A Century of Dedication

One hundred years ago today (January 27, 1916), Mooresville Public Library was dedicated. Click the images below to enlarge.

Front page of the Mooresville Times, Friday, January 28, 1916

Easier-to-read PDF version of newspaper article is available

Mooresville Public Library (the "Carnegie building") (1916)

(Photo by J. P. Calvert)

The 1916 library building was constructed thanks to a $10,000 grant from the Carnegie Corporation.  To give that some perspective, here's what the library purchased in 2011 with a $10,000 LSTA (Library Services & Technology Act) grant from the Indiana State Library.

ScanPro 2000 Digital Microfilm Scanner/Reader

That $10,000 grant almost covered the cost of the microfilm scanner (on the left in the above photo).  The library was required under the terms of the grant to put-up about $2,000 more to buy the unit; then the library had to purchase a computer and monitor separately (another $3,000 or so).  Clearly, ten grand doesn't go as far as it did a century ago.

Of course, inflation must be factored into the valuation of the U.S. dollar.  In 2016 dollars, the construction cost of the 1916 facility ($10,000) would be equivalent to $217,533.03 today.  So we can't really compare a digital scanner purchase five years ago with an entire new library building 100 years ago.  But it's amazing how much inflation there has been since Mooresville's Carnegie library was brand new.

Rather than recount MPL's entire history here, we can direct you to our online handouts that give all the details.

• MPL History
• PDF version of the Mooresville Times article (January 28, 1916)

It has been a century of dedicated public service at your library.  We hope to continue to serve our community for centuries to come.

Samuel Moore Program

On Saturday, February 20, 2016, at 1 pm in the MPL community room, we will be having a program about Samuel Moore, founder of Mooresville, Indiana.   In the video (below), we re-create a “narrative” of Moore at the Old Settlers Picnic (August, 1885). This “narration” has been assembled from various historical records available in the MPL Indiana Room collections. Although Samuel Moore did not actually give this speech, it is based upon accurate, authentic historical records.

"Narration" of Samuel Moore at the

Old Settlers Picnic (1885)

by Mooresville Public Library

Completing Her Five-Year Mission

In the original Star Trek television series (1966-1969), the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise was engaged in a five-year mission "to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before." Here at Mooresville Public Library, we are now completing our own five-year mission, in which "strange new worlds" have been explored.  To modify the Star Trek mission statement, we've gone where no cat has gone before.  Well, sort of.

Cauli Le Chat, MPL Feline Roving Reporter

On December 19, 2010, Cauli Le Chat became the official MPL feline roving reporter.  She started a blog, Cat's Eye View @ MPL, promoting the library, its programs and events, collections, displays, and special services.  She explored Mooresville, Indiana and discussed topics of local or regional interest.  She also addressed lots of other subjects--whatever happened to strike her fancy.  She posted 1,297 articles to her blog in five years, and her readership has reached 317,156 (as of today).  Hers was the library's most popular blog, exceeded in social media impact only by the MPL YouTube Channel (with currently almost three-quarters of a million video viewings).  Her primary blog's popularity produced a spin-off:  another blog designed especially for children, Catch It @ MPL (Cauli 4 Kids) (2011-2014).

Cauli Le Chat wearing her press hat

Patrons sometimes asked if they could see Cauli when visiting the library. However, Cauli did not live inside the library; rather, she lived just down the street and would hang around outside the library, usually in the Kinder Garden or by the staff door, where she could get treats.  For inside or offsite reporting, Cauli often relied upon her trusted minions (who worked or volunteered inside), or upon her alter ego, "Flat" Cauli.  Actually, there were several "Flat" Caulis, and each had a slightly different personality from the living, breathing original feline.

MPL Kinder Garden Outdoor Program Area

Cauli's family moved away in December, 2013, but then returned across town in June, 2014, when she officially resumed her roving reporter duties.  In March, 2015, she retired, no longer able to hang-out at the library.  She continued to post articles to her blog, however. With the fifth anniversary of her blog approaching in December, she has decided to wind things up.  She isn't getting any younger, and neither are her minions, so she thinks it's time to go out on a high note, so to speak.  "I don't want my minions dribbling like slobberdogs while typing my brilliant observations," she reflected.  "Bad for my image."

Many libraries around the world have resident felines who act as "spokescritters" serving patrons and promoting services and collections.  Although MPL had resident animals prior to 2010, none actively used social media (or other media, for that matter) to engage the public.  Cauli was indeed our social media pioneer, and we're pleased with the results.

Perhaps at some future time MPL will obtain a resident "spokescritter" like many other libraries, several of which were linked at the bottom of Cauli's blogs.  But none will write about the world in quite the same way as Cauli.  Hers was a unique feline perspective, and we will miss her musings and witticisms.

2016 Indiana Literary Map

Looking for Indiana authors to read? The Indiana Center for the Book has created a Literary Map of 200 Hoosier writers for the state’s bicentennial. It’s a great resource for book clubs or teachers.

Click (Above) to See Map

Testing, 1-2-3

A couple of weeks ago, we tested connectivity to the library's new outdoor LED sign. There's a white layer protecting the screen during construction, which partially obscures image resolution.  The graphics will look much clearer and sharper once the white cover is removed.

Click the images to enlarge.