Houston Metropolitan Research Center Reopening

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PRESS CONTACTS:

Blanca Quezada

Sr. Communications Specialist

Phone: 832-393-1382

blanca.quezada@cityofhouston.net

Sandra Fernandez

Manager of Public Relations

Phone: 832-393-1381

sandra.fernandez@cityofhouston.net

Houston Metropolitan Research Center Will Reopen to the Public

(Houston, March 15, 2010) - The Houston Public Library is pleased to announce that the Houston Metropolitan Research Center (HMRC) will reopen to the public on Monday, April 5, 2010. Customers will be able to access HMRC resources Monday through Saturday, 9am to 6pm. Resources available include the collections and archives at the Texas and Local History Room. JIB is located at 400 McKinney, 77002, with the entrance of the new wing located through the garden on the Lamar and Smith sides of the building.

The design of the new 21,500 square-foot state-of-the-art archival wing harmonizes with the Spanish Plateresque architecture, with its matching masonry, a clay tile parapet, arched windows, and sculptural decoration. The construction includes an extremely energy-efficient and weather-resistant exterior envelope to protect the archival collection.

HMRC closed to public access at the end of 2009 while it moved its collections to the recently-completed new wing of the Julia Ideson Building (JIB). The collections are now in the new wing which includes a spacious research/reference room on the first floor and three floors of high-density shelving for the valuable holdings of the HMRC. The wing is complemented by a new south loggia and adjacent palm-shaded public garden, also called the outdoor reading room. The two-story loggia, like the wing, was a part of the original plan for the 1926 building but never constructed. It provides open-air seating on both levels and a gracious transition from the first floor of the original building to the outdoor reading room.

Currently, the new wing is the only portion of JIB open to the public while the renovation on the rest of the building is completed. The building is now undergoing hazardous materials abatement and selective demolition of non-historic elements to prepare for new mechanical and electrical infrastructure, new elevators, and restoration of the historical interior materials. The renovation will take about a year, after which the Houston Public Library will spend several months moving the architectural archives and photo lab into the restored building and preparing to reopen in early Summer 2011.

About the Houston Public Library

The Houston Public Library (HPL) operates 35 neighborhood libraries, three HPL Express Libraries, a Central Library, the Houston Metropolitan Research Center, the Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research, The African American Library at the Gregory School, and the Parent Resource Library located in the Children’s Museum of Houston. Serving more than 4 million customers per year, HPL is committed to excellent customer service and equitable access to information and programs by providing library customers with free use of a diverse collection of printed materials and electronic resources, Internet, laptop and computer use, and a variety of database and reference resources with live assistance online 24/7.

For further information, visit the Houston Public Library at www.houstonlibrary.org or call 832-393-1313.

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[citizen4rmptown]

So the HMRC is in the Julia Ideson Building, right?

[Specwriter]

So the HMRC is in the Julia Ideson Building, right?

That is correct.

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