Rosenberg Library Honors Diane Donohoe, Special Collections Volunteer, for 19 Years of Service

Diane Donohoe in the Special Collections vault with the two largest collections she processed, the historic newspapers and the Raymond R. Rapp architectural drawings (in the blue bags).

Diane Donohoe began volunteering in the Rosenberg Library’s Special Collections Department in March 2000, after retiring from a rewarding career in the legal profession. A passion for genealogical research led her to the Galveston and Texas History Center in the early 1980s. As an avid researcher she wanted to know more about her great grandfather, a French immigrant who was the Galveston County causeway bridge tender during the 1900 Storm. As she walks through the Rosenberg she often thinks of her ancestors, the visits they made to the library and the events they attended there.

In 19 years (15,000+ hours), the work of volunteering in the library was never boring for her. For eight years, Diane served as Membership Chairman on the Board of Directors of the Friends of the Rosenberg Library. In the History Center, she chose projects to work on that she thought would be most helpful to staff and patrons. She created a genealogical reference guide, “Find Your Roots”, a directory of Rosenberg Library Trustees and Directors from 1904 to the present, a finding aid to administrative policies and Rosenberg Library Museum donations, and an inventory of 25,000 issues of historic newspapers along with the newspaper microfilm collection. She inventoried almost 1,000 architectural projects and handled the off-site digitization of 19,000 drawings from the Raymond R. Rapp Architectural Collection. Her work on the Rapp Collection was especially meaningful since she met Mr. Rapp and discussed the collection with him. Diane assisted the GTHC Archivist with collecting the Rapp Collection from his office and residence. For her, processing his collection was a way to honor Mr. Rapp’s legacy.

A native and current resident of Houston, Diane drives 66 miles round trip to the library twice a week. She has also gone through three laptop computers! She does not see these as sacrifices though – volunteering with library staff, administration, and patrons is extremely rewarding and allows her to use her research and organizational skills to help people. As a self-appointed volunteer docent, she really enjoys meeting and greeting the many patrons who visit the library and museum. Although Diane is moving out of state, she plans to continue working on her projects remotely. The Rosenberg library has been a fun place to volunteer and she will miss the visitors, staff and administration. Diane’s positivity and dedication are very much appreciated. She has been a true Friend to the Rosenberg Library!