A New Phase!

Renovations at the library have taken a new turn! This last Monday, the Rosenberg Library switched to a new phase in the renovations schedule. The Gibson North room (cage area) has been reopened to the public while the Gibson Reading Room has been closed for further renovation work. Patrons can now view the beautiful new archway in the newly opened space, new carpeting, freshly painted walls, and fully restored original Rosenberg Library tables and chairs. The archway, which will also be mirrored in the Gibson Reading Room, follows the designs for the woodwork in the historic children's department on the third floor (now the Fox Room which is also currently being restored). The McCullough room is still under construction, but the stairway leading to the third floor has also been fully restored. All the old carpet has been ripped up to reveal the beautiful original marble.

Heber Taylor, editor of the Galveston Daily News, wrote a gleaming article about the success of the ongoing restoration projects at the Rosenberg Library in the Sunday, December 19 edition of the Daily News. Mr. Taylor encourages all residents of the island to stop by the library to "boost morale" and see where the project is headed. To see the article and pictures of some of the restoration work, including wainscoting in the McCullough Room, visit here: http://galvestondailynews.com/story/199078/

Restoration work will still continue at the library until tentatively March. Please, just as Mr. Taylor suggested, stop by and see our progress! We're all extremely excited about the new changes. Thank you for being part of the oldest public library in the state of Texas. We apologize for the inconveniences of the construction activities, and we appreciate your patience as we revitalize our beautiful historic structure. Happy Holidays from all of us at the Rosenberg Library!

Holiday Season at the Rosenberg Library

The Holidays are upon us, and our Christmas trees are up. The Circulation desk has stockings, lights and decorations from tinsel to toys and trains. Bells, poinsettias, and tinsel galore, the Rosenberg Library has the Holidays planned and more!

Upcoming children's programs:

Kids!
Breakfast with Santa
December 11
10:30 am
Elves Workshop
2:30 pm

All events are free!

Coming December 23:
Live Performance! Frosty the Snowman

For more infomation click here.

Interior Renovations & Restoration

Started in July 2010
Summer & Fall 2010 Project
Our 2010 building improvement project will focus on the restoration of the second and third floors of the Rosenberg Wing of the building and will include major HVAC and museum storage upgrades. The scope of the restoration work will encompass painting and plaster repairs to the Grand Hallway, Founder's Room, historical staircases, the complete renovation of the Gibson Reading Room, cage area, McCullough Meeting Room, Fox Meeting Room, new carpeting for the Rosenberg Wing second and third floor hallways, replacement of the building's aging chillers and the ancient air handlers in the Rosenberg Wing attic with new energy efficient equipment and the creation of better climate controlled storage spaces for our museum collections.

This round of interior improvements is being funded by generous grants from the Houston Endowment, the Bush-Clinton Coastal Recovery Fund, the Harris and Eliza Kempner Fund, a bequest from Hugh & Evalyn Gibson, as well as many donations from other foundations and patrons.

Thank you for being a part of the oldest public library in the state of Texas. We apologize for the inconvenience of the construction activities, and we appreciate your patience as we revitalize our beautiful historic structure.

Details:
Fox Room (3rd floor)
Gibson Reading Room (Main floor)
Gibson North (Main floor)
Grand Hall (Main - floor)
Lykes Gallery (3rd floor)
McCullough Room (Main floor)

Snapshot Day at the Rosenberg Library

This past Wednesday, May 5th, the Rosenberg Library participated in Texas Library Snapshot Day. The purpose of this state-wide event is to capture information about the broad spectrum of visitors and activities taking place in libraries every day. In order to put together a “snapshot” of a typical day at our library, staff collected surveys, kept statistics and took pictures throughout the day.

On a single day, the library recorded approximately 670 visits! These numbers have been climbing steadily since the library reopened and island residents and visitors have heard that we’re back in business. Many of the people who came in on Wednesday took the time to fill out a brief survey on how they used the library. Forty percent of all respondents reported coming in for entertainment--to check out books, to take in toddler story time, or for a tour of the museum. People also came to the library to use computers for job searches or internet access, for programs such as the Basic Computer Class, to peruse our collection of current newspapers and magazines and to get help finding information or doing in-depth research. On a typical day our trained staff fields hundreds of questions ranging from information about local events, library policies, help finding books for children and adults, history of the library itself, and genealogical research.

