In 1914 the ladies of the town formed a Library Club. The Blessing
School building was used for several years as the headquarters. The first
president was Miss Edna Woodruff, the first grade teacher at the time. In 1917
the old Pierce office and original bank building, which had been used as a
reception house at Rancho Grande, was donated to the Library Association by Abel
B. Pierce. It was moved from the site near the Southern Pacific Depot to the
town square and used as a library. In 1921 the Community House was built
in front of it and the two projects were combined. The Community House is still
used for various functions of the community. However the library had a tuff time
surviving only on volunteers and donated book. It was shut down and reopened
numerous times until in July of 1988, Palacios Library announced its decision to
re-establish the Blessing Library as its branch library. With the Palacios
Library being a member of the Texas Library Association it gave the residents of
Blessing the opportunity to take advantage of the same privileges. A library in
Blessing was needed as the closest libraries were in Bay City (18 miles) or
Palacios (15 miles). With Blessing being a branch of the Palacios Library meant
that the patrons wouldn't have to travel to get what they needed or wanted.
In the 13 years since Palacios has opened the Blessing Branch Library, it has grown and improved. The Blessing Library has since moved from the community center to renting another building on the corner of 10th and Mulberry Street. We have gone from some donated books to over 5,000 books. Computers with printing capabilities and one Internet computer for patrons have been added. The Blessing Library is a welcomed addition to the residents of the town of Blessing.
In 2000, the library had a long waiting list for the Internet
computer usage and constant computer repairs on all its computers. It
needed a complete technology overhaul. So the branch library applied for a TIF
grant. In 2001 the branch library was awarded $32,049 TIF grant. With this grant
the library replaced its donated worn out computers with six new ones, installed
a print server, and a laser printer. Created a wireless LAN that is connected to
an ISDN line for Internet access to all the computers in the building. All the
computers also have printer capabilities and the wireless LAN was set up to make
the library a Wi-Fi Hot spot. The library automation program was upgraded, a
library catalog computer was added for patrons, a UPS system for the library
automation computer, and a portable circulation/inventory unit were purchased
and installed. A scanner and Microsoft Office with Powerpoint was also purchased
and installed for patrons and librarian use.
The TIF grant was completed by the summer of 2002. By the end
of the year the usage of computers and the internet had increased four times as
much as before. The grant had meet the branch libraries goals and objectives.
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This page was updated on Saturday, July 24, 2004
Questions or comments should be directed to [email protected]