Want to know what your fellow Hoosiers are reading? “The Indiana Library Federation supports three annual book award programs. The book award programs seek to foster self-selected reading by engaging students and adults in the selection, promotion and recognition of honored books.” Here are the......
By David Heighway, Hamilton County Historian A question that I get asked occasionally as Hamilton County Historian is, “Who is the county’s biggest celebrity?”. Obviously, this is very open to debate. It depends on how you define who is or was an A-list celebrity. We......
By Kris Hurst, Arts Engagement Coordinator Many have asked about our next maker, and we are happy to announce that Addie Hirschten will be working out of the Ignite Maker-in-Residence studio this summer from May-August 2023. Addie is a contemporary impressionist painter, art teacher, author......
By Jessica Layman, Local History and Genealogy Librarian You may have heard – the Indiana Room has moved to the first floor of the Noblesville library! As part of the construction for our improved Crossroads Discovery Center on the second floor, the Indiana Room collection......
By Julia Welzen, Community Engagement Coordinator At Hamilton East Public Library, we love to get out in the community and visit with you outside our buildings! We enjoy meeting you where you are already spending your time in our community. This summer, you’ll find us......
Join with code: alltogethernow Interested in taking on an extra challenge this summer? Join the “Visit the Hamilton County Libraries” Beanstack challenge to earn chances to win a $100 gift card to Moonshot Games! Unlock the power of your library card! Hamilton County residents can......
Join the HEPL community of readers by enrolling in the All Together Now 2023 Summer Reading Program! Readers of all ages can keep an online log of their reading and complete fun activities during June and July to participate. Registration begins Monday, May 8th. Sign......
By: Heidi Herald Welcome back to What’s Cooking @ HEPL! I am Heidi Herald, a Public Services Librarian at Hamilton East Public Library, and I review one of the library’s cookbooks quarterly. This month, I am reviewing I Am From Here: Stories and Recipes From......
By Laura Hoffman WHAT: Let’s celebrate and lift up our Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community members! In 1977, five joint resolutions were introduced to Congress. These resolutions proposed that one week of May should be set aside every year to celebrate AAPI......
By Tasha Jun 2023 is the year of stories at Hamilton East Public Library. Every month on our blog, we’re featuring a guest writer from our community to share in their own words what the library means to them. We hope these stories will demonstrate......
By Ann Grilliot, Genealogy & Local History Coordinator Mother’s Day is approaching, and that has me thinking of the women in my life. On both sides of my lineage, the family stories have been passed on through the women. They have been the historians and......
By Rachel Ratajski The fourth HEPL Teen Writing Challenge has concluded, and three winners were chosen out of ten entries from teens. The Teen Writing Challenge was the idea of a student who shared it with theTeen Advisory Board (TAB). The TAB loved the suggestion......
May is Mental Health Awareness Month! Explore everything going on at HEPL to celebrate this month. Mental Health Resource Guide Download our newly updated mental health resource guide for 2023, featuring links to resources for mental health, well-being, and substance abuse. Mental Health Awareness......
By Julia Welzen, Community Engagement Coordinator April is National Volunteer Month, and we celebrate and honor the people who give their time to their communities, non-profits, and faith-based organizations! According to the latest Volunteering in America report from Americorps, almost 61 million Americans (about 23.2%......
By Jessica Layman, Local History and Genealogy Librarian Did you know that people with Arab heritage have been living in Indiana for more than 100 years? Many assumptions are made about people who identify as Arab. Generally speaking, people of Arab descent or their ancestors......
By David Heighway, Hamilton County Historian (originally published in Noblesville Magazine, a Towne Poste Network publication) While Hamilton County currently produces many quality authors, it has had a long history of literary endeavors. The list includes fiction and non-fiction writers, playwrights and poets, and a......
By Suhita Chintalacharuvu 2023 is the year of stories at Hamilton East Public Library. Every month on our blog, we’re featuring a guest writer from our community to share in their own words what the library means to them. We hope these stories will demonstrate......
