Friday, November 20, 2009

Public Library, Holyoke, MA

[LIB2590]

The Holyoke Public Library History Room & Archive houses extensive collections that focus on Holyoke’s unique history as it has developed as a planned city. The collections are available and preserved for use in scholarly and genealogical research.

Public Library, Brooklyn, New York

[LIB2589]

1939 Public Library, Copley Square, Boston MA

[LIB2588]

Library, University of Rhode Island, Kingston RI

[LIB2587]

Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina , Columbia, South Carolina

[LIB2586]

"The old library on the quadrangle is the first separate college library in the U.S. Built around 1840 by an unknown architect, showing Mill's influence, the library is now virtually a museum of South Carolina books and manuscripts." [From the back of the card]

Fountain, Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington DC

[LIB2585]

"The fountain, with the figure of Puck by Brenda Putnam A Midsummer Nights Dreame, ACT III, Scene 2 "Lord, what fooles these mortals be!" [From the back of the card]

Photography by Horydczak.

1908 Carnegie Library, Greencastle, Indiana

[LIB2584]







Seymour Library, Brockport, NY

[LIB2583]

Dennis Library, Newton, New Jersey, 1908

[LIB2570]

The offices and printing plant of the New Jersey Herald shared the first floor with the Post Office. The Newton Library Association occupied two rooms on the second floor, with a catalog of 2,500 volumes. Reverend Myron Barrett was the first librarian. A public hall in the third story accommodated 500 people. For a more comprehensive history of the library in Newton (NJ), read Lost Landmark: Library Hall by Kevin W. Wright.

 

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Old Library, Yale University, New Haven CT

[LIB2569]

Special Collections, Yale University Divinity School Library: "Strengths of the library's special collections include documentation of the Protestant missionary endeavor, documentation of religious work among college and university students, records related to American clergy and evangelists, and unofficial records related to the life of the Divinity School. These holdings form part of the Day Missions Library, North America's preeminent collection documenting the missionary movement and world Christianity." [Thanks to Yale Special Collections, www.library.yale.edu/div/speccoll.html]

1911 Public Library, Hammond, Indiana

[LIB2568]

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Handley Public Library, Winchester, Virginia

[LIB0935]

Judge John Handley of Scranton, Pennsylvania left $250,000 in his will to “ . . . open a Public Library for the free use of the people of the city of Winchester forever.” The Handley Trustees hired architects J. Stewart Barney and Henry Otis Chapman of New York who designed the building in Beaux-Arts style. The Handley Library opened in 1913 at a cost of $233,230.28 for the building and furnishings. An addition was added to the building in 1979 and a complete renovation, designed by Dennis Kowal Architects, was completed in 2001. [Thanks to the Handley Regional Library, www.hrl.lib.state.va.us]

1st Class Library, The Empress of France

[LIB0934]

RMS Empress of France was an ocean liner built in 1928 by John Brown at Clydebank in the United Kingdom for the Canadian Pacific Steamships and launched as the SS Duchess of Bedford
in 1928. She was renamed Empress of France in 1947. [Thanks Wikipedia!]

McCartney Library, Geneva College, Beaver Falls, PA

[LIB0928]

The collegiate Gothic building features two stained-glass windows inspired by the preaching of Dr. Clarence Edward Macartney. [Thanks to the McCartney Library, Geneva College, /www.geneva.edu]

1955 Public Library, New York City

[LIB0927]

NYPL Factoid: The Manuscripts and Archives Division holds approximately 29,000 linear feet of archival material in over 3,000 collections, dating from the third millennium BCE to the current decade. The greatest strengths of the Manuscripts and Archives Division are the papers and records of individuals, families, and organizations, primarily from the New York region. These collections, dating from the 18th through the 20th centuries, support research in the political, economic, social, and cultural history of New York and the United States. Notable collections include the records of CARE, Macmillan Publishing Company, National Audubon Society, and the New York World's Fairs and papers of individuals as diverse as Thomas Jefferson, Lillian Wald, H.L. Mencken, and Truman Capote. [Thanks to the NYPL, www.nypl.org]

1952 Public Library, Richmond Virginia

[LIB0926]

First and Franklin Streets.

The Finance Committee of Richmond’s Common Council twice passed up Mr. Andrew Carnegie’s generous offers of financial assistance to establish a public library in Richmond. The first offer, of $100,000, in March 1901, made it as far as the selection of Trustees for the Library, a recommendation for a site for the proposed building and the sum of $22,000 to purchase it. After consideration, the Finance Committee rejected the recommendation. Mayor Carlton McCarthy tried again in 1906, at which time Mr. Carnegie was willing to double his original offer to $200,000. The matter again came to the Finance Committee, where it was “read and ordered to be received and filed.” No further action was taken. Individuals and community leaders in business, education and civic institutions had rallied to the Library, to no avail. They founded the Richmond Public Library Association in 1905 to advocate for a public library in Richmond. Gradually, they built more community support and began to win over public officials. On April 5, 1922, Mr. John Stewart Bryan became president of the Association, and stepped up the campaign for a public library. In June 1922, within 3 days, 10,000 Richmonders signed a petition supporting the establishment of a public library. The Richmond Public Library Association ultimately gathered a total of 50,000 signatures. This time, the wishes of Richmonders prevailed with the Common Council and the Board of Aldermen. [Thanks to the Richmond Public Library, www.richmondpubliclibrary.org]

