global village project." The grant will allow the library to partner with the Immigrant Welcome Center in Indianapolis to assist immigrants and non-native English speakers with library card applications, basic searches for materials and activities at certain IndyPL branches.