By Ann Grilliot, Genealogy & Local History Coordinator I want to learn more about genetic genealogy. You know, using your DNA to find all those cousins you share centimorgans with. Growing up, my grandmother shared stories of her Swedish family. I always loved to see......
You see their faces, you may know their names, but it’s time to really get to know your local librarians and library staff! Meet Danielle Acton, Adult Engagement Coordinator in our Public Services department. Q: What brought you to HEPL and how long have you......
BY KRIS HURST Ignite Studio at the Hamilton East Public Library in Fishers has opened a call for art for our next exhibit, “All Together Now.” We are seeking original mixed media art that combines as least two mediums or materials. ABOUT “ALL TOGETHER NOW”......
The Hamilton East Public Library (HEPL) is excited to host our 2023 Local Author Fair, a free, open house-style event for all ages. The event will be held on Saturday, April 15 from 1:00 – 4:00 PM at the FORUM Events Center, 11313 USA Pkwy,......
By Tori Rumschlag, Public Services Librarian Women’s History Month is a time to celebrate the many achievements of women and the impact they have made in our world. Hamilton East Public Library is highlighting the ones that took Hollywood by storm with “The Women Who......
By Sierra Sullivan 2023 is the year of stories at Hamilton East Public Library. Every month on our blog, we’re featuring a guest writer from our community to share in their own words what the library means to them. We hope these stories will demonstrate......
By Julia Welzen, Community Engagement Coordinator Spring is just around the corner, and gardeners everywhere are itching to dig in the dirt. Hamilton East Public Library’s Seed Library opened March 1, but before you leap outside with trowel and seeds in hand, make sure you......
By Dianne Thompson Every year in March, we celebrate Disability Awareness Month. We asked Fishers resident and mother of a child with disabilities, Dianne Thompson, to write a guest blog about her personal connection to this month and the ways we can support inclusion and......
By Kathy Sasseman Love music? Join us on select Saturdays throughout the year for the 2023 HEPL Music Series! This is the ninth year the Friends of the Hamilton East Public Library have sponsored the Music Series, bringing a variety of wonderful concerts to the......
By David Heighway, Hamilton County Historian For Women’s History Month, we’re going to be looking at two local women who took a different path than many women of their era and decided to delve into science and engineering. Dr. Joyce Hobson The first woman doctor......
In January, the American Library Association (ALA) announced the 2023 Youth Media Award winners. Each year, the ALA honors books and other outstanding materials for children and teens published in the preceding year. Recognized worldwide for the high quality they represent, the Youth Media Awards......
By David Heighway, Hamilton County Historian It’s interesting to see how marginalized communities often develop their own forms of artistic expression. A common example is that of Black communities and music. Sometimes, there are visual arts, like painting and sculpture. Here, in Hamilton County,......
The 2023 HEPL Seed Library will open for the year on Wednesday, March 1, and we are so excited to share this year’s collection with you! In 2022, HEPL loaned out more than 56,000 seed packets – our highest number ever! That means more plants......
By David Heighway, Hamilton County Historian As part of Black History Month, I would like to look at two individuals who represent two important eras in Noblesville’s race relations – the post-Civil War reconstruction era and the twentieth-century Civil Rights era. It’s important to......
By Pooja Thakkar 2023 is the year of stories at Hamilton East Public Library. Every month on our blog, we’re featuring a guest writer from our community to share in their own words what the library means to them. We hope these stories will demonstrate......
By Jessica Layman, Local History and Genealogy Librarian Are you interested in the Civil War? Does your genealogy journey include Civil War ancestors? Are you interested in African American history? In the Indiana Room, we make the effort to offer resources and classes that......
By: Heidi Herald Welcome back to What’s Cooking @ HEPL! I am Heidi Herald, a Public Services Librarian at Hamilton East Public Library, and I review one of the library’s cookbooks quarterly. This month, I am reviewing Budmo! Recipes from a Ukrainian Kitchen by Anna......
