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I'M RIAA BROWN LAWSON, DIRECTOR OF THE HOUSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY.
AND WELCOME, WELCOME TO THIS PREVIEW OF THE KEY MAP ROOM.
WHAT STARTED FIVE YEARS AGO AS A CONVERSATION AND A VISION BETWEEN DR.
AND MRS. KEY AND COUNCIL MEMBER DAVID ROBINSON, IS NOW COMING TO FRUITION THE GIFT OF MAPS FROM THE KEYS, THE EXECUTION BY THE LIBRARY TEAM TO CREATE THIS MAP ROOM.
ENSURE THAT HOUSTON, PUBLIC HOUSTON, AND THE PUBLIC LIBRARY STAY AT THE FOREFRONT OF PRESERVATION OF TEXAS AND ITS HISTORY.
IF YOU GO TO ANY LARGE PUBLIC LIBRARY, UM, YOU WILL FIND THAT THERE IS USUALLY A ROOM DESIGNATED FOR THE EXHIBITION OF MAPS AND FOR THE PRESERVATION OF MAPS.
UNFORTUNATELY, THIS LIBRARY DID NOT HAVE ONE UNTIL NOW.
SO WE, I CAN'T TELL YOU HOW EXCITED WE ARE AND HOW WE APPRECIATE THE GENEROSITY OF DR.
AND I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE THAT, UM, APPRECIATES THAT GENEROSITY BECAUSE STANDING BESIDE ME IS MAYOR SYLVESTER TURNER, WHO WILL ALSO LIKE TO HAVE A FEW WORDS.
SO WON'T YOU HELP ME WELCOME OUR MAYOR, SYLVESTER TURNER.
AND LOOK, I'VE BEEN LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS DAY, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER DAVID ROBINSON, WHEN I TELL YOU HE HAS, UM, BEEN EMPHASIZING THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS DAY, UH, SPOKEN SEVERAL TIMES, UH, AND I WAS CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS OF THIS DAY, SO, SO DOCTOR MR. KEY, I, LOOK, I MADE SURE I MAPPED OUT, MAPPED OUT THIS TIME,
UH, BUT, SO LOOK, LET ME ACKNOWLEDGE OUR DISTINGUISHED GUEST THIS EVENING AGAIN, AS DR. LAWSON HAS DR. JAMES KEY AND MS. BETTY KEY.
UH, THANK YOU ALL, UH, FOR BEING HERE AND FOR YOUR GENEROSITY.
I MEAN, WE, UM, BEEN ON CITY COUNCIL NOW TOGETHER FOR 80 YEARS, AND, UM, THIS IS, UH, ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE MONUMENTAL MOMENTS FOR US, UH, AS WE PREPARE TO SEGUE OFF, UH, TO JOHN MILTON, THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF THE HOUSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY.
TODAY WE COMMEMORATE A MILESTONE FOR OUR CITY AND DEDICATING THE FIRST MAP ROOM IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
UH, THE IDEA FOR A MAP ROOM WITHIN THE LIBRARY SYSTEM, AS DR. LAWSON SAYS, STARTED FIVE YEARS AGO, UH, AS A CONVERSATION, A VISION BETWEEN DR.
MRS. KEY AND COUNCIL MEMBER DAVID ROBINSON.
AND THROUGH THE GIFT OF HISTORIC MAPS FROM DR.
MRS. KEY, AND THE EXECUTION BY THE HOUSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY TEAM TO CREATE THIS MAP ROOM ENSURES THAT HOUSTON AND THE PUBLIC LIBRARY STAY AT THE FOREFRONT OF ARCHIVAL AND PRESERVATION OF TEXAS IN ITS HISTORY.
ONE THING ABOUT US IN HOUSTON, UH, WE DON'T LIKE TO BE SECOND AT ANYTHING.
AND, UM, AND IT IS IMPORTANT, UH, FOR US TO STAY, UH, CURRENT, UH, AND STAY AT THE FOREFRONT.
UM, TEXAS AND HOUSTON HAS SOME OF THE MOST INTERESTING CUT OUT GRAPHY, YET HOUSTON IS THE ONLY MAJOR CITY IN THE NATION WITHOUT A MA ROOM, AND THAT'S NOT GOOD FOR THEM, FOR OUR CITY.
UH, AND SO, UM, DISENCOURAGED, I MEAN, PROVIDED BY DR.
MRS. KING, UH, HAS HELPED TO GET THE BALL ROLLING ABOUT THE TYPE OF HISTORY WE CAN PRESENT AND TEACH WITHIN OUR CITY, ESPECIALLY, ESPECIALLY AS IT IS RELATED TO RAILROADS, EARLY IMMIGRATION AND INDIGENOUS HISTORY.
