Healthy Grant County

Library of Congress

lib

101 Independence Ave, SE
Washington, DC 20540
Phone: (202) 707-5000
Hours of Operation:
Monday - Saturday 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m

The Library of Congress was established by an act of Congress in 1800 when President John Adams signed a bill providing for the transfer of the seat of government from Philadelphia to the new capital city of Washington. The legislation described a reference library for Congress only, containing "such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress - and for putting up a suitable apartment for containing them therein…"

Established with $5,000 appropriated by the legislation, the original library was housed in the new Capitol until August 1814, when invading British troops set fire to the Capitol Building, burning and pillaging the contents of the small library.

Within a month, retired President Thomas Jefferson offered his personal library as a replacement. Jefferson had spent 50 years accumulating books, "putting by everything which related to America, and indeed whatever was rare and valuable in every science"; his library was considered to be one of the finest in the United States. In offering his collection to Congress, Jefferson anticipated controversy over the nature of his collection, which included books in foreign languages and volumes of philosophy, science, literature, and other topics not normally viewed as part of a legislative library. He wrote, "I do not know that it contains any branch of science which Congress would wish to exclude from their collection; there is, in fact, no subject to which a Member of Congress may not have occasion to refer."

In January 1815, Congress accepted Jefferson's offer, appropriating $23,950 for his 6,487 books, and the foundation was laid for a great national library. The Jeffersonian concept of universality, the belief that all subjects are important to the library of the American legislature, is the philosophy and rationale behind the comprehensive collecting policies of today's Library of Congress.

The Indiana State Library

StLib

315 W. Ohio St.
Indianapolis, IN 46202
Phone: 866-683-0008
Hours of Operation:
Mon., Tues., Wed. & Fri. 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Thursday 8:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Saturday 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

The Indiana State Library is responsible for:
1. Developing and providing library services to state government, its branches, its departments and its officials and employees; 2. Providing for the individual citizens of the state those specialized library services not generally appropriate, economical or available in other libraries of the state;
3. Encouraging and supporting the development of the library profession; and
4. Strengthening services of all types of publicly and privately supported special, school, academic, and public libraries.

Through its history, the Indiana State Library has developed strong collections in the fields of Indiana history and culture, Indiana state government and United States government publications, Indiana newspapers, genealogy and family history resources on Indiana and the eastern United States, Braille, large print, and books on tape for the visually impaired, library science, and American history, politics, and economics. Its collections in these areas support research by state agency employees, scholars, genealogists, librarians, students, Indiana residents who are blind or physically challenged, and the general public. The Library Development Office works to improve and support the libraries of Indiana through assistance, training, and supervising the distribution of state and federal funds.

Marion Public Library

marion public library

600 S Washington St.
Marion, IN 46953
Ph: 765-668-2900

Hours of Operation:

Weekdays 9:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Saturdays 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Open on Sundays 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. from Labor Day to Memorial Day.
Closed on Sundays from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

Gas City-Mill Township Public Library

gas citylibrary

135 E. Main St.
Gas City, Indiana 46933
Ph: 765-674-4718

Hours of Operation:

Monday through Thursday 10:00am to 8:00pm.
Friday and Saturday 10:00am to 5:00pm.

Closed Sundays

Van Buren Public Library

vanburenlib

115 South First Street
P.O.Box 405
Van Buren, IN 46991
Ph: 765-934-2171

Hours of Operation:

Monday 12:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Tuesday 12:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Wednesday 12:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Thursday 12:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Friday 12:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Saturdays 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Sunday Closed