The Martinsville Branch of the Morgan County Public Library began its story as a Carnegie funded…read morelibrary. I was glad to see the familiar historic library facade with lovely green dome and large columns when I drove up. The original building was completed in 1908 and is constructed of Indiana Bedford limestone. The library has expanded over the years to improve accessibility, increase the collections, modernize and offer specialized spaces. The first addition was added in the 1990's increasing the size of the facility four-fold. A recent addition was completed 2020 included a modern teen room and outdoor patio area. The Children's area is bright with high ceilings and a small play area. The teen area is very modern with work space and an area to watch tv with comfy seating. There is a rather large area with dvds. A lovely painting by T. C. Steele hangs on the wall. The old Carnegie building now houses the Genealogy center. The librarian in the center was busy, but graciously provided me with a map of downtown Martinsville so I could continue my research. A stained glass dome and beautiful oak columns are the only original interior features left from the 1908 build in the Carnegie section. Overall, it's a functional, modern library with some history. They are part of the Evergreen program and offer delivery to home bound patrons. The building is fully wheelchair accessible, has nice restrooms, and plenty of close free parking.

This was my first visit to the Morgan County Public Library. Usually I go to the Evergreen web…read moresite and place books on hold for delivery to the Brooklyn branch for pickup. But today I just happened to be downtown getting a new watch band installed on my new watch I bought last week at De Lyn's 20th anniversary and had some time to kill so I stopped in to check them out. I could be wrong, but judging by the outside appearance of the building, it appears to me they have had at least two major additions to the original building on the corner with the old limestone. The most recent one is huge and dedicated to children's books and has a room specifically for teens. The middle section of the building up the ramp or steps is for the adult books, and the original limestone building on the corner is dedicated to Genealogy and Morgan County's Hall of Fame. I really like the way all the books are labeled on the shelves. There is an easy to read label at the bottom of each book's spine with the first three letters of the author. I can find the authors I'm looking for really fast this way. But please take advantage of the Information desk. If you don't see the book you are looking for, it is possible it is checked out and the staff can look it up in their computer and place a hold on it so that you are notified when it comes back to the library. This is a really nice library. While not as big as Mooresville's with the exception of the children's area, it is fairly comparable. The teen room is really unique. Morgan County's Hall of Fame is very interesting. There is a small legend on the left hand side that identifies each photo. I did not know Gary Bettenhausen would be in the Hall of Fame. Although born in Illinois, he lived in Monrovia where his children attended high school. Having served in the U.S. Navy aboard the aircraft carrier USS Frankin D. Roosevelt, CV-42, I was pleasantly surprised to find a new book (2022 edition) on the history of the world's greatest aircraft carriers in the last 100 years. I found a nice quiet spot with a comfortable chair and read the book for about ten minutes and then checked it out. Your initial check out period is three weeks and you are allowed to renew twice. They have some really nice chairs scattered around the library. They are comfortable, have lap tables to hold your book and have both kinds of charging ports for your devices. And of course there are free computers for use. There is dedicated free parking directly across the street with plenty of spaces available.

Being a librarian myself, I knew that I had to get a library card as soon as I moved to Franklin…read more The Franklin branch of the Johnson County Public Library is in a nice location that straddles the college and town. The staff were very welcoming and the location has a nice collection. Best of all, JCPL has plenty of regular events that I'm looking forward to attending in the future.

Part of the four location Johnson County Public Library network, the Franklin Library is able to…read moreprovide reading and listening materials to local customers. Parking is free along the frontage driveway that parallels State Street. Inside, there is a lobby with restrooms and meeting rooms, and beyond the lobby, is the main library room. Books are mainly to the right of the central checkout counter. Audio (books and cd's) and video are to the left. There are also checkout stations as well as computers available. The library has a reciprocal borrowing agreement with the Greenwood Public Library which is part of the Evergreen integrated library system. This agreement allows sharing of materials beyond the county line. For residents of Johnson County, there is no additional fee for getting an ID card, though out of county residents can either pay an annual fee to get access to the materials or can get a card from their own library if it is also a part of the Evergreen system too. Nice place....clean and orderly...lots of materials on hand. Review #2196

The Bartholomew County Library is another amazing functional architectural structure in Columbus,…read moreIndiana. The building was designed by I. M. Pei in 1969 with an addition by James Paris in 1987. What I noticed first was an incredible sculpture that stands in the Library plaza. The sculpture, known as Large Arch, was created by Henry Moore in 1971. Inside the library are high ceilings with a modern and spacious feel. There are large sections of adult books on the first and second floor. On the first floor are public computers, newspapers and other resources. There is a large teen area with skylights and comfy seating. In the basement are conference and a class room and an incredible children's library, complete with play areas and a puppet show stage. There is an outdoor patio off of the children's section. On the second floor is a indoor garden atrium that brings in natural light. The staff is helpful. There is a space where they sell excess and used books. There were several oil paintings by notable Hoosier artists. There is also a small veteran tribute near the front entrance. There is free parking on the west and back sides of the facility. I would put this library at the top of the Indiana libraries that I have visited.