AND THIS ROOM WILL PROVIDE THE LIBRARY WITH A SPACE TO PRESENT ALL OF THE INTERESTING BOOKS AND RESEARCH THE LIBRARY CURRENTLY HAS, BUT WITH NO ONE PLACE TO SHOW ALONG WITH MAPS.
AND SO, UM, IT JUST BRINGS US WHERE WE NEED TO BE, AND THEN WE CAN BUILD ON THAT IF WE'RE GOING TO BE.
AND WE ARE THE MOST DIVERSE CITY IN THE COUNTRY.
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IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE ALSO HAVE ALL THE COMPONENT PARTS THAT ARE NEEDED TO BE REPRESENTED OF A FIRST CLASS CITY.AND THIS WILL HELP TO MOVE US FORWARD.
SO I'M EXCITED BY THIS DAY, AND QUITE FRANKLY, I'M HAPPY THAT IT'S OCCURRING.
UH, COUNCILMAN ROBINSON AND, UH, THROUGH YOUR HELP ON OUR WATCH BEFORE, BEFORE WE LEAVE, UH, IN OUR RESPECTIVE POSITION.
SO HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO THE KIDS.
THANK YOU FOR A WONDERFUL HOLIDAY GIFT, NOT JUST TO THOSE OF US HERE, BUT A WONDERFUL HOLIDAY GIFT TO THE CITY OF HOUSTON AND FOR GENERATIONS TO COME.
UM, CAN WE HEAR IT FOR OUR MAYOR? ONE MORE TIME BEFORE I BRING THE COUNCIL MEMBER UP, I'D LIKE TO ACKNOWLEDGE, UM, MY TEAM WHO DID THE WORK TO PUT THIS TOGETHER.
UH, JOHN, WON'T YOU RAISE YOUR HAND, CHRISTINA? UM, THERE'S, UH, WHO'S THAT OVER THERE?
YOU, YOU ARE BLINDED BY THE LIGHT.
COUNCIL, JEFF CAME UP TO ME AND SAYS, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER ACORN SAID, I SAID, NO, SHE'S NOT
HE SAID, YOU, I SAID, WELL, WHERE IS SHE? BUT THE LIGHT IS, I MEAN, I YOU'RE LOOK, YOU'RE LOOKING.
DON'T LOOK, YOU'RE LOOKING, YOU'RE LOOKING.
SO AN, YOU'RE LOOKING SO ANGELIC, UH, THIS EVENING.
AND THEN, UM, MARTHA, MARTA, UH, WHO'S RIGHT THERE WITH ME IN MY RIGHT HAND.
AND NOW IT'S MY DEEP PLEASURE TO WELCOME TO THE PODIUM COUNCIL MEMBER DAVID ROBINSON.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, DR. LAWSON.
AND, UH, MAYOR, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE LOOKING SO DAPPER, SO SHARP, SO CLOSE TO CHRISTMAS.
UM, IT'S, UH, IT'S A REAL PLEASURE MAYOR TO BE ABLE TO DO THIS A WITH YOU AFTER OUR EIGHT YEARS TOGETHER, MY 10 ON COUNCIL.
BUT, UM, FROM MY STANDPOINT, TO BE ABLE TO DO THIS WITH, UM, YOU KNOW, 10 DAYS LEFT, ESSENTIALLY OF OUR TIME WHEN, UM, FOR 10 YEARS THE KEYS HAVE BEEN WITH ME AS, UH, NOT ONLY OUR CONSTITUENTS, BUT OUR DEAR FRIENDS, UM, FROM PALMER MEMORIAL EPISCOPAL CHURCH, WHERE YOU'VE COME AND ATTENDED WITH ME.
AND I WANNA SAY THAT THIS IS, UM, AS MENTIONED, UM, REALLY THE FRUIT OF A CONVERSATION.
AND IT IS, UH, IT'S, IT'S A CONVERSATION THAT I'VE HAD WITH BOTH JIM AND BETTY WHO ARE, UH, BRILLIANT CONVERSATIONALISTS.
AND ONE THING THAT THEY LOVE TO TALK ABOUT IS MAPS.
THEY ARE CARD OF FILES, THEY ARE LOVERS OF MAPS, COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN, UM, UH, I SAW YOU AND DR. KEY GIVEN THE UT SIGN EARLIER WITH SOME COLLECTION MAPS, AND WE'VE GOT THAT FOR BETTY.
UM, WE'VE GOT LOTS OF, UH, TEXAS MEMORABILIA IN THE NEXT ROOM.
AND I HOPE YOU'LL WALK IN THERE WITH US IN A MOMENT.
BUT SOME OF THESE MAPS ARE JUST ABSOLUTELY STUNNING.