Here’s a sample of comments left by survey respondents:

“Have been using this library for 40 years. Been to libraries all over the states and have found [Rosenberg Library] to be the most user friendly and the staff to be the most courteous! RL also has most up-to-date and new books.”

“Our library is a wonderful asset to the community. I enjoy reading and can always find several books.”

“Wonderful and diverse selection, great and friendly staff. 3rd floor museum and Galveston & Texas History Center are excellent … for inspiring new interests and understanding local history.”

"The Rosenberg Library is indeed an important and vital source of education and entertainment of the city of Galveston. It is one of its essential assets, a wondeful place to visit over and over again. A deep thanks to Mr. Rosenberg, a man of vision and goodness."

And a sincere thanks to all of the library visitors and staff who helped out on Snapshot Day and who work every day to make the Rosenberg Library a special place.

Augelli named 2010 Librarian of the Year at Texas Library Association

John Augelli, executive director of the Rosenberg Library, was recognized as Librarian of the Year at the Texas Library Association conference in San Antonio on April 15. The award is given annually to a TLA member who exhibits extraordinary leadership or service within the library community.

Many members of the Galveston library community were present to applaud Mr. Augelli as he accepted the award. Present were: Karen Stanley, Barbara Arnold, Poom Taylor, Margaret Scofellia, Mary Perroni, Shelley Leader and several other Houston/Galveston librarians attending TLA in San Antonio.

During Hurricane Ike, Augelli weathered the storm in the building and spent the night, protecting key pieces of equipment and resources. Despite devastating damage to the first floor where the Children’s Room, Circulation, Technical Services, and Operations were housed, the library’s historical collections and artifacts remained safe. Because of his quick action after the storm to bring in specialists to remove the water and reduce the temperature and humidity in the building, the extent of the damage was controlled with no visible evidence of mold or other damage to the famous archival collections.

Restoration of library services to the Galveston community was his top priority, and the library’s operations staff worked temporarily out of his home. Library staff offered innovative new services such as “Books to Go” and pulled requested items from the collection.

Augelli has willingly shared his experiences in disaster preparedness and recovery with other library and museum officials at conferences and through national publications. He has been an active fundraiser for the library and has diligently worked to provide the residents of Galveston with needed library and information services.

“John Augelli is a hero who has earned the respect of his peers in the Texas library community. His advance preparations and his decisive response to this critical situation are testimonials to his leadership,” said Patricia Smith, executive director of TLA. “We are thrilled to recognize him as our Librarian of the Year for 2010.”

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About the Texas Library Association
The Texas Library Association is the largest state library association in the United States with approximately 7,000 members who work in public, school, academic and special libraries, plus library vendors and citizens who support libraries. Founded in 1902, TLA offers a wide range of services, including an annual conference that attracts more than 7,500 librarians and exhibitors, a leadership development program, continuing education, legislative advocacy, and publications. For more information, see www.txla.org.

Rosenberg Library launches rockets, spring planting and beads....

Mardi Gras culminates in beads for Henry Rosenberg, the founder of this institution. Look carefully, and legend has it, that beads will adorn Henry on Mardi Gras Tuesday.

The library closed early at 2 pm on Feb. 13th, in anticipation of the big Knights of Momus Grand Night Parade in the Strand district, downtown Galveston.

Spring also brings new palm trees, live oaks and landscaping for the Rosenberg Library. Within the week, several tree stumps were ground down and new trees arrived and were quickly planted. Gone are the oleanders, which served their time, and along came the new vegetation.

This spring, the Galveston Reads committee also launched the season with model rockets by the Austin Middle School Rocket Club , spearheaded by Mr. McAdams. On a cold, clear day on the beach, at Seawall and 11th Street, promptly at 11:00 AM, the Austin Middle School Rocket Club successfully launched 15 Estes model rockets.