Very nice, well kept, clean, and organized library. Lots of books and free use computers. Friendly…read moreand helpful staff can help you find what you seek. Cool large piece of artwork on the grounds. Nice place to find a real book versus an online book, for those who prefer the old fashion way of reading, ha. Plenty of relaxing and comfy private seating along with nice tables for multi book researching. Located downtown and walking distance to many other businesses.

Love love love this library! We are frequent patrons of this library. Our family has a great time…read morehere. Our son has read over 1000 books over 4 years n is thirsty for more great reading experiences. We love abundant resources for learning and information. We also love their movies DVD rentals options. Love it!

I like this extension library because it is conveniently located, has courteous staff, and saves me…read morethe trouble of driving all the way to Martinsville to check out a book or movie. The Library is also part of the Evergreen Indiana sharing program, so even if they don't have the item you are looking for on their shelves, they have a reasonable chance of finding another library that may share it and conveniently hold it for you. Review #1181

Love this location and it's easy access to 37/69. The librarians are super nice and knowledgeable!…read more So many activities and children's books- it's our go to library in the county. Don't forget you can request books to be available at this (smaller) branch!

My afternoon "office" for a few hours, I spent my time here pounding out emails and (quietly)…read moredialed in to a Zoom bridge or two. A comfortable work space in the corner where my laptops and phone plugged in and charged. The library is quite large and spacious. Lots of interesting spaces, tons of stacks of books, I thought the shelf of role playing game kits was a unique offering. You do not need to be a local resident in order to use the library, only to borrow materials. [Review 20560 overall - 98 in Indiana - 1541 of 2023.]

SO I was nervous to go to this location which was so silly in hindsight (to go to the downtown…read morelocation) because I'm spoiled by the Southside location by my house. Extensive water damage has closed the Southern location till at least June 2024 so here I was looking for kids' North Dakota books for a school report. Not only did I find an extensive amount of books for my son, I got him some graphic novels, some launchpads, some free seeds from the seed library and a free subscription to the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. I was also intrigued by the library of mysterious things upstairs. The ambience was clean, well thought out, and the staff was superb. I will be back without hesitation. I heard there is a drive-through to drop stuff off for parents with young kids. I have noticed there were a ton of parents and small children there for various groups. Looks promising!

Wonderful library! My baby and I went to the free baby story time in the community room today, and…read moreit was so fun! Lots of parents and their little ones singing and playing. Such a great community resource!

We love the White River library! Great selection of books and other materials along with a large…read moresection for kids. There's a large train table, play kitchen, fire truck, and a rotating selection of toys along with plenty of comfortable seating and a kids bathroom. The library also has several work/study areas and seating areas for bird watching, reading, or just hanging out. My only complaint about this location is that it's a little tough to access at certain times of day due to traffic patterns in the area, but that's not something the library can resolve!

What an amazing local resource! The Plant Prop Exchange and Pet Portrait Event were both so fun to…read moreengage in. Happily a new member of this branch.

The library layout is really cool. However when I took my nonspeaking Autistic 4 yr old to the…read morechildren's section, the librarians did not want her to touch the books in the shelves. They said they were afraid she would knock them down, but she was not doing that. She is a sensory seeker and wanted to touch them and see their bright colors. She did not knock any books down, but her Autistic stimming seemed to unnerve the librarians who asked me (mom) to not allow her to press on the books. Since she has Autism level three it is not possible to have her follow those instructions because she cannot understand them. I would ask that the library staff try to be more inclusive of children with disabilities and to allow them to touch the books. If she had been allowed to finish touching the books, she would have been able to settle down and then sit down and look through one. My daughter was not making a mess of any kind. This experience caused us unnecessary stress, made us feel unwelcome, and my daughter did not understand what she had done wrong

Working remotely at the Southport branch was a great experience. Free wi-fi at Indianapolis Public…read moreLibrary branches is always a plus. It was easy to find and connect to the network. I always enjoy browsing and checking out books when I stop by. The seed library was the highlight. There were many varieties and other gardening resources that make home gardening accessible. I also enjoyed the layout. There were cubicle type spaces for semi-private working and easy device charging. There were also group private spaces and collaborative spaces. Working next to the collaborative spaces was a little distracting because I could hear others' conversations, but other than that it was a great experience.

We are slowly but surely working our way through all of the libraries within the IPL system. This…read morepast weekend, we popped into the Southport location because we have never visited and found ourselves on the southside. It was a great time to check it out with all of the summer reading program activations under way. We quickly made our way to the kids section to pick up a few audiobooks and baby books, and then grabbed a few recipe books as well. The staff was very friendly when we went to check in our summer reading chart and retrieve a prize. Overall a positive and smooth experience. I would say this isn't one of the more refreshed or stunning locations. I wish it had more natural light and kids activity stations similar to some of the other spots. They all are getting so sexy-it's hard to keep up!