AND THE DOLLARS THAT HAVE NOW BEEN BROUGHT FORWARD FOR THIS HAVE NOT ONLY, I THINK, AFFECTED AND PAID FOR A REALLY BRILLIANT DESIGN FOR WHICH JOHN MIDDLETON, UH, MY FELLOW ARCHITECT, UH, I THINK DESERVES GREAT CREDIT FOR DOING IT ON A SHOESTRING BUDGET.
MAYOR, OBVIOUSLY AT A TIME WHEN SUPPLY CHAIN CHALLENGES AND SOME OF THE OTHER CHALLENGES AT THE CITY THAT YOU AND I ARE WELL AWARE OF HAVE BEEN ALL AROUND US.
AND I KNOW DR. LAWSON, YOU MENTIONED YOUR TEAM WITH JOHN.
UM, THE CURATION THAT'S GOING TO GO AHEAD, MAYOR, I THINK WILL CONTINUE TO TELL THE STORY AND THE STORIES.
AND WE'RE NOT ONLY PAYING FOR THE CONSTRUCTION, BUT WE'RE ALSO WORKING WITH THE HOUSTON, UH, UH, PUBLIC LIBRARY ENDOWMENT.
AND, UM, THINKING ABOUT OUR CURRENT BOARD CHAIR, UH, ALICIA GREEN ELLIS HAS DONE REALLY, UH, FABULOUS LEADERSHIP WORK FOR US.
UH, INSPIRING DONATIONS FROM HER BOARD.
I DO WANNA RECOGNIZE NICHOLAS JIMENEZ, WHO'S ALSO HERE FROM THE BOARD.
IF WE COULD HAVE A ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR NICK.
HE'S WONDERFUL LEADER AND HE, HE'S GONNA NEED THAT APPLAUSE, UH, ALONG WITH COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN.
'CAUSE THEY'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO RAISE THE MONEY, AREN'T YOU GUYS? YEAH.
AND, AND MAYOR, I GUESS, YOU KNOW, MONEY
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IS SOMETIMES A SENSITIVE TOPIC, BUT IN THIS CASE, UM, IT WAS LECIA THAT REALLY SAID, WE ARE THERE, WE'VE ARRIVED AND WE'VE GOTTA DO THIS ON OUR WATCH.UM, AND THAT THEY WOULD COVER ANY GAPS IN THE FUNDRAISING.
BUT WITH, I THINK, AS YOU UNDERSTAND, THE TOUGH WORK OF MY STAFF, GIVING CREDIT TO MY CHIEF OF STAFF, DIANA CADO, WHO'S RIGHT IN FRONT OF US, CHRISTINA CAMARILLO IS HERE SOMEWHERE BEHIND THE BRIGHT LIGHTS.
UM, I WANT TO GIVE THEM, UH, GREAT CREDIT FOR THE BALANCE THAT IS ACCRUED IN MY COUNCIL MEMBER FUND.
AND MAYOR, WITH YOUR PERMISSION, UH, AND I HAVE GONE OVER THIS WITH VENITA JONES IN OUR FINANCE AND HUMAN RESOURCES, UH, DEPARTMENT, WE HAVE ENOUGH NOT ONLY TO CLOSE THE GAP TONIGHT, UM, BUT TO ALSO PUT ANOTHER $25,000 OR SO TOWARD THE FOUNDATION.
SO WITH THAT, UM, THAT'S ANOTHER, IT'LL BE ABOUT ANOTHER 50 OR $60,000 FROM US TONIGHT.
SO THAT'S, I THINK, A BIG DEAL AS WE GET TO THE END OF OUR TIME ON COUNCIL, UH, A BIG DEAL AS WE GET TO THE END OF THE YEAR.
AND WITH THE GREAT LOOK OF THE SPACE IN THE NEXT, UH, ROOM, I THINK IN THE SPRING WE'LL BE ABLE TO HAVE A FUNCTION HERE WITH DR.
LAWSON'S HELP AND PERMISSION AND, UH, BE ABLE TO REALLY, UH, CALL UPON THE KEYS, UH, TO BRING SOME OF THEIR FRIENDS AND, UH, ADD SOME ATTENTION TO THIS DONATION.
THEY ARE, AS I MENTIONED, GREAT STORYTELLERS.
I HAVE BEEN A RESIDENT IN THEIR HOME WHEN THEY'VE HOSTED PARTIES WITH GOOD OLD FASHIONED SLIDES SHOWING THESE MAPS AND LAYING THEM OUT IN, ON, IN VARIOUS ROOMS AROUND THEIR HOME.
AND NOW WE HAVE THIS REALLY BEAUTIFUL SPACE DOWNTOWN IN THE HISTORIC JULIA IEN LIBRARY.
SO, AGAIN, MY THANKS, MAYOR TO YOU, TO YOUR TEAM, DR. LAWSON, TO EVERYONE HERE.
UM, I BELIEVE THAT'S REALLY IT.
I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING THE MAPS, BUT MAYBE FIRST WE HEAR A LITTLE BIT FROM JIM AND BETTY OR JIM.
