Tagged: Local History

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...

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...

Grapevine Public Library

History of Grapevine Public Library from 1923-1950

The Grapevine Public Library has been a vital part of the City of Grapevine for almost one hundred years. Today’s blog begins a history of the Library from its inception to 1950. On January 10, 1921, Dr. Henry Kirby Taylor, head of the Sociology Department of Texas Woman’s College (later Texas Wesleyan University), and Henry McClellan Means, Tarrant County agricultural agent, created and brought forth the ability to establish cultural contact with rural Tarrant County through a traveling library, movie projector, graphophone or Victrola (later known as a record player), and Delco lighting system. The Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce gave one thousand five hundred dollars for a motor truck and library fitted into equipment built for rough riding over country roads. This project became known as the Tarrant County Community Library and Entertainment Cycle, and was directly supported by the communities it served. Dr. Taylor and Means were able...