Mrs. Catherine Caliva Schweinsberg Rood (1950-2016) Madison, Wisconsin
Catherine Caliva Schweinsberg Rood passed away on September 29, 2016, due to complications associated with liver cancer. She was born in Madison, Wisconsin on March 27, 1950, to John and Daisy Caliva. After graduating from Madison Central High School, where she was a cheerleader, Mrs. Rood attended the University of Wisconsin, Madison where she received a master's degree in library and information science. After visiting a friend in Indian Harbor Beach, Florida during the 1970s, Mrs. Rood decided to move to Brevard County, Florida in 1979.
Mrs. Rood had a lengthy and impactful career in the Brevard County Library System. She began her career with the Brevard County Library System in March 1980, serving as a Children's Specialist. Mrs. Rood was later promoted to Head of Technical Services and Assistant to the Library Coordinator. Throughout the 1980s Mrs. Rood would be promoted several more times, beginning with a promotion in 1982 to the position of Head of the Reference Department at the Melbourne Public Library. A year later, in 1983, Mrs. Rood would become the Director of the Cocoa Public Library. Mrs. Rood would eventually be responsible for overseeing the operations of the Brevard County Library System with a promotion to Library Operations Manager in 1988.
From 1998 until her retirement in 2012, Mrs. Rood was the Library Services Director of the Brevard County Library System. During this time, Mrs. Rood led multiple efforts that greatly improved the libraries she oversaw and left an impact that lasted throughout her life and beyond. During her tenure as the Library Services Director, Mrs. Rood led the library system through major technological transitions, oversaw construction of four new libraries and aligned the libraries in the system under uniform policies and procedures.
Mrs. Rood's legacy continues to inspire those who remember her and the library staff members who have come after her. On May 26, 2017, a ceremony was held at the former Central Brevard Library and Reference Center to rename the library to Catherine Schweinsberg Rood Central Library in her honor.
By Anonymous
Sources:
Anonymous. (2016, October 5). Catherine Caliva Schweinsberg Rood Cocoa Beach. Florida Today, pp. A15–A15. Retrieved October 4, 2025, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/florida-today-obituary-for-catherine-cal/68756579/.
Berman, D. (2016, October 12). Longtime Brevard Library chief was visionary. Florida Today.
https://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/local/2016/10/12/longtime-brevard-librarychief-visionary/91488232/
Space Coast Daily. (2017, May 24). Central Brevard Library to be renamed after late services director, Catherine Schweinsberg Rood. https://spacecoastdaily.com/2017/05/central-brevard-library-to-be-renamed-after-lateservices-director-catherine-schweinsberg-rood/
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Brett Spencer
Reference Librarian
Thun Library, Penn State Berks
He/Him/His
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