ANYWAY, WELL, NO LONG STORIES ABOUT MAPS, ALTHOUGH ANY OF YOU THAT WANT TO HANG AROUND LATER AS WE WALK INTO WHAT CHRISTINA AND GREGORY HAVE PUT TOGETHER IN THE OTHER ROOM, I'LL EXPLAIN SOME OF THE MAPS TO YOU.
THE BEST THING ABOUT TEXAS MAPS IS THEY'RE SO UNIQUE.
YOU CAN HAVE A TEXAS MAP ON YOUR BELT BUCKLE.
YOU CAN GET A TEXAS WAFFLE IRON, AND IF YOU CAN, IF YOU CAN AFFORD IT, YOU CAN GET A TEXAS SWIMMING POOL.
I MEAN, WHAT OTHER STATES CAN DO THAT? AND SO WE HAVE A UNIQUE CARTOGRAPHY HERE.
WE'VE BEEN UNDER FIVE OR SIX DIFFERENT POLITICAL JURISDICTIONS OVER THE LAST 500 YEARS, ALL OF WHOM HAD AN INTEREST IN CHANGING THE BOUNDARIES TO SUIT THEM.
SO WE HAVE ALL SORTS OF INTERESTING MAPS THAT SHOW HOW THOSE BOUNDARIES HAVE CHANGED.
AND, UH, AND THEN MAPS, AS THE MAYOR MENTIONED, THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES.
UH, WE HAVE THE EARLIEST MAP IN CONGRESS OF THE PROPOSED BIDING TO MAKE THE, UH, NAVIGATION OF BUFFALO BAYOU INTO THE HOUSTON SHIP CHANNEL.
UM, SO ANY NUMBER OF GOOD THINGS THAT THEY CAN PUT TOGETHER OVER THE YEARS, GET SCHOOL CHILDREN IN HERE AND, UM, UH, SHOW THEM.
AND, AND JUST IN GENERAL, MAP ROOMS ARE USUALLY THE MOST VISITED ROOMS IN ANY PUBLIC LIBRARY.
SO WE'LL HAVE ANOTHER DRAW TO GET PEOPLE INTO THE ADDISON BUILDING.
SO THANK YOU ALL FOR ALL THE WORK THAT HAS GONE ON.
UH, WE LOOK FORWARD TO THAT CONTINUING.
THANK YOU, MRS. KATE, ARE YOU GONNA, NO.
SO, UM, JOHN, WHY DON'T YOU COME UP AND HAVE A FEW WORDS? GOOD EVENING, EVERYBODY.
UH, JUST ON BEHALF OF THE LIBRARY AND MY STAFF, UH, IN PARTICULAR, UH, ETTE RUBIN AND, AND STEVEN CHAMBERLAIN WHO HELPED WITH THE DESIGN AND ALL THE, UH, PROCURING EVERYTHING.
UH, AND CHRISTINA AND GREGORY KOS, WHO ARE CURATING THIS SHOW, THE NEXT SHOW AND THE NEXT SHOW, UM, DOING FANTASTIC WORK AND THE REST OF OUR TEAM, UH, WHO HELPED SET UP EVENTS AND ALL THAT STUFF, JUST THANK YOU TO ALL OF THEM.
UM, IT'S BEEN A LOT OF TALK ABOUT THE GENEROSITY OF THE KEYS, BUT I'D LIKE TO JUST MENTION THE GENEROSITY OF THEIR SPIRIT.
UM, I WORKED ON LITERALLY HUNDREDS OF PROJECTS AT THE CITY WITH ALL KINDS OF PEOPLE.
UM, WHAT I'VE HAD WITH THEM FOR THE LAST FIVE YEARS IS JUST AN AMAZINGLY, UM, WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE OF PEOPLE WHO ARE PASSIONATE.
UM, OF COURSE ABOUT MAPS, BUT I THINK PASSIONATE ABOUT LIFE TOO.
WE RUN INTO EACH OTHER ALL THE TIME AT THE SYMPHONY
UM, AND I, I REALLY, THAT FOR ME HAS BEEN THE BEST PART OF THIS.
THIS IS GETTING TO KNOW THEM AND, AND HAVING THE GENERALIST SPIRIT THAT THEY BRING TO THE TABLE EVERY TIME INVOLVED IN THIS PROCESS BECAUSE IT MAKES IT SO MUCH EASIER FOR US AND
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BETTER FOR US, AND MORE SATISFYING FOR ALL OF US.SO, UM, WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE NOT SEEN, HAD THE PLEASURE OF SEEING THE BEAUTIFUL NEW SPACE, WE'RE NOW, UH, GONNA GO IN AND TAKE A TOUR.
SO THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE AND ENJOY THE REFRESHMENTS, BUT NOT IN THE MAP ROOM.