Society and Special Libraries

As we continue our exploration of libraries, we shift focus to libraries in North America. Just as there is a change in the nature of libraries and book collections in Europe, particularly England, in the 18th century, so there's a rise of subscription and circulating libraries in North America. Many of these libraries are called society libraries and the articles we read define this term as not libraries for a certain class, but for a group of like minded people interested in intellectual exchange and debate. Of the many institutions that were chartered and incorporated in the 18th century, only a few remain. Many are celebrating their 200th and 250th birthdays.

Last fall when traveling along the east coast, I took the time to visit some of the society libraries. Here are some photos of my trip.

The NY Society Library http://www.nysoclib.org is inconspicuous on the outside, tucked on a side street just off 5th Avenue in NYC and around the corner from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  Their history is recorded by Henry S.F. Cooper Jr. and Jenny Lawrence in The New York Society Library: 250 Years (NY: New York Society Library, 2004). From coffered ceilings to curved stair cases, the library holds many riches that are available to its members.

The Boston Athenaeum http://www.bostonathenaeum.org/ is tucked in a side street in historic Boston with art galleries open to the public. The library is open to members only.

The Library Company of Philadelphia  http://www.librarycompany.org/ welcomes scholars and researchers into its quiet rooms. Now a rare book collection, this was once a vibrant society library open to anyone in Philadelphia.

While we don't really study the American Antiquarian Society http://www.americanantiquarian.org/, which collects published works pre-1850, that institution is celebrating 200 years. Philip F. Gura wrote Gura, Philip F.; THE AMERICAN ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY, 1812-2012: A BICENTENNIAL HISTORY. (Worcester, MA: American Antiquarian Society, 2012) (available through Oak Knoll Press) that showcases the rise of this institution dedicated to printed and the printed book. Isaiah Thomas, its founder, was fascinated with newspapers and inventoried the numerous publications as he studied the rise of the printing press. The institution collects widely and is open to researchers around the world.

The American Philosophical Society http://www.amphilsoc.org/, founded in 1743, focuses its collections on science, collecting both books and specimens. Benjamin Franklin was also a member of this august group of men. Their 250th anniversary was celebrated in 1993 and documented by Edward C. Carter II in "One Grand Pursuit" A Brief History of the American Philosophical Society's First 250 Years, 1743-1993 (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1993).

Lawrence W. Towner wrote numerous essays on Past Imperfect: Essays on History, Libraries, and the Humanities (Chicago & London: The University of Chicago Press, 1993) edited by Robert W. Karrow, Jr. and Alfred F. Young. Within this slim tome, are articles about the Newberry library http://www.newberry.org/, various influential libraries and archivists, and about the profession as a whole. A feast for the eyes and a treat for librarians.

My final example is a new book by Sarah Wadsworth and Wayne Wiegand (Library Historian) entitled Right Here I See My Own Books: The Woman's Building Library at the World's Columbian Exposition (Studies in Print Culture and the History of the Book) (Amherst and Boston: University of Massachusetts Press, 2012) . These authors describe and study the 8000 volumes of women's writing that filled the Woman's Building Library in 1893 http://archive.org/details/worldscolumbiane14worl at a time when women were professionalizing and the library field was beginning to be dominated by women. Here's a link to the PBS program about the fair http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/houdini/peopleevents/pande08.html

This is just a taste of the many books write to celebrate libraries and the fascinating histories.