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The Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library (KVML) is located in the historic Emelie Building in downtown Indianapolis (340 N. Senate Ave.) thanks to the support of Katz & Korin, PC. The library is open daily except Wednesdays from noon to 5 p.m. and is closed on all major holidays. Admission is free, donations appreciated.

Don’t miss our Upcoming Events.

Slaughterhouse-Five BANNED?!

The KVML is giving away free copies of Slaughterhouse-Five to students from Republic, Missouri’s high school (yes, the school that banned Slaughterhouse-Five last week from their curriculum and school library). If you are a student at Republic High School, please e-mail us at info@vonnegutlibrary.org to request your free copy of the book. Please provide us with your name, address, and grade level. We have up to 150 books to share, thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor. We think it’s important for everyone to have their First Amendment rights. We’re not telling you to like the book… we just want you to read it and decide for yourself. We will not share your request or any of your personal information with anyone else.

Update: Due to the overwhelming response we have received from supporters, the KVML is putting our additional donations toward the creation of a banned book exhibit for the KVML and a Banned Book Response Team to help other communities when the hint of banned books arises. We’ll share with them a toolkit for how to deal with the situation based on what we have learned from this situation. Many, many volunteers are stepping forward to help with this important cause. The KVML extends our thanks to all of you for your support in helping us protect First Amendment rights. Thanks to you, we’ll be ready the next time someone tries to mess with Kurt Vonnegut.

For all others, please click here to donate to our cause. We are requesting your support of $5 each to help with funds for packaging and shipping. We’ll provide the books, you help us get them to these students. Additional donations will be used to bring banned book author Sarah Ockler to Indianapolis during Banned Book Week to discuss her Republic High book banning experience and her views on censorship.

Thanks for all you do for the Vonnegut Library.

Vision

We believe that writing is important.  Great humorists, such as Kurt Vonnegut, compel us to see our world more clearly.  The KVML aims to inspire and promote insightful writing, extolling the greatness and exposing the foibles of the human condition.  We seek to engage people, especially young people in Indianapolis, in thinking about and expressing themselves with the written word.  We believe that writers are made, not born.

Mission

The KVML is a public-benefit, nonprofit organization championing the literary, artistic, and cultural contributions of the late writer, artist, and Indianapolis native Kurt Vonnegut.  The library serves as a cultural and educational resource facility, museum, art gallery, and reading room.  It supports language and visual arts education through programs and outreach activities with other local arts organizations to foster a strong arts network for both the local and national community.

Why Indianapolis?

“All my jokes are Indianapolis.  All my attitudes are Indianapolis.  My adenoids are Indianapolis.  If I ever severed myself from Indianapolis, I would be out of business.  What people like about me is Indianapolis.” —Kurt Vonnegut, 1986

“Where is home?  I’ve wondered where home is, and I realized, it’s not Mars or someplace like that, it’s Indianapolis when I was nine years old.  I had a brother and a sister, a cat and a dog, and a mother and a father and uncles and aunts.  And there’s no way I can get there again.” — Kurt Vonnegut, 2005