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| Short History of Libraries, Printing and Language Indiana Edition |
December 03, 1806 - Vincennes Library Company Established
The Indiana Territorial Assembly passed an act that established the Vincennes Library Company on December 3, 1806. The Vincennes Library Company formed an important cultural development in the frontier areas of the Indiana Territory. Private citizens contributed to the establishment and maintenance of the library. At the time of its formation, Vincennes had approximately 700 residents, including French and Amerindians. The Library grew; by 1823, the collection included 1023 volumes.
The 1816 Indiana Constitution and Libraries
Prior to Indiana's admission to the Union as a state in December 1816, forty-three delegates assembled at the territorial capital at Corydon to draft a constitution for the state in June 1816. Article IX of this document dealt with schools, libraries and developing a penal code. Section 5 dealt with public libraries. The text is included below:
Sect. 5. The General Assembly, at the time they lay off a new County, shall cause, at least, ten per cent to be reserved out of the proceeds of the sale of town lots, in the seat of Justice of such county, for the use of a public library for such County, and at the same session, they shall incorporate a library company, under such rules and regulations as will best secure its permanence, and extend its benefits.
The delegates to the convention in Corydon that drafted Indiana's first constitution in June, 1816 drafted a resolution on June 18, 1816 that stated:
"That it be recommended to the general assembly of the state of Indiana, to appropriate the money voluntarily given by the citizens of Harrison county to the state, to the purchase of books for a library for the use of the legislature and other officers of government; and that the said general assembly will, from time to time, make such appropriations for the increase of said library, as they may deem necessary."
The capital of the Indiana Territory had moved to Corydon from Vincennes in 1813 in anticipation of achieving statehood. At the time, Corydon was nearer the center of population for the proposed new state. The legislature did nothing further to establish the State Library until they moved to the new capital at Indianapolis in 1825. On February 11, 1825 the legislature created the Indiana State Library, appropriated funds for its establishment and designated the Secretary of State as the State Librarian. In 1841 the legislature established the library as a separate instruction and in 1867 they placed the library in the care of the Indiana Supreme Court. in 1895 they appointed the State Board of Education as the State Library board. This move proved key to its expansion in later years and to the spread of public libraries across the state.
