Library, Pelham, New Hampshire

[Z10552] In 1893, the library was set up in a corner of the Town Hall.  A library building was constructed in 1896 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the incorporation of the town and honor Pelham’s war veterans.  That one-storey brick structure was designed with a main “Memorial Room,” a book stack area, and Town Officers’ Room.  The square footage of the building was doubled in 1975 by renovating the unfinished cellar to create a Children’s Room, staff workroom and periodical storage.  The library had long-outgrown the 1896 building when the present 10,000 square-foot facility was completed in August 2003. [Website]

Library, Pelham, New Hampshire

[LIB10391] - At the annual meeting on March 8, 1892 the citizens of Pelham voted to establish a Free Public Library, and elected a three-member Board of Trustees.  The library officially opened for business about January 17, 1893.  Miss Mary Edna Hobbs was appointed librarian with an annual salary of $20.  By March 1, 1894, at the end of its first full year of service, the library had issued 137 library cards; held a total collection of 629 books; circulated – or “delivered” — 2,420 books; and collected $10.06 in fines.  Appointed when she was eighteen years old, Miss Hobbs, known to many as “Aunt Molly,” served as librarian until July 31, 1958 – over 65 years!  By then the library owned 6,654 books with an annual circulation of 6,004; there were 166 registered borrowers; and the librarian’s salary rose to $400 per year. [Website]