[LIB2744] - Website
Monday, October 31, 2011
Friday, October 28, 2011
Library, Atlantic City, New Jersey
[LIB2743] - In November of 1901, a plan for a public library was embraced by Atlantic City residents in a landslide referendum, with 6,062 voters in favor and only 30 opposed. Thus the Atlantic City Free Public Library was established, using as its nucleus 1,000 books from a small, privately-run library opened a few years earlier by the Women's Research Club, a cultural organization that still exists today. [From the Website]
1947 Public Library, Atlantic City, New Jersey
[LIB2742] - The Main Public Library is conveniently located at Illinois and Pacific Aves. and was a gift to the city from Andrew Carnegie in 1904. It's shelves contain a large, well chosen collection of books. People from all parts of the world take advantage of the comfortable well lighted reading rooms, particularly during the summer season. [From the back of the card]
Library, Chesterfield, New Hampshire
[LIB2727] - The first record of library service in Chesterfield is found in the “Records of the Proprietors of the Philesian Society Library” in March 1832. This document began with the “Articles of Association” combining two libraries, the Chesterfield Social Library and the Library of the Philesian Society. The Association was in effect a corporation, the shares in which should not exceed $2.00.” There followed a page of signatures of 49 men, most of which are also to be found elsewhere on the leading documents of town history. Search of town records also reveal that in the 1880s and 1890s money for the “Literary Fund” was received from the NH State Treasurer. In 1893, the “Chesterfield Factory Association” 1donated 83 books to the formation of a public library. [Website]
Public Library, Wyomissing, Pennsylvania
[LIB2728] - Wyomissing Public Library's history is almost as long as that of Wyomissing Borough. In 1911, twenty women were invited to plan an organization promoting public spirit in the Borough. From this beginning the Civic League was born. The league realized that a library was essential. [Website]
Case Memorial Library, Auburn, New York
[LIB2731] - In 1896, Willard E. Case approached the library’s trustees and offered to build a new library, provided that the building be known as the Case Memorial, in memory of his parents. The trustees accepted his offer, and work began on the Case Memorial in 1901. A contest to choose a design for the building was conducted, and the New York City firm of Carrere and Hastings was selected as architects. The firm later would design the New York Public Library. The Case Memorial Building took two years to complete, with much of the woodwork being done by European craftsmen. Seymour Library moved to the Case Memorial in 1903. [Website]
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Public Library, Waterloo, New York
[LIB2732] - Website
Wikipedia: It was built in 1883 in the Queen Anne style and is sheathed in brick. The structure is composed of a two story main block with a three story projecting pavilion and one story intersecting gable wing. It features a number of distinctive Victorian era features such as steeply pitched and intersecting gable roofs; stone elements such as lintels, belt courses, sills, and chimney abutments and caps; and terra cotta wall surfaces and ridge blocks.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
1941 Public Library, Rochester, New Hampshire
[LIB2722] - Mr. O. B. Warren, Rochester’s postmaster, in 1902 or 1903, started a correspondence with Andrew Carnegie of New York, in an effort to interest him in building a library building for Rochester. Mr. Warren mentioned that our town was settled in part by Scottish immigrants. On December 25, 1903, an announcement was made on the front page of the Rochester Courier that a check for $17,500 (later changed to $20,000) would be sent to Rochester from Mr. Carnegie. {More, including photos, in the website]
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Public Library, Lancaster, New Hampshire
[LIB2719] - The Lancaster Public Library began in 1884 when George P. Rowell gave the town a thousand books and the use of the former Lancaster Academy building as a free public library. In 1906 the Hon. John Wingate Weeks offered to build a new library for the town in memory of his father.