1906 Carnegie Library, Schenley Park, Pittsburg PA

[LIB0925]

Monday, November 16, 2009

Friday, November 13, 2009

Public Library, Gouverneur, NY


[LIB0911]

The Gouverneur Union Library was incorporated in 1815, and through contributions of money and books from private collections at home and abroad, a valuable library was soon secured. The trustees were Rockwell Barnes, Israel Porter, Aaron Atwood, Richard Kimball, Benjamin Brown, Timothy Sheldon, Pardon Babcock, and Joseph Smith, all of whom served at one time or another. The library was eventually transferred to the High School and then to Gouverneur Wesleyan Seminary, where it was burned with that institution on the 1st of January, 1839, after being a means of untold good. [Thanks to history.rays-place.com]

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Burnham Library, Bridgewater, CT

[LIB0896]

The Bridgewater Library Association was established in l904, but it wasn’t until l909, when a room for library purposes was established at the recently built town hall, that the first public library in Bridgewater was born. Mabelle Sanford, a member of a prominent Bridgewater family, was a driving force behind this effort. She sent out subscriptions to many people who were associated with the town. Among them was Captain William Dixon Burnham. [Thanks to the Burnham Library, burnhamlibrary.org]

Mack Library, Bob Jones University, Greenville SC

[LIB0895]

Library, Florida State University, Tallahassee FL

[LIB0894]

The Florida State College for Women is a large institution, its buildings and modern equipment forming the third largest women's college in the United States. [From the back of the card]

Library of Winchester College, 1816 UK

[LIB0893]

Winchester College is a famous boys' independent school, set in the city of Winchester in Hampshire, England.

1911 New Public Library, New Haven, CT


[LIB0892]

1911 view and a contemporary view [Contemporary image courtesy of Wikipedia]

Public Library, New Haven, CT

[LIB0891]

1906-1911
"Gentlemen:–If the City of New Haven will provide a suitable site for it, I desire to erect and present to the City a handsome, fireproof building for the Public Library." With these words, and a gift of $300,000, Mary E. Ives (Mrs. Hoadley Ives), became the founding mother of the present New Haven Free Public Library. The site, at the corner of Elm and Temple Streets where the Library stands today, was purchased by the city for $95,000. The architect, Cass Gilbert, designed the brick and marble building to harmonize with the traditional architecture of New Haven, and especially with the United Church nearby. The building was formally dedicated to the City of New Haven on May 27, 1911. [Thanks to the New Haven Public Library, www.cityofnewhaven.com/library]

Lincoln Library, Springfield, Illinois

[LIB0890]


State Historical Library and Museum, Madison, WI

[LIB0889]

The State Historical Society of Wisconsin, organized in the early part of 1849, i.e., scarcely one year after Wisconsin became a state, is exceptionally well equipped with printed and manuscript colonial records and government documents, state and federal, with United States newspapers, biographical material and reports concerning American travel, e.g., the Jesuit relations. [Thanks to the School of Pharmacy, University of Wisconsin, Madison, cms.pharmacy.wisc.edu]

Reeves Library, Seton Hill College, Greensburg PA

[LIB0888]

James A. Reeves served as the President of the College in the late 1920s.

Monday, November 9, 2009

Lithgow Library, Augusta, Maine

[LIB0887]

Public Library, Chicago, IL

[LIB0886]

"Make thy books thy companions. Let thy cases and shelves be thy pleasure grounds and gardens." Judah ibn-Tibbon (12th century)

Library, Indiana State University, Bloomington IN

[LIB0885]

1924 Public Library, 4th Ave and Madison St., Seattle, Washington

[LIB0884]

In 1902, the city purchased an undeveloped downtown block for $100,000. The new home for the library was bounded by Fourth and Fifth avenues and Madison and Spring streets.

Six U.S. architects with substantial experience in library design — as well as every architect in the state of Washington — were invited to submit designs. In August 1903, the city selected a classic Beaux-Arts design prepared by German-born and trained architect P.J. Weber of Chicago. Construction of the 55,000-square-foot library began in spring of 1905. [Thanks to the Seattle Public Library, www.spl.org]

1925 The Shrine in the Library of Congress, Washington DC

[LIB0882]

The Shrine, in the Library of Congress, where reposes the original of the Declaration of Independence and Constitution of the United States.

Entrance Hall, Library of Congress, Washington DC

[LIB0881]

1911 Carnegie Library, Syracuse, NY

[LIB0880]

One of the famous Carnegie libraries.

Interior View, Chicago Public Library, IL

[LIB0879]

1907 Carnegie Library, Green Bay, Wisconsin

[LIB0878]

Green Bay received its Carnegie grant in 1901.

Saturday, November 7, 2009

1912 Agricultural College, ND Overdue Notice



[LIB0867]

Some things never change :)

1910 Public Library, Keene, NH

[LIB0830]

1898 - Edward Carrington Thayer presented the Henry Colony house on West Street to the City for use as the public library. The mansion was remodeled and a book stack added. [Thanks to the Keene Public Library, check out their site for more fascinating history, some great photos, and a timeline of sensitive renovation, www.ci.keene.nh.us/library/history.htm]