The Record Newspapers - Hometown News For Orange County, Texas

 The Bridge City Public Library will return at some point, said Director Mary Montgomery.

What is left from damage caused by Hurricane Ike isn’t much.

Books, videotapes and other small items are stacked in plastic grocery containers, but quite a bit of inventory made its way to the side of the road.

Some two-thirds of the books survived the damage, Montgomery said.

“We lost all our computers,” she said. “Some of the shelving is rusting at the bottom. Most of our large equipment is gone, including our cameras and the copy machine. Most of the furniture was ruined so we had to get rid of that. The water just got into everything.”

Library staffers, which include Mongtomery, Michelle Watson and Ginger Tuttle, appreciated a recent donation by the Friends of the Orange Public Library: $1,500 for a new computer, Montgomery said.

Popular programs offered include a “story time” for children with parental involvement, said Watson, who also serves as children’s librarian.

“Our ‘Friends’ group also does a summer program that involves different speakers. Sometimes we have more than 100 kids in the Community Center (located next to the library), she said.

Montgomery and Bridge City City Manager Jerry Jones said the Federal Emergency Management Agency and insurance adjusters have surveyed the damage and should report their results in the next few weeks.

“Another popular feature used by the public was our Internet access,” Montgomery said. “We’ve had several people drop in to see if they could use it, but it’s not available.”

The library had its beginnings in 1988 when the Bridge City City Council appointed a Library Action Committee.

Later, a board of trustees was formed and the proposed library was passed by voters.

In June of 1990, the city council appropriated $50,000 for a permanent library, formally dedicated in 1991.

For more information, or to make a donation, call the library at 735-4242.