Construction of the William D. Weeks Memorial Library began in 1906, and the new building was opened in 1908. In 1994, when it became obvious that the library had outgrown its building, a Building and Expansion Committee was formed to study and plan for new space. The addition, which was started in 1998 and completed in 1999, tripled the library's size. [Website]
Robbins Library, Arlington, Massachusetts
[LIB2720] - In 1892 a gift from Maria C. Robbins, in memory of her husband Eli, gave the library a permanent home and a new name. The building, which cost $150,000 to construct and could hold 60,000 volumes, was considered one of the more noteworthy pieces of architecture of the time. The architectural firm of Cabot, Everett and Mead chose an Italian Renaissance design, modeling the formal front entrance after the Cancelleria Palace in Rome. It was built of Indiana sandstone and finished with floors, walls and fireplaces of marble. Gold leaf accented the arches, columns and ceilings. Gas and electric fixtures from Shreve, Crump and Low and custom-made antique oak furniture completed the interior. [Website]
Monday, October 24, 2011
1909 Library, Easton, Pennsylvania
[LIB2707] - The Easton Library Company was formed in 1811 when 100 shares of stock were sold to the public. Shareholders then supported the Library with yearly subscription fees. Only subscribers could borrow books. Within four years the Company could afford to pay a librarian $1.50 each month and to begin construction of a building on land donated by Samuel Sitgreaves. That red brick building still stands at the corner of North Second and Church Streets. For 90 years it served as the public library, located across the street from Easton's secondary school. At the time of the Civil War, the Company extended borrowers' status to students enrolled in the high school. In 1895 the Library Association was formed for the purpose of creating a library funded by the school board open to all residents of the city. The reorganization took place in 1901. The Library's new status allowed Easton's citizens to apply to Andrew Carnegie for a library building grant. Carnegie was so impressed with their plans that he donated $50,000 for a new building if the residents would supply the land and get the municipality to agree to continue to fund the Library's operating expenses. [Website]
1913 Public Library, Nutley, New Jersey
[LIB2705] - In 1896, a private library with an annual subscription fee of $3.00 was established in a small building donated by James R. Hay opposite the Nutley Railroad Station on Highfield Lane. In 1904, the Nutley Library moved from its original site on Highfield Lane to 381 Passaic Avenue and remained at Passaic Avenue for ten years as a private library. The original intention of the sponsors was to give the books to the Township of Nutley when a location for a library was found. When an Andrew Carnegie grant provided funds for a new public library, the 3,000 books were moved from Passaic Avenue to the present site at Booth Drive. The former library was converted into a residence with the unusual feature of a circular tower on the south side. [Website]
Library, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California
[LIB2704] - Introducing the KSFO Collection, Archive of Recorded Sound -- The KSFO Collection consists of audiovisual material and ephemera from this San Francisco radio station's years owned by Golden West Broadcasting, 1956-1983. KSFO was known for their news and sports coverage, as well as the voice talents of such personalities as Don Sherwood, Russ Hodges, Lon Simmons, and Al "Jazzbo" Collins. The majority of this collection involves station marketing, promotions, and fundraisers, although there are airchecks and other broadcast recordings. Production library material includes jingles, themes, music beds, promotional spots, and advertising. [Website]
Saturday, October 22, 2011
1908 Baxter Memorial Library, Rutland, Vermont
[LIB2692] - Rutland County historically was a transportation, commercial, and manufacturing center. After World War II, the marble industry declined, followed by a decline in the machine industries and the demolition of the railroad complex in 1964. Today, the biggest employers are General Electric, Rutland Regional Medical Center and Central Vermont Public Service Corporation, an electrical utility. [Website]
Thursday, October 20, 2011
1907 The Governor Flower Library, Watertown, New York
[LIB2649] - The Pioneer Portraits Project, a website under development since May 2001 showcasing old photos and sketches of people who were either born in or who settled in Jefferson County prior to 1865, recently added its 1,000th portrait! [Website]
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
1950 Public Library, Santa Ana, California
[LIB2639] - The Santa Ana History Room is committed to fostering an interest in local history by collecting, preserving and making available materials of enduring historical value relating to the development of the City of Santa Ana and Orange County. [Website]
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
1909 Carnegie Library, Litchfield, Illinois
[LIB2638] - Housed in an original 1904 Carnegie building, the Library was remodeled in 1999 to become handicapped accessible.
1908 Public Library, Joliet, Illinois
[LIB2637] - Today, the main body of the collection -- which includes over 300,000 books and 400 magazine subscriptions -- is housed in the historical 1903 Daniel H. Burnham-designed building in the heart of Joliet City Center. [Website]
Thursday, October 13, 2011
New York Public Library, New York City, Manhattan
A nice hi-def video showing the great reading room of the New York Public Library.
The following information is from the NYPL website: The Deborah, Jonathan F. P., Samuel Priest, and Adam R. Rose Main Reading Room is a majestic public space, measuring 78 feet by 297 feet—roughly the length of two city blocks—and weaving together Old World architectural elegance with modern technology. The award-wining restoration of this room was completed in 1998, thanks to a fifteen million-dollar gift from Library trustee Sandra Priest Rose and Frederick Phineas Rose, who renamed the room in honor of their children.
Here, patrons can read or study at long oak tables lit by elegant bronze lamps, beneath fifty-two foot tall ceilings decorated by dramatic murals of vibrant skies and billowing clouds. Since the General Research Division’s opening day on May 23, 1911, vast numbers of people have entered the main reading room. Literary figures such as Norman Mailer, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Elizabeth Bishop, E. L. Doctorow, and Alfred Kazin have cited the division as a major resource for their work. In one of his memoirs, New York Jew, Kazin described his youthful impression of the reading room: “There was something about the . . . light falling through the great tall windows, the sun burning smooth the tops of the golden tables as if they had been freshly painted—that made me restless with the need to grab up every book, press into every single mind right there on the open shelves.”
The following information is from the NYPL website: The Deborah, Jonathan F. P., Samuel Priest, and Adam R. Rose Main Reading Room is a majestic public space, measuring 78 feet by 297 feet—roughly the length of two city blocks—and weaving together Old World architectural elegance with modern technology. The award-wining restoration of this room was completed in 1998, thanks to a fifteen million-dollar gift from Library trustee Sandra Priest Rose and Frederick Phineas Rose, who renamed the room in honor of their children.
