Here are three things you need to know to fully appreciate the history behind the Edward A. Block Family Library in the hospital’s Family Resource Center on the first floor of Simon Family Tower:
James Whitcomb Riley donated the land that became the site for the Indianapolis Public Library, which then provided support for Riley Hospital’s library. One of the things the Hoosier poet did with the money he made from his poetry was to buy property. One piece of property he owned was at the corner of North Meridian Street and St. Clair Avenue. Riley donated that land to the city in 1911 with the hope that it would be used to build a public library. Chairing the Indianapolis Board of School Commissioners was Dr. Frank Morrison, an early physician leader at Riley Hospital, who lent his support for the land being used as a public library and eventually, that proposal was approved. In March 1916, only months before Riley passed away in July, the cornerstone for the Indianapolis Public Library was dedicated. Riley Hospital for Children opened in November 1924, and beginning in 1925, the Public Library began offering the services of a part-time assistant to take care of the new Library at Riley Hospital, which was on the hospital’s fourth floor (near the Riley Cheer Guild office today). By 1945, the Indiana University Medical Center, through its own library system, took over supervision and maintenance of the Riley library.
The children’s library at Riley Hospital began with support from libraries, artists, book donations, librarians and the Riley Cheer Guild. At the 1922 fall conference of the Indiana Library Association, a joint committee of librarians and trustees was appointed to provide for the collection and organization of a special children’s library at Riley Hospital. By 1924, the Indiana Library Association reported total subscriptions and cash received at over $4,000, representing 225 librarians in 52 libraries around the state. The Indiana Library Association also supplied equipment for Riley Hospital’s library service in the Rotary Building, which opened for Riley Hospital convalescent patients in November 1931. The Riley Cheer Guild also provided support for magazine subscriptions, children’s books, reading aids, audio-visual equipment and library furniture such as book carts and display cases. The hospital library and the Family Resource Center moved into the current first-floor location for the Edward A. Block Family Library in 2004.
Riley Hospital’s library is named for Edward A. Block, youngest son of William H. Block, who founded Block Department Store and was an early supporter of Riley Hospital for Children. In 1922, William H. Block made a large donation to the building fund for the hospital and said at that time, “I am very happy to be a subscriber to the Riley memorial fund. In fact, this memorial movement appeals to me more strongly than anything of the sort that has come to my attention for some time.” When he died of a heart attack on Dec. 11, 1928, at his Indianapolis home, his sons assumed responsibility for operation of the company, which was sold in 1962. Through the generosity of Edward A. Block, the Edward A. Block Family Library opened in 2004 as part of the Frank and Marian Snyder Family Resource Center at Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health. The library provides education and entertainment resources, consumer medical information, and amenities for children and families at the hospital.
--Compiled by the Riley Hospital Historic Preservation Committee; photos provided by IUPUI University Library Special Collections and Archives
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