Fort Worth Recognizes National Library Week

The City of Fort Worth is celebrating National Library Week with a look back at one of its former librarians.

The city published a blog post with the memorial on Monday. According to the blog, Fort Worth Public Library's Lirl Treuter was known as a Renaissance librarian.

Born in 1922, Treuter moved to Fort Worth with her family in 1930, later moved away, and returned to the city in 1940. Treuter competed in the Miss Typical Texas contest and worked as a stenographer for the Stafford-Lowden Printing Co.

While attending Texas Wesleyan College in the 1940s, Treuter studied art under Fort Worth Circle artist Kelly Fearing, who later called her one of his most promising students.

Treuter paused her studies at Texas Wesleyan for 15 month as she served in the Women's Army Corps as a corporal in New Guinea, Manila, and Peleliu from 1943-44.

She returned to Texas Wesleyan and showed her art in Fort Worth Art Association exhibits, including at the Fort Worth Public Library. In 1948, she started winning awards in the college's annual poetry contest.

After graduating, she took a job in the young adult department of the Fort Worth Public Library and was assisting the Art Division director six month later.

She took that job herself in 1958, and was responsible for arranging exhibits, managing the art loan program, overseeing the acquisition of a player piano, and developing the library's collection of record albums.

During the 1970s, the Art Division was renamed for Treuter, who was still in her position. She died in 2001.