This
Month in
Morrisson-Reeves
Library History
April |
| 1867
|
One of Sarah Wrigley’s first annual
reports appeared in the Hummingbird on April 13. It revealed that
the library’s holdings had increased from about 6,000 at its opening
to 6,952. Volumes circulated 26,549 times among the 7,338 people who had
registered as borrowers. The total fines collected amounted to $82.13. |
| 1911 |
The Morrisson-Reeves Library Committee met in special
session on April 19 to pass a resolution commemorating Caroline
Middleton Reeves, who had died the previous night. The committee also
closed the library from 9 -12 that morning. |
| 1901 |
 The
1893 building for a time housed an art gallery on the third floor. This
gallery opened on April 18 with an exhibition sponsored by the Clear Creek
Sketch Club. The exhibitors were Mr. Richard B. Gruelle, of Indianapolis,
who loaned more than sixty watercolors, and Professor John Bundy, who showed
forty oils. At the close of the exhibition, Mr. Gruelle donated one of his
paintings, titled “The Lifting of the Fog Bank,” to the library.
Today that painting hangs in the Director’s
Office. In August 1902 the art gallery was converted to the Children’s
Room after it was determined that the original Children’s Room in
the basement was too cold and damp. |
| 1936 |
At the request of Mrs. Mary T. R. Foulke,
who was moving to Connecticut to live with her daughter, two portraits
painted by T. C. Steele were placed in the library. The portraits of Mrs.
Foulke and her mother, Caroline Middleton Reeves, were hung in the Reading
Room on either side of the bay window that housed the Tiffany
Windows. Those paintings now reside in the Bard
Room. |
| 1943 |
Mrs. Bernhardt, Morrisson-Reeves Librarian
and regional director of the Victory Book Campaign reported that, as of
April 1, Richmond citizens had donated more than 1,800 books to the campaign,
as well as uncounted numbers of fresh magazines. The materials were distributed
by local USO volunteers to service men and women traveling through Richmond.
The USO had a lounge in the Arlington Hotel, directly across the street
from the depot, and a desk inside the depot. |
| 1962
|
Mrs. Clarence Brown, widow of the long-time library
board president, donated three paintings by local artists to the library
on April 14. One was “The Falls of Elliott’s Mill” created
by Frank Girardin. The other two were watercolors created by John A. Seaford.
Appropriately, all three of these works now hang in the Brown
Room, the room on the west side of the library which was named for Clarence
Brown. |
| 1968 |
On Thursday, April 11, after an extensive
cleaning effort by all staff, the library reopened after the explosion of
the previous Saturday. The explosion, which leveled many buildings and killed
41 people, occurred only a block south of the library. It knocked out many
windows and deposited dust and soot on nearly all surfaces. Mrs. Bard declared
a moratorium on fines, stating that no fines would be charged on material
that was due from April 5 - 15. |
| 1985 |
At a ceremony at the Governor’s
Mansion on April 22 Mrs. Harriet Bard received the Sagamore of the Wabash,
the highest honor an Indiana governor can bestow. The Indiana State Librarian,
Roy Ewick, presented the award as a highlight of National Library Week festivities.
The award is a personal tribute given to those who have rendered a distinguished
service to the state and who have contributed to the Hoosier heritage. Mrs.
Bard received the award in recognition of her forty years of leadership
and service as Librarian of Morrisson-Reeves Library. Mrs. Bard announced
her retirement the following month. |
| 1988 |
Morrisson-Reeves’ new computerized
circulation system, known as “MeRL the Lion,” was showcased
during National Library Week, April 17-23. The change required that bar
codes be applied to every book in the library and that all patrons apply
for new library cards, which also contained bar codes. The new system eliminated
the need to keep track of all circulation transactions on cards. It also
increased the library’s Interlibrary Loan capabilities. |