Monday, April 9, 2018

First Public Library in the United States!

By Tiffany Amber Stockton



Last month, I shared about cowboys, tumbleweeds, and icons of the west. If you missed that post, you can read it here: http://www.hhhistory.com/2018/03/of-wind-tumbleweeds-and-cowboys.html.

I also shared about saying goodbye to our precious Roxie. We still miss her a great deal, but another sweet dog came to us in need of adoption, so we welcomed her into our home! This little gal didn't come with any history or details other than she was picked up in Las Vegas, New Mexico -- a little east of the Sante Fe National Forest -- and she's about two years old.

They documented her as a Chihuahua mix, and it quickly became clear to us that she's got some Shiba Inu in her and possibly some Basenji based on her expressions, mannerisms, and coloring. So, we're calling her a Shi-hua-nji for now. (grins)

One thing for sure, she has blessed our home abundantly, and our children are absolutely in love with her. She's about 1/4 the size of the dog we previously had, so it's been fun adjusting to a very affectionate and super-intelligent lap dog. We're thrilled to have her, though, and she truly is a God-send.

She even made her first visit inside a library yesterday, which brings us to today's post...

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The Public Library Is Open!

This year -- and this day specifically -- marks 185 years since the very first tax-supported public library opened its doors. The American public library movement was born in 1833 when the residents of Peterborough, NH established the first free public library supported by taxation. Today there are more than 16,000 public libraries across the country, affirming that the legacy of the Peterborough Town Library is alive and well.

I have always held great esteem for the public libraries, and I spent a a lot of time there as a girl, especially when there was one just a few blocks from where I lived. So many things are learned through books at a library, and I know many professionals (jugglers, ventriloquists, lawyers, scientists, doctors, teachers, etc.) who first learned about their profession during a visit to a library.

As a former elementary teacher and a current author, books are a definite passion of mine, and I love to inspire the love of literacy and reading in children of all ages -- even adults. We never stop learning until the day we die, and the library is an amazing resource to provide us with fuel for our imaginations and minds.

Not many know about this little library in Peterborough, New Hampshire. Nearly everyone has heard of the Boston Public Library, though. It was America's first large public library, but it wasn't legally established until 1852, nineteen years after the one in New Hampshire opened. The Peterborough Town Library was founded at a town meeting on April 9, 1833. (178 years later, my son was born, so we celebrate his birthday today as well! But that's just a little side note from me.)

The person most responsible for the founding of the Peterborough Town Library was Abiel Abbot, a local Unitarian minister. Abbot was also responsible for founding several other libraries including the Juvenile Library in Peterborough and the Library Company of Peterborough. In 1965 on the bicentennial of Abbot's birth the New Hampshire State Legislature passed a resolution recognizing Abbot's role in founding the "first free public library in the world supported by taxation". The resolution also requested that the President of the United States and the Postmaster General issue a postage stamp to commemorate the bicentennial of Abbot's birth.

“The ancient manners were giving way. There grew a certain tenderness on the people, not before remarked,” wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson of this period. The 1830’s was a time of social ferment in New Hampshire, as it was throughout the Northeast.

It was a time of active improvement, of the belief that “society must direct mankind towards moral perfection.” There was the temperance movement, educational reform, the beginnings of the anti-slavery movement, labor movement, prison reform and humane treatment of the mentally ill. It was a decade which witnessed a proliferation of religious denominations and utopian movements.

It was a period of sincere belief in mankind’s innate goodness, the belief that moral perfection could be influenced by one’s environment, by exposure to good thoughts, music, and books. It was a time when Dr. Abbot’s innovative thoughts on books and education received a receptive hearing. He gave practical expression to an idea, the tax-supported public library, hardly second in importance to the public school itself.

On April 9, 1833, at Town Meeting, a proposal was made and passed “that a portion of the State Literary Fund be used for the purchase of books to establish a library, free to all the citizens of Peterborough.”

In 1873 the growing collection of books was moved to the Town Hall, a move intended to be permanent. However, by 1890, there were six thousand books and not nearly enough space for books and users. Several citizens, foreseeing this difficulty, had begun to work quietly toward the goal of giving the library collection its own building and providing land and funds for its construction. The distinguished Peterborough engineer, George S. Morison, constructed the building at the junction of Main and Concord Streets for the collection.

The Peterborough Town Library’s claim to importance is not that it was the first library to which the public had access, for such libraries had existed before 1833. Rather, its importance rests in its being created on the principle, accepted at Town Meeting, that the public library, like the public school, was deserving of maintenance by public taxation and should be owned and managed by the people of the community, who thereby ceased to be dependent upon private munificence. In this, the Peterborough Town Library was the first – and has, since its founding in 1833, been an integral element of the Peterborough community’s identity.

