Rocca Bookmark Collection

Josephine A. Rocca came to Mead Library in 1953 as a reference librarian and enjoyed a challenging career highlighted in 1969 when Miss Rocca was named Wisconsin Librarian of the Year. In 1979, she was promoted to assistant director, a position she held until her retirement in 1989. She continued to support Mead Library until her death in 1993 as an active member of both the Friends of Mead Public Library and the Mead Public Library Foundation, Inc.

Among her many hobbies, Miss Rocca enjoyed collecting bookmarks. She left her extensive collection to the Friends of Mead Public Library. Included in the Rocca collection, displayed on the second floor, are the distinctive and rare bookmarks known as Stevengraphs. Thomas Stevens, an inventor and manufacturer in Coventry, England, adapted his Jacquard loom to weave elaborate silk designs for bookmarks. From 1863 to 1912, his company produced bookmarks depicting religious themes, events from history, portraits, florals, and sentimental verses.