FIrst in a series! Conversations in Local History begins at 7 pm at The Strand Theatre. Donna Dennison, department head of Genealogy & History at the Shelby County Public Library, will speak about Shelbyville’s history.

All Community Treasures events are Free! Don’t miss this opportunity to hear Donna spin tales of local treasures.

The Indiana History Book Club will meet today at 3 pm in the Carnegie East Wing Annex in Room A. The discussion will be about “Indiana’s Historic National Road.” Donna will hand out May’s book of the month, “Reminiscences of Levi Coffin.”

For more information or books, please contact the Genealogy & History Department by coming in or calling 317-398-7002. Contact the department through email at genealgoy@sscpl.lib.in.us.

Learn to make a family history book or photo album using Canva, a graphics program with helpful templates. Meet in the Indiana Room to learn the basics. Bring 3 to 5 family photos and family stories and a laptop, although you don’t need to have your own computer with you. This will be a fun and productive workshop!

Spring is here, and so are the Famous, Infamous & Unknown of Shelby County. This popular monthly series by Donna of the Genealogy & History Department returns this April. Meet in the Adult Stacks of Shelbyville Main building at 7 pm.

How many Shelby Counties are there in the United States? How did the counties get their name? How are Shelby Counties in the United States similar? What is special about different Shelby Counties? Find out during this special history presentation by Donna on March 12 at 7 pm. Meet in the Carnegie East Wing Annex’s Indiana Room for this fascinating and informative meeting.

Hello, library friends! Here is an update:

The Shelbyville branch will be closed today due to a water leak that has flooded our adult services area and is leaking through the ceiling.

The Carnegie East Wing, so the Computer Lab and Shelby County Public Library Genealogy & History Department open today, with normal hours. If you need any assistance, or materials, please visit them and we will do our best to help you with your needs.

The Velma Wortman Morristown Branch - Shelby County Public Library will open with normal hours.

We appreciate your understanding and apologize for the inconveniences this week.

We wish you a Merry Christmas!

The Shelby County Public Library will be closed on Christmas, Dec. 25, at all of its locations. The library locations re-open on Tuesday, Dec. 26 at their regularly scheduled times. Velma Wortman Morristown Branch will re-open at 10 am. The Shelbyville Main Branch and Carnegie East Wing, which houses the library’s Genealogy & History Department, Computer Lab, and Friends of the Library Used Book Store, will all re-open at 9 am on Tuesday.

Shelby County Public Library branches will be closed for the Thanksgiving holiday. This includes the Velma Wortman Morristown Branch in Morristown, Indiana, and the Carnegie East Wing at 33 W. Broadway, which houses our Genealogy & History Department and Computer Lab. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

All branches will reopen at normal business hours on Friday, Nov. 24. Shelbyville Main and Carnegie East Wing will open at 9 am, while Morristown branch will open at 10 am.

The Third Annual Family History Fair presents The Story of Us: The Immigrant Experience. On Sept. 30 from 10 am to 3 pm, this year’s theme is Immigration. Come walk through an interactive Ellis Island Experience, attend workshops about how to find your Immigrant ancestors and enjoy a presentation on some of the immigrants who helped to shape Shelby County and Indiana.

Keynote speaker is M. Teresa Baer of the Indiana Historical Society Press. Lunch is available from the First Church of the Pentecost, and music is provided by The Stampede String Band.

Have a Happy Labor Day today!

Shelby County Public Library branches will be closed today, Monday, Sept. 4, including Velma Wortman Morristown Branch, Carnegie East Wing Annex, and the main Shelbyville building.

All programming begins Tuesday, Sept. 5 at our regularly scheduled times. See you then!

Bring your “brick walls” in your genealogical research, and our genealogy and history department staff will take out their toolboxes and help you break down those walls! Genealogy and History Department Head Donna Dennison and her skilled staff will help patrons tackle tricky blocks they have discovered in their family research.

This one-on-one help is free, and there is no need to register. Bring your genealogy research with your “brick walls” to break down.

Did you find some old photos in a shoebox in the attic? How can you tell when they are from? Join us to discover tips and tricks to decode old photos and find out their history!

Bring some of your old photos to the Morristown branch meeting room at 7 pm today as we find history in family photos.

Gather in the Indiana Room of the Carnegie East Wing Annex to hear a History Program about One-Room School Houses in Shelby County.

Presented by Donna Dennison, Genealogy and History Department head, this program will cover various school houses in the county that were originally one room and what became of them. If you attended one of the school houses, or remember family telling stories about attending a one-room school house, this historical presentation will be one to remember.

Come learn how to find your American Patriots in a joint program with the Genealogy Staff and Members of the Daughter of the American Revolution.

Did a grandfather or grandmother serve in a war? Maybe a great-grandparent was in World War II?

Finding Military Records, a Genealogy Workshop, will help you find the answers. Donna Dennison, head of the Genealogy & History Department, will show the best ways to locate and search the different branches of the U.S. military.

Bring what you know of your family in the military, a computer, or pencil and paper, and meet in the Indiana Room of the library’s Annex.

Questions? Call Genealogy at 317-398-8144 or email Donna at ddennison@sccpl.lib.in.us

Join us for a discussion on the lost towns, name changes, and reasons for them in the Indiana Room of the library’s Annex today at 7 pm. Bring your knowledge for discussion!

