Tali Anderson, a contributor to El Segundo Media, urged residents Saturday at an open house to volunteer at the El Segundo Public Library’s History Room, saying the room and parts of the library can only be open when volunteers are available.

"You'd be amazed," Anderson said of the History Room's collections, and added, "We are actively encouraging people to volunteer. We'll train them, and they can that way we can keep the library open at least every day of the week for a couple of hours." Anderson said two people on the Friends of the Library board currently staff the History Room.

The event, held in the library’s History Room while the Friends of the Library and the El Segundo History Committee hosted an open house, drew what Anderson described as more than 15 attendees. The program included a memorial noting the recent death of Norman Nicholson, whom Anderson said was an employee at the library for more than 22 years.

Anderson said a noon program and a 12:30 p.m. talk were part of the open house; she named Barbara (referred to in the remarks with two spellings) as a cofounder of the El Segundo Blue Butterfly Conservancy and Julie Rochefort as a member of the History Committee. Anderson described local conservation activity — "we've planted, sea cliff buckwheat in the front yard of the house" — and said the plantings have attracted El Segundo blue butterflies in a private garden along a route she described from the airport to her house. She also said the species "was then, 02/2018, endangered and continues to be endangered." These details were presented by Anderson as part of her remarks about community engagement linked to the library.

Anderson closed her remarks with a sign-off for El Segundo Media: "For El Segundo Media, I'm Tolly Anderson."