Here, patrons can read or study at long oak tables lit by elegant bronze lamps, beneath fifty-two foot tall ceilings decorated by dramatic murals of vibrant skies and billowing clouds. Since the General Research Division’s opening day on May 23, 1911, vast numbers of people have entered the main reading room. Literary figures such as Norman Mailer, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Elizabeth Bishop, E. L. Doctorow, and Alfred Kazin have cited the division as a major resource for their work. In one of his memoirs, New York Jew, Kazin described his youthful impression of the reading room: “There was something about the . . . light falling through the great tall windows, the sun burning smooth the tops of the golden tables as if they had been freshly painted—that made me restless with the need to grab up every book, press into every single mind right there on the open shelves.”
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
1913 The Library, Columbia University, New York City
[LIB2605] Jewels in Her Crown: Treasures of Columbia University Libraries Special Collections
Digital exhibition in honor of Columbia's 250th anniversary celebration (on display October 8, 2004 - January 28, 2005). Includes materials from Columbia's East Asian Collections. [Website]
1910 Public Library, Buffalo, New York
[LIB2604] Made possible by public and private funding, including a $50,000 grant from the Margaret L. Wendt Foundation, the Mark Twain Room officially opened to the public on May 12, 1995. Leaves from the original handwritten manuscript of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn are on display in the center of the room.
In the early 1930s, the Buffalo Public Library (a predecessor of the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library,) began to build a unique collection of special English and foreign language editions of the novel. Through the years, this collection has continued to grow. These remarkable items, Twain ephemera, and other collectibles, currently number more than five hundred, filling the bookcases lining the walls.
A portrait of Twain hangs prominently above the restored mantel from Olivia and Samuel Clemens’ Buffalo home. Norman Rockwell prints from a 1940 edition of Huckleberry Finn published by The Heritage Press enhance the wall space on either side. The steamer trunk, where the leaves of the first half of the manuscript lay forgotten for many years, is also on display. [Website]
Public Library, Massillon, Ohio
[LIB26303] - The home built in 1835 by James Duncan, founder of Massillon, was opened as a museum of art and history in 1933. The library, housing a collection of well over 100,000 volumes, is located in the left wing of the building, built in 1937. {From the back of the card]
1914 City Library, Massillon, Ohio
[LIB2602] - We have come a long way since the McClymonds Public Library first opened on the corner of Fourth Street and North Avenue, NE, in 1899. Over the years the addition of more books and materials and increased library usage made it necessary to move to a larger facility. Mrs. Frank Baldwin bequeathed her home and property in 1930 to be used as a library, museum or both. [Website]
Public Library, Waterville, Maine
[LIB2599] Since 1896, the Waterville Public Library has been a center for community and learning, a place where people and ideas connect. The Waterville Public Library is located in a lovely old building built at the turn of the 20th Century. In 1902, the town of Waterville benefited, as did many American and European towns, from the generosity of Andrew Carnegie. Known as Carnegie libraries, these libraries often shared a distinctive architectural style called Richardsonian Romanesque, created by library architect Henry Richardson in the late 19th century. Characteristics of the Richardson Romanesque style are a Norman tower, dramatic semicircular arches, and a rugged appearance. The Waterville Library building is typical of this look with its rounded arches, distinctive roofline and fancy stonework. The 1976 addition has bigger windows and no granite, but its horizontal lines blend with those of the original building. [Website]
Evangel College Library, Springfield, Missouri
[LIB2598] - The Kaude Kendrick Library, dedicated in 1963, is named in honor of Evangel University's first president Dr. Klaude Kendrick, who served from 1955-1958.
Monday, October 10, 2011
For Greater Knowledge Iphone 4 Cover
Right, I know... this isn't a vintage library postcard. However, I do find from time to time cool looking library gear. So, this iPhone4 cover has that vintage retro look, you can combine it with your 21st century technology, and have a great conversation piece. I'm sure at the next library and information conference, everyone who is anyone in library world will say, "Where did you get that cool looking case for your phone?"
1909 Public Library, Amherst, Ohio
[LIB2586] - Several citizens, including C.R. Rice, raised funds and applied for a grant from Andrew Carnegie to build the sandstone building facing Park Avenue that still stands. Mr. Carnegie believed that people should improve themselves physically as well as intellectually, so this building had a gymnasium on the lower floor. The reading area was quite proper, as the times required, with separate rooms for 'ladies and gents'. Maude Neiding, perhaps the only librarian to have a park named in her honor, maintained order with a pointed finger and an assertive "shhhhhh." [More from the Website]
1906 Carnegie Public Library, Columbus, Ohio
[LIB2585] - April 8, 1907: The new Main Library opens to the public.
Columbus Ohio 1872 Antique Panoramic Map by HistoryInFrame
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