Public Libraries in Indianapolis, Indiana
Indiana — United States
Public Libraries in Indianapolis, Indiana
The Indianapolis Public Library (IndyPL) serves Marion County from its historic 1917 Central Library and more than two dozen branches.
1
Library
Library in Indianapolis
Indianapolis Public Library – Central Library
Indianapolis Public Library (IndyPL)
📍 40 E. St. Clair St., Indianapolis, IN 46204
🕑 Hours
| Monday | 10 AM – 8 PM |
| Tuesday | 10 AM – 8 PM |
| Wednesday | 10 AM – 6 PM |
| Thursday | 10 AM – 6 PM |
| Friday | 10 AM – 5 PM |
| Saturday | 10 AM – 5 PM |
| Sunday | 1 PM – 5 PM |
Hours may change on holidays — confirm before visiting.
The Story of the Library in Indianapolis
The Indianapolis Public Library opened on April 8, 1873, in a single room of the Indianapolis High School building, beginning with a collection of about 13,000 volumes and roughly 500 registered borrowers. Today the system, known as IndyPL, serves Marion County through more than two dozen branch locations.
The downtown Central Library, designed by Philadelphia architect Paul Philippe Cret in a Beaux-Arts / Greek Doric style faced with Indiana limestone, opened in 1917 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. A $104 million renovation and six-story addition, wrapped in a curved glass curtain-wall façade and atrium, opened on December 9, 2007, more than doubling the building's public space.
About Public Libraries in Indianapolis
Indianapolis is served by the Indianapolis Public Library (IndyPL), a system of more than two dozen locations anchored by the downtown Central Library at 40 E. St. Clair Street. A free library card is available to residents of Marion County, and it unlocks the full collection of books, downloadable eBooks and audiobooks, streaming media, research databases, and free access to public computers and Wi-Fi across every branch.
INSPIRE (inspire.in.gov) is Indiana's statewide virtual library, provided free of charge to all Indiana residents by the Indiana State Library. It gives residents free access to trusted research databases, magazines, newspapers, encyclopedias, and test-prep materials, plus over one million pages of digitized Indiana historic newspapers.
📚 What You Can Access
- 📚 Books, magazines and newspapers across the IndyPL collection
- 📱 Free eBooks and audiobooks through Libby / OverDrive
- 🎬 Streaming movies, music and shows via hoopla and Kanopy
- 🔎 INSPIRE — Indiana’s free statewide research databases
- 🖨️ Public computers, printing, copying and scanning
- 📶 Free Wi-Fi and quiet study spaces
- 🧒 Children’s and teen programs and collections
🏛️ Quick Facts
| Libraries | 1 public library (Central Library) |
| System | Indianapolis Public Library (IndyPL) |
| Address | 40 E. St. Clair St., Indianapolis, IN 46204 |
| Phone | 317-275-4100 |
| Founded | 1873 (Central Library building, 1917) |
| Library card | Free for Marion County residents |
| State resource | INSPIRE (inspire.in.gov) |
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