Graphic provided by Warsaw Community Public Library.

By Erica Bennington
Adult Services
Warsaw Community Public Library

WARSAW — Calling all Hoosiers. The Indiana State Library has a free service that is available to all Hoosier residents, even if you live outside of a library tax district. The service is called Inspire. Inspire is Indiana’s Lifelong Learning Library for Hoosiers. Inspire is a collection of online academic databases and other information resources that can be accessed by Indiana residents.

Inspire includes full-text magazine and journal articles, websites, pamphlets, images, almanacs, full-text historic newspapers, multimedia, library catalogs and much more. In most cases, Inspire provides cover-to-cover indexing and abstracts of all articles that appear in every periodical with the exception of some newspapers. Only letters to the editor, advertisements and some images are excluded for copyright reasons.

Inspire is the perfect resource for anyone seeking academic or career information. Students benefit from access to academic articles, books and journals, as well as standardized test prep. There are also skill improvement practice books to help students who need assistance in math, English, science, social studies, logic and technology. These courses are not just for students; Inspire also offers math, reading and writing courses to help adults improve their skills.

Adults can use Inspire to tackle family genealogy, find medical research, learn computer skills or find career advancement help. There are assessments for teachers, police officers, military personnel, nurses, air traffic controllers, real estate agents, cosmetologists, hospitality professionals and many more. You can study for your career exams, to earn a GED or to prepare to enter college. You can learn all about new technology to stay current in the job market. Finding employment can be difficult, but with Inspire, you can make sure that you stand out from the competition. Inspire also offers tests and instructions for how to apply to become a United States citizen. They even offer courses in Spanish.

Inspire is filled with great resources that are just waiting for you to use, even if you do not have a library card. You can access Inspire by visiting inspire.in.gov or going through the Warsaw Community Public Library website, warsawlibrary.org, then clicking on “Books, Movies and More” and then clicking on “Digital Resources.” If you still need help navigating Inspire, the staff at Warsaw Community Public Library is always happy to help you with your research needs.