Tagged: history

History of Grapevine Public Library, 2002-2022

In 2002, Grapevine’s population reached 42,827. Since the grand opening of the expanded library in November 2001, more Grapevine citizens applied for library cards and visited the library to take advantage of the many new services a larger library was able to provide. The Children’s Department created My First Storytime, a one-on-one lap-sit program for babies from birth to eighteen months and their caregivers, began that year. By 2003 the number of residents increased to 43,049. In March the library celebrated its eightieth anniversary with an open house. Final withdrawal of materials purchased by Colleyville for Colleyville and housed at Grapevine were made, since Colleyville would open its own library in November. In January 2004, the library received a sixteen-thousand-dollar grant from Verizon to expand its English as a Second Language (ESL) program. In May the library installed a new color copier. In August, Dick Clark, long-time host of the...

History of Grapevine Public Library, 1991-2001

Grapevine’s population grew to 31,836 in 1991. Library material holdings grew to 92,797 and annual circulation to 357,855. In February, Mrs. Marie Canning started part-time in Circulation. She eventually became full-time Acquisitions Assistant. In April, Grapevine Public Library’s automation system was upgraded from OCR labels and wands to bar code labels and laser guns. The re-labeling of over sixty thousand library materials and preparation of 30,000 borrower cards was accomplished in sixteen weeks with the help of eighty valued volunteers without closing the library. The Friends of the Library donated a Xerox plain-paper fax/copier, a Magazine Article Summaries (MAS) CD-ROM index to replace InfoTrac, and a plain-paper Minolta RP 605Z microfilm reader/printer from the proceeds of the annual Christmas ornament sale. Skaggs Alpha Beta cash register receipts worth two-hundred seventy-three thousand dollars collected by the public enabled the purchase of a MacIntosh computer and software. Due to community support and...

History of Grapevine Public Library from 1971-1990

The 1970 census counted 7,023 individuals in Grapevine. The current library quarters were becoming too cramped, so City Council considered the feasibility of purchasing the old First National Bank building for a City Library and architects’ drawings of the building showing conversion to a library were reviewed. Further discussion was delayed pending additional studies. In November 1971, a motion was made in Council to authorize the City Manager to get plans drawn on a building for the library. On November 16, Council instructed the City Manager to proceed with library plans by architect Oliver Tucker. In February 1972, Mr. Tucker presented plans for the proposed library building to Council. A motion was made to accept bids on March 7. The new library was to be built north of the Police Department building. All bids for a new library building were rejected for being too high. In April, Mr. Tucker discussed...

Tarrant County Bookmobile

History of Grapevine Public Library 1951-1970

This week we continue the history of Grapevine Public Library from 1951 to 1970. By 1951, Grapevine’s population had grown to 1,850. Mrs. Gertie Hurst had been the librarian for ten years. In October, the Tuesday Study Club began sponsoring a story telling hour for preschoolers at the library each month with stories, songs, games, and refreshments. These events proved quite popular; the average attendance was 15 children. Mrs. Hurst also started the Memorial Fund, which contained about fifty dollars. A desk, the first piece of furniture, was donated by the Fort Worth Public Library. At the Texas Library Association convention in 1954, Tarrant County was recognized as being among one of the top county libraries in Texas. The county bookmobile had been visiting Grapevine on the first Monday of each month. “The real work of the bookmobile is in our rural schools,” the Grapevine Sun reported in April, “where...

Exploring Family History With Nancy

Genealogy with Nancy: A Guide to Online Resources for Digitized Historical Books

Before the digitization of books, genealogists had to either visit a library in person to use a book or attempt to request it through interlibrary loan. Today there are an amazing number of FREE digitized books that genealogists can access with an Internet connection. Today we’re going to look at some web sites containing digitized historical books. FamilySearch The FamilySearch Digital Library is a free virtual online library of rare historic books contributed by large public libraries and societies that can help you discover rich, unknown details about the lives of your ancestors. This makes the Library a priceless online repository of some of the greatest hidden historic treasures. The collection, numbering in the hundreds of thousands, began in 2007 and is invaluable to genealogists and family historians. When you click on the link below, it will take you to the FamilySearch Digital Library. You need to be logged into...