This Month - June

This Month in Morrisson-Reeves Library History June
1891	Secretary of the Library Board, Timothy Nicholson, announced in the Evening Item that the new library catalogs had been issued and were available for sale at the library for 75 cents. In the days before the card catalog and open shelves, the library issued a bound volume listing all the books in the collection. As Nicholson then pointed out, The library committee desire to call special attention to Rule 13, which is as follows: "Books must be selected from the catalogue, and the case, shelf, number and title of the book desired, written down and furnished the attendant just as printed in the catalogue." The attendant then retrieved the book from its place on the shelf. Patrons were not allowed any direct access to the bookshelves. This admonition appeared frequently over the years in the various newspapers.
1892	Mrs. Caroline Middleton Reeves, accompanied by her son-in-law and lawyer William Dudley Foulke, attended the Morrisson Library Committee meeting on June 14 in order to propose that she give a gift of $30,000. Months of negotiation over the terms of the gift followed.
1904	Mrs. Bernhardt reported in her annual report that the great task of card cataloging the entire collection was progressing nicely, and hopefully would be completed within the next year, making the printed catalogue obsolete.
1914	In February 1914, the education committee of the Commercial Club formed a subcomittee whose purpose was to make Morrisson-Reeves more popular for the citizens of Richmond. Among its findings was that its collection was "heavy on art and light on science and sociology." It recommended starting a municipal department that would be "supplied with books that will deal with the questions of the municipality and will be intended to appeal especially to the business and working men of the city." (Evening Item 14 March 1914) Consequently, Mrs. Bernhardt's list of new books for June 8 included such titles as: Collection and Disposal of Municipal Waste The Health of the City Water Purification and Sewage Disposal Police Administration Questions and Answers on Automobile Design, Construction, Driving and Repair The Grocer's Encyclopedia
1918	Mrs. Bernhardt, who represented the official activities of the American Library Association in Wayne County, state that six boxes containing 600 books had recently been shipped directly to American military libraries in France for the entertainment of the troops. The American Library Association conducted a nation-wide campaign to collect and distribute books overseas. Most books were sent to YMCA, Red Cross, and Salvation Army huts, hospitals and canteens in France.
1948	On June 19 the new Boys' and Girls' Room opened. Since 1902, the Boys' and Girls' Department had been located on the third floor. The renovation of the former storage room in the basement was accomplished with help from the Reeves Fund, which was administered by the members of the Reeves Committee: Mrs. Paul Comstock, Mrs. Edna Cathell and Mrs. William C. Dennis. (Click for larger image)
1965	At the June Board Meeting, Mrs. Bard announced that the library had been chosen as one of 25 libraries in the state to receive a TWX (teletypwriter exchange) machine. This machine connected the libraries to the Indiana State Library and facilitated Interlibrary Loan transactions.These regional libraries transmitted their own requests and those of the smaller libraries in the vicinity. Libraries from as far away as Rushville, Brookville, and Hagerstown used the service at Morrisson-Reeves. (Click for larger image)
1966	The Parks and Playgrounds Bookmobile began service this month. The vehicle itself was loaned by the Indiana State Library, but the books and staff were provided by Morrisson-Reeves. In addition to providing books to children, staff members conducted story hours where demand warranted it. (Click for larger image)
1968	The new Wayne County Bookmobile made its first rounds on June 31. The bookmobile was a joint effort between the Morrisson-Reeves and Hagerstown-Jefferson Township libraries to provide library service to those areas of Wayne County not otherwise served.
1975	Morrisson-Reeves closed on June 2 and remained closed for the rest of the month so that staff and professional library movers could move the entire contents of the old building into the new one in time for the July 7 opening. In addition to all the furniture, the move involved more than 100,000 books and 3,500 phonograph records.
1976	Mrs. Bard reported at the June Board of Trustees meeting that a computer had been installed. This computer was to be used for cataloging, and training was to begin the following month.
1979	Mrs. Bard attended the American Library Association's Annual Meeting in Dallas where she received the Allie Beth Martin Award for Distinguished Librarianship. This was a new award named for a recent ALA president and bestowed by the Public Library Division, and recognized an outstanding public librarian. In addition to the award, Mrs. Bard brought home another gift. The novelist James A. Michener, who gave the luncheon speech on June 24, signed his honorarium check over to Mrs. Bard and gave her specific instructions to spend it on books for the library.
1981	Mrs. Bard announced the recent donation of a collection of 16" transcription discs containing radio programs of Harry Frankel, better known as Singin' Sam. Frankel's widow, "Smiles" Frankel, had died in May, and her son, Ned Weyburn, gave the nearly 300 recordings to the library, because it already owned Frankel's sheet music collection, which Smiles had donated in 1951.

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