This Month - April

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.
1965	The Richardson Library in the Townsend Center opened on April 5. It was named for the late C. R. Richardson, who insisted that the new Townsend Center house a library and personally provided the funds to furnish the room. Morrisson-Reeves administered the library as a branch. (Click for larger image)
1968	On Thursday, April 11, after an extensive cleaning effort by all staff members, 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.
1979	The Brown Room officially opened on April 18. This room on the northwest corner of the library memorializes Clarence Brown, who had been a member and president of the library's Board of Trustees from 1935 to his death in 1961. The Brown Room collection, the core of which is Brown's own books, consists of Civil War and Lincoln history. The librarian in charge of the room, Carol McCafferty, had also ordered new books in the same categories. The room is furnished with items from the Brown's home as well as pieces from the original library building, including shelving with wavy glass doors.
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.

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