The present building was dedicated on the 18th of May, 1969, and was made possible by Eli Lilly and the Eli Lilly Endowment of Indianapolis.
Less than 10% of the entire collection is on display at any one time. The remainder are stored in an air-conditioned vault on the lower level. Funding is presently being sought to build an addition onto this building so that all books can be moved upstairs, where they can be viewed by the public while still being kept safe and secure in a humidity-controlled environment.
The life-sized statue of Bishop Bruté is
hand-carved of laminated Canadian walnut. It was made in the Province of Quebec
by Pierre Bourgault. The hand-carved desk was a present to Bishop Maurice de St.
Palais, is over one hundred years old, and is called a standing or sitting desk,
since it can be used either way.
The only permanent exhibit is the small floor case containing the Bible left to Bishop Bruté by Elizabeth Seton, the first U.S.-born saint. All other cases -- the wall cases and the larger floor cases -- feature special displays.