This historical program will be presented by Donna Dennison, Genealogy & History Department head, and other staff. There are sure to be great stories, so don’t miss this local history program.

Questions? Contact Donna in Genealogy by phone: 317-398-8144; or by email: ddennison@sscpl.lib.in.us

The Indiana History Book Group will gather in the Indiana Room to discuss “Crazy Good: the Story of Dan Patch” by Charles Leerhsen. Leerhsen vividly recounts a time 100 years ago when a racehorse thrilled America and became a legend.

“Crazy Good” is the story of America in simpler times, when the automobile was a novelty and most people preferred horses; an era when horse racing— pacers and trotters—was a dominant sport of the day.

Indiana History Book Group meets the first Wednesday of each month. Pick up the next month’s book from Donna Dennison, department head, in the Genealogy & History Department in the Annex. Contact Donna with questions by phone: 317-398-7002; or by email: ddennison@sscpl.lib.in.us

All Shelby County Public library locations will close today at 5 pm for the celebration of Good Friday.

Libraries will open as regularly scheduled on Saturday, April 8.

Author David Roller, a U.S. Army veteran, will speak and sign his fictionalized memoir, "“Butterfly Wars,” on Saturday, April 1 from 1 to 3 pm in the Indiana Room of the library Annex. The retired nurse who specialized in caring for developmentally disabled children tells a powerful story of how post-traumatic stress disorder affected the narrator over time. Roller shares a powerful story of finding peace and identity in retirement by learning to let go of the hardships faced in the past.

Roller and his wife, Evelyn, live in Shelby County on a hobby farm where they maintain a butterfly garden and support the arts. For fun, they will ride their motorcycles and scatter “butterfly bombs” of milkweed seeds to provide more natural habitats for butterflies, a symbol of rebirth.

Join our Genealogy Workshop on Finding Your Irish Roots in the Indiana Room of the library’s Annex. Many Irish came over to America in three main waves, one inspired by the Irish Potato Famine. Get expert tips from our Genealogy & History library staff in this workshop.

Workshops are free to attend, unless otherwise noted. No registration is needed unless asked for specifically.

For more questions about the workshop, contact Department Head Donna Dennison by email, ddennison@sscpl.lib.in.us, or by calling the department at 317-398-8144.

All Shelby County Public Library locations will be closed on Friday, March 17, for staff training. We apologize for any inconvenience.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact your local library branch.

Shelbyville: 317.398.7121 or awhite@sscpl.lib.in.us for Adult Services; bgraves@sscpl.lib.in.us for Youth Services; or ddennison @sscpl.lib.in.us for Genealogy

Morristown: 765.818.1718 or croberts@sscpl.lib.in.us for the Velma Wortman Morristown Branch.

Join an 1850s housewife, Temperance Quack, as she talks about the remedies she uses for sickness and injuries in the Indiana pioneer home. Quack will also offer household tips useful for the home.

Gather in the Indiana Room of the Carnegie East Wing.

Join our Genealogy Workshop on Finding Marriage and Divorce Records in the Indiana Room of the library’s Annex. Marriage and divorce records are crucial to genealogical research, but divorce records can be among some of the hardest records to find. Get expert tips from our Genealogy & History library staff in this workshop.

Workshops are free to attend, unless otherwise noted. No registration is needed unless asked for specifically.

For more questions about the workshop, contact Department Head Donna Dennison by email, ddennison@sscpl.lib.in.us, or by calling the department at 317-398-8144.

Share stories of family with good friends, and learn some tips on oral storytelling.

Abraham Lincoln is both hilarious and heartbreaking as he recalls his boyhood years, prairie lawyer days, family life, political aspiration, Civil War tragedy and triumph, and shares eloquent speeches.

Children and adults alike will laugh and learn at this extraordinary presentation.

Join us for this FREE event in the Indiana Room in the Library Annex, sponsored by the Genealogy department.

Join us to find out tips and tricks for navigating Ancestry.com, and learn the basics of finding family through Ancestry’s records!

Indiana History Book Club will meet Wed. Feb. 1 at 3 pm in the Carnegie East Wing of the Shelby County Public Library. We will discuss Lincoln’s Youth, Indiana Years, Seven to Twenty-One, 1816-1830, by Louis A. Warren.

This book club typically meets on the first Wednesday of most months in conjunction with the Genealogy and History Dept. of the library.

The Genealogy Workshop — Genealogy as a Winter Hobby — has been postponed due to expected winter weather conditions on Wednesday, Jan. 25.

Watch here, though!

Donna Dennison, Genealogy & History department head, has created a video for patrons and others interested in learning how and why to being your family story search.

Here is the link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-_r0zqAqKo

If you have any questions, call Donna Dennison, department head, at 317-398-8144, or contact her by email at ddennison@sscpl.lib.in.us

Come and learn the history of some of Shelby County’s most notorious on Tues., Jan. 10 at 7pm in the library’s Genealogy and History Department. Questions can also be directed to Donna Dennison, Genealogy Department Head, at (317) 398-8144 or ddennison@sscpl.lib.in.us.

Indiana History Book Club will meet Wed. Jan. 4 at 3 pm in the Carnegie East Wing of the Shelby County Public Library.

This book club typically meets on the first Wednesday of most months in conjunction with the Genealogy and History Dept. of the library.

Donna Dennison, Genealogy Department Head, will lead the discussion. Questions? (317) 398-8144 or ddennison@sscpl.lib.in.us.