#roosevelt library

[usnatarchives]

Chef Polkney, Cornhusker Ordnance Plant (NE) 11/4/1943, NARA ID 76507038.

FDR's TOGA PARTY! 1/30/1934. NARA ID 6728531.

#National CAKE Day!

By Miriam Kleiman, baker/public affairs staffer... Not sure why this is the day after Thanksgiving, but celebrate nevertheless with an assortment of images from our vast holdings.

Cake Cutting to mark 100th surgery aboard the USS Randolph, 1/9/1958, NARA ID 175539932. Did you know Archivist Ferriero served on a hospital ship in Vietnam?

Birthday party for IKE's grandson David, 3/31/1956. NARA ID 206253741.

105th mission of USAF B-17 Flying Fortress 3/1945. NARA ID 204883983.

Sailors celebrate anniversary of NYC Navy club, 7/2/1918, NARA ID 45512192.

FDR seems nonplussed by cake "decorated with checks for National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis," 1/30/1942, NARA ID 6037481.

"For his 19th birthday, this sergeant's buddies baked him a cake and decorated it with the tools of his trade. P.S.: He didn't light the candles" 5/1942, NARA ID 531143.

Birthday cake for JFK, DC National Guard Armory, 5/27/1961, NARA ID 6816415.

[hclib]

Roosevelt Library Ribbons

At the end of 2006, Minneapolis Public Library had a financial problem. There was not enough money to fully fund the library for 2007. The library board made the tough decision to indefinitely close three branch libraries -- Southeast (now Arvonne Fraser), Webber Park, and Roosevelt.

On December 29, 2006, Roosevelt Library's patrons gathered to say goodbye to their neighborhood library. Hoping that the library could reopen soon, community members young and old wrote their reasons for the library to reopen on these long ribbons. The reasons ranged from personal -- "I live next door to Roosevelt Library. A large factor in buying our house was the bustling, vibrant library." -- to societal -- "Libraries build community. Open up this library soon!!".

In January 2008, the calls to reopen Roosevelt were answered. With the merger of the Minneapolis Public Library and Hennepin County Library, all three closed branches reopened their doors. As part of the reopening celebration at Roosevelt, ribbons were once again brought out to gather the thoughts of the community. The pictures and list below capture a few of the joyful comments:

I love that you are open! thank you for opening again

Welcome back!

Happy Day! Wonderful celebration. So glad Roosevelt is back!

A GREAT DAY!

I like the library.

Glad to have the library open again.

Ribbons from the Roosevelt Library Records (HCL 055) archival collection.

[fdrlibrary]

On this day in 1937, Secretary of Agriculture (and future Roosevelt Vice President) Henry Wallace and Secretary of State Cordell Hull arrive at Washington, DC’s Union Station to welcome home President Roosevelt. He was returning from an over two-week fishing trip off the Texas coast. FDR traveled home through Fort Worth where his son Elliott hosted a barbecue in his honor at the ranch of Amon Carter. The President was also greeted by the First Lady.

(Photo Courtesy of the Library of Congress, Harris and Ewing Collection) 

[fdrlibrary]

Evidencing the struggles of American families, here Eleanor Roosevelt dines on a "5 cent relief meal" with Mrs. Hugh Easley and her daughter of St. Louis, Missouri. Never shying away from challenging or controversial issues, Mrs. Roosevelt left the comfortable confines of the White House to attend a conference of the "Daughters of the American Depression." The five cent relief dinner reflected "the per-meal, per-person food budget of the average woman working on WPA" according to the photo caption. It is hard to comprehend, but this was a two cent improvement over the average for families on relief.

(Photo Courtesy of the Library of Congress, Harris and Ewing Collection)

[mossandfog]

Snøhetta’s Roosevelt Library Melts Into the Badlands In the North Dakota Badlands, Snøhetta tucked the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library under a rolling green roof that looks like it was always there....

Snøhetta's Roosevelt Library Melts Into the Badlands

[fdrlibrary]

Happy Star Wars Day from the Roosevelt Library! May the 4th Term Be With You.

The button seen here was produced in 1944 to promote FDR’s fourth presidential campaign.

[hagleyvault]

Files waiting for transfer in the Roosevelt Library (1947) Written caption: In the attic of the Roosevelt Library are these files of Roosevelt's documents and papers. They are part of the National Archives. Waiting to be classified by a staff of ten librarians are 400 tons of manuscripts. There are also 15,000 books, 30,000 pamphlets, 12,000 photos, several thousand prints and over 4,000 museum pieces, ranging from a coin to a carriage.

[hclib]

History of Roosevelt Library Part II

Roosevelt Library has served a population of over 50,000 in its community. The photo above is the library in 1936. During World War II the library was essential, "Of vast importance in wartime is the library work with children," wrote Roosevelt Librarian Gertrude Loehl.  "With the mother a defense worker out of the home, more and more children look to the library as a place of warmth and amusement."

The library in 1962 decided to experiment with purchasing paperback books for teens.  Roosevelt was selected as the pilot location for the paperback project because of its proximity to a high school.

In 1973 the library building was modernized and a parking lot and air conditioning were added.

The library was designated a historic landmark in 1997.

In 2002  a new mixed used library at 38th Street and 23rd Avenue was endorsed by the neighborhood advisory team but uncertain economic conditions shelved that project.    More plans for renovations were made in 2005 but those were also shelved and the Minneapolis Public Library Board voted to shutter the library in 2007 for budgetary reasons.

With the 2008 merger between Hennepin County Library and Minneapolis Public Library, Roosevelt was reopened.  It closed for renovation in 2012.

Roosevelt Library will have a grand reopening at 9:30 a.m. on June 1st. Start your morning with a ribbon-cutting ceremony featuring elected officials and other speakers. Doors open at 10 a.m. Check out books, embark on a scavenger hunt, and explore your new library!