The library cover story for October on The Library History Buff website involves a letter and envelope relating to the formation of the Newburyport Public Library in Massachusetts. Josiah Little founded the library in 1854. This cover was mailed to him from Boston by Samuel Swett on June 27, 1854. The cover is an example of a folded letter where the letter is folded in such a way that it also serves as an envelope. In the letter, Swett, an author who was born in Newburyport, provides Little with advice on the formation of the library. Little's original intent was evidently to form a subscription library, but Swett points out the advantages of establishing a public library supported by the City of Newburyport and the adjacent towns. Massachusetts passed a a general law providing for the establishment of free public libraries in 1851. Newburyport was one of the first ten public libraries established under the new law. The library was opened to the public in 1855, one year after the Boston Public Library opened to the public. A history of the library can be found here.
October is American Archives Month and National Stamp Collecting Month. One of the areas of postal librariana that I have been collecting for a number of years is archives and archivists on postage stamps. Hans Krol, a fellow collector, has assisted me in developing a list of these stamps. I also collect postage stamps that depict libraries and librarians. There is a much more extensive list of these stamps that I hope to eventually place on the Library History Buff website. Hans is a major contributor to this list also. I would like to see more archives, archivists, libraries, and librarians depicted on postage stamps. I am particularly frustrated that although some individuals with a library connection have been depicted on United States stamps that no person has been depicted on a stamp because of their role as a librarian. As we go through October, I plan to highlight more examples of postal librariana as a way of celebrating two great enterprises - archives and stamp collecting.
Buttons and bumper stickers are ideal for conveying short succinct messages. Here are a few buttons that promote Banned Books Week which runs from Sept. 26 to Oct. 3. These buttons are mostly from the Joel Robinson collection of buttons which is now part of my collection. To see more library related buttons click here.
On the way back from a wedding in New York I had the opportunity to stop and see the public library in Sandusky, Ohio. The library has an active archives program, and I thought it would be appropriate to feature the library to promote Archives Month which is in October every year. The Sandusky Library has a very unusual facility which includes the renovated Carnegie Library, the old county jail, and a modern addition which connects the two buildings. The history of the library is located here. An even more unusual aspect of the library is that it operates a historical museum which is in another facility. With all of these history connections it is only logical that the library has an outstanding Sandusky History blog.
The Society of American Archivists sponsors the celebration of American Archives Month much in the same way that the American Library Association sponsors National Library Week. The SAA has developed a public relations kit to help promote Archives Month in 2009 which has the theme "Celebrating the American Record". There are many possible ways that libraries could help celebrate Archives Month. High on the list are programs and exhibits. These could focus on the library's own history and archives or those of the community in which the library is located. If not this year, plan for next year and the next and the next...
Banned Books Week is September 26 to October 3 this year. Banned Books Week began in 1982 to promote intellectual freedom and to make the public aware that access to books and other materials was being challenged on a regular basis especially in libraries. The American Library Association is one of the sponsors of Banned Books Week. The envelope above is a First Day Cover for the America's Libraries postage stamp which was issued at the American Library Association annual conference in Philadelphia on July 13, 1982. Someone created a unique cover by pasting a newspaper article about book banning attempts on the envelope. The article begins, "There is a new 'hit list' sweeping the country. Unlike gangland murders, though this hit list does not involve people, but ideas. With increasing frequency, books and magazines of all kinds have become the target of self-appointed censors of both the left and right."
Today is the 125th anniversary of the birth of Margaret Hutchins (1884-1961). Hutchins was one of 305 individuals selected to be included in the first edition of the Dictionary of American Library Biography (Libraries Unlimited, 1978). She was selected for inclusion because of her contribution to library reference service through practice, teaching, and writing. Her entry in the DALB was written by Frances Neel Cheney, also a noted contributor to reference service and one of those included in the Second Supplement to the DALB. Cheney quotes a statement by Phineas Windsor, Director of the University of Illinois Library, about Hutchins: "Miss Margaret Hutchins is about as good a reference librarian as I have ever known, and I have seen some good ones. She has an unusually keen mind, broad interests, a splendid knowledge of what we call reference material, is quick at catching new points of view, has good common sense, good judgment, and is herself a hard worker." Hutchins was a reference librarian at the University of Illinois Library from 1908 to 1927. After earning a degree at Columbia University in 1931 she joined the faculty of the Library School at Columbia. She wrote the classic reference text Introduction to Reference Work in 1944 (American Library Association) which has been published in several later editions. My first library job after library school was as a reference librarian and it is clear from what I have read about Margaret Hutchins that her knowledge and understanding of reference service was based on actual experience at the reference desk. It is refreshing when someone who has spent a substantial portion of her career working as a reference librarian is honored in such a prestigious publication as the DALB. A web biography of Margaret Hutchins written by library school student Jennifer Masunaga is located here.
Henry Stevens (1819-1886) was a native of Vermont who moved to London, England in 1845 and established a book business which helped build great libraries in the United States and Great Britain. He never forgot his Vermont roots, however, and was fond of using the initials GMB after his name which stood for Green Mountain Boy. He played a major role in building the library of James Lenox of New York which was one of the entities which merged in 1895 to form the New York Public Library. He later wrote Recollections of Mr. James Lennox of New York and the Formation of His Library about this experience. He also was instrumental in building the Americana collection of the British Museum. Wyman W. Parker in his book Henry Stevens of Vermont: American Rare Book Dealer in London, 1845-1886 (N. Israel, Amsterdam, 1963) describes Stevens' remarkable career dealing in rare books. Although an American, he had no problem integrating into the 19th century book world of London, and was well respected in his adopted country. He was particularly well thought of for his role in the Library Association of Great Britain. A tribute to Stevens is contained in the British book Essays in Librarianship and Bibliography by Richard Garnett (George Allen, London, 1899). The postal card above was mailed by H. O. Coxe, President of the Library Association in 1881 to Stevens (as well as other members of the Association) to gain approval for a change of venue for the Association's 1881 meeting. Henry was not the only member of the Stevens family who relocated to London for a career in book selling. His brother Benjamin Franklin (Frank) Stevens did the same in 1860.
As a former employee of the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, I was delighted when Amy Rudersdorf, director of the Digital Information Management Program at the State Library of North Carolina, informed me of their digital collection on North Carolina's public libraries. The collection is entitled "Transforming the Tar Heel State: The Legacy of Public Libraries in North Carolina" and it is located here. The collection consists of scans of the State Library of North Carolina's Public Library History Files and images contributed by cooperating public libraries around the state. It also contains histories of many of the libraries. With hundreds of digital projects being conducted by libraries throughout the nation, it is unfortunate that there are not more projects that focus on the history of libraries. The State Library of North Carolina is to be commended for its contribution to the appreciation and preservation of our nation's library heritage.The postcard above shows the Carnegie library building in Charlotte which has been razed.
The library cover story for October on The Library History Buff website involves a letter and envelope relating to the formation of the Newburyport Public Library in Massachusetts. Josiah Little founded the library in 1854. This cover was mailed to him from Boston by Samuel Swett on June 27, 1854. The cover is an example of a folded letter where the letter is folded in such a way that it also serves as an envelope. In the letter, Swett, an author who was born in Newburyport, provides Little with advice on the formation of the library. Little's original intent was evidently to form a subscription library, but Swett points out the advantages of establishing a public library supported by the City of Newburyport and the adjacent towns. Massachusetts passed a a general law providing for the establishment of free public libraries in 1851. Newburyport was one of the first ten public libraries established under the new law. The library was opened to the public in 1855, one year after the Boston Public Library opened to the public. A history of the library can be found here.