By Rachel Ratajski The theme for HEPL’s next Teen Writing Challenge is love! This can be any kind of love – friendship, family, pets, romance. Teen writers can submit an original, love-themed short story for HEPL’s 4th Teen Writing Challenge! WHO: Teens living in or......
By Kris Hurst Every 1st quarter of the year, Ignite Studio focuses on a specific medium or technique. This year, we’ve selected an everyday art material that can be used as canvas, sculpted, folded, woven, cut, pasted, sewn, embroidered and quilled. Guessed it yet? PAPER!......
By David Heighway, Hamilton County Historian In honor of Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy and influence and in observance of MLK Day 2023, we will be looking at a local person who was an active participant in an important event of the Civil Rights movement.......
By Allison Kartman Why do you LOVE reading books? Is it escapism? How about feeling the world fade away and the thrill of taking a vacation inside your own head? Do you enjoy learning something new or the challenge of understanding different points of view?......
By Stephanie Perry 2023 is the year of stories at Hamilton East Public Library. Every month on our blog, we’re featuring a guest writer from our community to share in their own words what the library means to them. We hope these stories will demonstrate......
Everyone has a story. Long or short, serious or silly, coming from all kinds of backgrounds, we all have favorite stories about our lives, our family history, or about things that are meaningful to us. This year, HEPL has embraced a storytelling theme, and we......
BY KATELYN COYNE Ignite Studio at the Hamilton East Public Library has opened a call for art for our annual exhibit “The 700 Collection.” We are seeking art in a variety of mediums for this juried group exhibit with cash awards for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place.......
The Hamilton East Public Library (HEPL) is excited to announce the date for the annual Local Author Fair in 2023. The HEPL Local Author Fair will take place on Saturday, April 15, 2023 from 1:00 to 4:00pm at the FORUM Events Center (11313 USA Pkwy,......
Ignite Studio and Nickel Plate Arts are teaming up once again for Comic Book in a Day 2023. Celebrating 10 years, Comic Book in a Day has become a fixture in the local illustration community each year. Join us for workshops with professional comic book artists, sign-up......
The Hamilton East Public Library is proud to present our Best Books of 2022! Explore our annual recommendations for kids and adults, curated by our expert librarians. The books on these lists are perfect for gifting, book club selections, or personal reading. They include fiction,......
By: Heidi Herald Welcome back to What’s Cooking @ HEPL! I am Heidi Herald, a Public Services Librarian at Hamilton East Public Library. I review one of the library’s cookbooks each month. This month, I am reviewing The Perfect Cookie: Your Ultimate Guide to Foolproof......
We are loving the Season of Giving celebrations happening at the library during this time of year! You’re helping us raise funds and supplies for HamCoLove and our local townships, pack meals for IDES, create handmade gifts, and more. Every year, you also give to......
By: Heidi Herald Welcome back to What’s Cooking @ HEPL! I am Heidi Herald, a Public Services Librarian at Hamilton East Public Library. I review one of the library’s cookbooks each month. This month, I am reviewing Wintersweet: Seasonal Desserts to Warm the Home by......
The Creation of a Myth By David Heighway, Hamilton County Historian In Hamilton County, as in other places in the United States, the study of Native American life can be cluttered by myths. As if the interactions between settlers and Natives were not complex enough,......
As we draw near to the end of the year, many in our community will turn their focus to celebrations and times of giving. This year, the library will celebrate that spirit of giving in November and December with our initiative “Season of Giving.” Happenings......
By: Heidi Herald Welcome back to What’s Cooking @ HEPL! I am Heidi Herald, a Public Services Librarian at Hamilton East Public Library. I will be reviewing one of the library’s cookbooks each month. This month, I selected Saka Saka: Adventures in African Cooking, South......
