A pastor's handwritten 1868 sermon calling for the establishment of an Indianapolis library as well as photographs from Central Library's 1916 cornerstone ceremony are part of an extensive on-line collection chronicling the rich history of The Indianapolis Public Library.

The Lawrence J. Downey Library History Collection is the Library's latest offering of digital images and recordings of historical and cultural interest to Indianapolis citizens, students and researchers. It is presented in memory of the Library's former Associate Director who served the Indy Library for 42 years, retiring in 1988. Many of the images are included in Downey's 1991 book, A Live Thing in the Whole Town, which provides a comprehensive history of the institution. A 2011 volume of the Library's history, Stacks by Skip Berry and Mary Ellen Gadski, highlights other information and materials from Library archives.

In addition to photos, newsletters, annual reports and other artifacts found in the Nina Mason Pulliam Indianapolis Special Collections Room at Central Library, the new digital collection includes documents that led to the creation of the city's first public library, such as Reverend Hanford Edson's Thanksgiving Day sermon, "A Plea for a Public Library." Historic photos show the early use of the Library by children and patrons along with those of the city's original branch buildings.

The Indy Library's overall digital collection includes historic Indianapolis firefighter photos and objects, Indianapolis Public Schools yearbooks, Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce newsletters, English Opera House program, artifacts from The Children's Museum, World War One posters, the correspondence of May Wright Sewall, historic Indianapolis postcards, oral histories from the Irvington neighborhood, and audio recordings of James Whitcomb Riley.

To further the Library's goal to expand access to materials of local interest, its new Manager of Digitization, Meaghan Obiko Fukunaga, will work to develop projects and community collaborations that can increase capacity for the preservation and storage of older format items.

The Lawrence J. Downey Library History Collection is made possible by past and present Library employees and friends of Lawrence J. Downey through gifts to The Indianapolis Public Library Foundation. The Foundation continues seeking funds to expand the Downey collection and begin other digitization projects.

To access this collection, visit www.indypl.org and click on the Digital Collections link from the homepage.