Thursday night, the board of trustees announced it will be called the Watts-Midtown Branch, in honor of two members of the Watts Family - Lorene Evans Watts who served on the board in the late 1960's and early 70's, and her son and current board member Eudell Watts III.
"My mother served on the library board for some time when I was young and she loved the library and reading was a big part of her life, it was a big part of our lives, she made sure of that."
The new branch library will share space in the former Tri-City Jewish Center with the Two Rivers YMCA.
First appointed in 2003, Eudell Watts has served on the library board for 19 years, and is serving his third term as president.
He says his mother was a teacher, and art teacher, and tutored children for free during the summer. She was first appointed to the library board in 1968 by then Rock Island Mayor James Haymaker, and served until 1973.
She died in 1976.
