NEBRASKA
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Library
The construction
of the Morton-James Public Library in Nebraska City was finished
in 1896. Its original stone arched entrance stands today.
The library
was named for Joy Morton, a Nebraska City business and community
leader, who built and paid for the late 19th Century structure.
In addition,
the library was named after Vantine James, who served as a library
board member for 38 years and was a financial benefactor and civic
leader.
The original
structure was deemed “an architect’s dream.”
The walls are of chipped, vitrified brick, Colorado limestone
trimmings and a combination tile roof. The woodwork is of oak
with a hard-oil finish.
In 1932,
Joy Morton gifted a south wing to the library. Bricks between
the rail of the old Street Railway Co. right-of-way between Fourth
and Fifth streets on Central Avenue were torn up and used to build
the south wing. The city of Nebraska City donated the brick and
filled in between the rails with concrete.
In 1977,
the library completed its seven-year plan for a renovation.
Among the
projects completed were the Ruth MacCuaig-Catron Quiet Room, renovation
of major rooms, updating the collections and services and new
landscaping. In 1996, the library celebrated its 100th birthday
in the community, and, in 2002, the most recent addition
was completed.
The library
was previously confined to about 7,315 square feet, but now has
about 16,000 square feet.
The addition
houses the new Kimmel Gallery, a large children’s library
called the Strawberry Patch, a computer room, new restrooms, a
special genealogy section, a turret and plenty of shelving for
more books and materials.
In the last
decade the library has made great strides in being a leader in
bringing the most modern library technology to Nebraska City.
On its Website, www.morton-jamespubliclibrary.com,
Morton-James offers patrons access to a variety of online resources.
Morton-James partnerships also allows patrons access to databases
at www.nlc.state.ne.us/databases
such as:
Wilson
Web – Offers 95,000
biographies and obituaries as well as 26,000 photographs. Also,
the Wilson Omnifile database provides abstracts and articles from
1300 magazines and journals dating back to January 1994. User
name and password: nclpatron
FirstSearch
– A group of databases
of information such as the World Almanac and a search for source
materials through the records of 38,000 libraries. Authorization:
100155312 Password: library
BigChalk
eLibrary – A database
with full-text information from newspapers, magazines, journals,
reference books, maps and photographs. User name: subnebraska80
Password: child80
Kiplinger’s
Special Service –Business
site which includes the Kiplinger Letter and the Kiplinger Business
Forecasts in addition to other links. User ID: biz@nlc Password:
library.
Other sites:
SIRS
Researcher – www.sirs.com
– a general reference database with thousands of articles
on social, scientific, health, history, business, economic, political
and global issues.
netLibrary –
www.netlibrary.com –
a collection of electronic books, or eBooks, available online.
From Sept.
1 to May 31, the library is open Monday through Wednesday from
10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Thursday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; and Friday
and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
From June 1 to Aug. 31, the library is open Monday
through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Friday and Saturday
from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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