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NOW IT'S YOUR TURN:

* Do you own a library card? Why or why not?

* Are you aware of the public library in your area?

* How involved have you been in the past or are you now with the events sponsored by your local library?

* What did you like most about today's post?



BIO

Tiffany Amber Stockton has been crafting and embellishing stories since childhood, when she was accused of having a very active imagination and cited with talking entirely too much. Today, she has honed those childhood skills to become an author and speaker who works in the health & wellness and personal development industry, helping others become their best from the inside out. She is also an educational consultant with Usborne Books.

She lives with her husband and fellow author, Stuart Vaughn Stockton, along with their two children and their Shiba Inu / Chihuahua mix in Colorado. She has sold twenty (21) books so far and is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of the Steve Laube Agency. You can find her on FacebookTwitterGoodReads, and LinkedIn.

16 comments:

  1. Great post, Tiffany! I live about 90 minutes from Peterborough. It is a wonderful little community. I love libraries and have been a trustee for my local library for the last 12 years.

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    1. That's fantastic, Linda. I am very involved with our local libraries as well, and once my children are older, I'll be looking into becoming a patron and trustee myself. :)

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  2. I know this area, but did not know about the library! Awesome. I love libraries! When I didn't have money to buy my own books, the local library fueled my need to read!

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    1. I am right there with you, Connie. The library was my go-to place to feed my passion for reading. We didn't have much money growing up, so I didn't own very many books. Borrowing them from the library was my only option. I loved it when they had their used books sale. Could get some of the books I loved super cheap!!

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  3. My small town did not have a public library. I currently live a block away from one now. I'm usually there at least once a week.

    Tiffany, Thank you for sharing this wonderful post!

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    1. I think I would have been lost without my local library, but at least you have one very close now!

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  4. I loved your post, Tiffany! I am actually on the board of directors of my local library. I think libraries are special places and wish more and more people would love and appreciate them.

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    1. That's awesome, Melanie. I agree. It truly is a shame how many people don't utilize the library for all it has to offer. We are quite fortunate to have an amazing network of libraries along the Pike's Peak region. They collaborate on events for all ages and publish a calendar online every month with everything happening, so it's easy to search and find what you need using their filter system. I love it!!

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  5. Great information and all new to me! Abbot had a great vision for a life-changing public service. Nebraska libraries have been wonderful supporters of my work and I love sending readers there. Inter-library loan is such a terrific service. The public library helped me home school my children, too. And now it's helping my children home school theirs. We're in the throes of trying to build a bigger/better city library here in Lincoln, Nebraska. It's a vital public institution IMHO.

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    1. Our local libraries love supporting us local authors too! I send readers there all the time to find my books, and a lot of the workers there know me by name (some of them know my children as well) when I enter. It's a lot of fun. I LOVE the inter-library loan program. We utilize it several times each month. Although I don't homeschool officially, I do supplement my kids' learning at their charter school and stay in close touch with their teachers so I can seek out additional learning opportunities through the library. I believe it truly is vital to every community.

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  6. I loved this post Tiffany! As soon as I read that it is the anniversary of the first public library I turned to my husband and said, "We have to go to the library today!" What better way to celebrate such a momentous occasion?

    I currently have library cards for 2 different public libraries. Our city, Salinas, has a public library. Our county also has a library system, The Monterey County Free Libraries. I have always loved libraries. When I was growing up the Bookmobile parked in front of the house 2 doors down from us every other Saturday. I was allowed to go down to the "library" by myself as long as I can remember.

    After high school I joined the Air Force. I met and married my husband when we were both at our first duty station. We moved around for 20 years. At two of the places we lived I ran the church library. I loved my work.

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    1. What a great idea, Debbie! Way to celebrate, indeed! Fun memory from childhood too. I bet that bookmobile was met with a lot of excitement from you and other children when it arrived. Libraries are a fantastic resource for bringing people together in a community and providing a little haven for so many.

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  7. Wonderful post about the first public library in America, and the anniversary of it was today. I'm a patron of our local library, plus appreciate the great inter-loan services for books, have donated books, attended events they've sponsored. I used the library a lot growing up and was in Library Club during HS.

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    1. A library club, huh? I have never heard of that. Sounds like fun! I'm also a regular patron and LOVE the inter-library loan program. It's amazing and saves so much time finding the books or materials we need.

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  8. Great post Tiffany. Thank you for sharing about the first tax-supported public library.
    I have a library card to our local library in town (my eldest son works there in the IT department), appreciate the inter-loan services for books, the online website and have donated books to the library.
    Blessings, Tina

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    1. I too have donated books to our libraries. It's amazing knowing the books will go on to bless so many others and bring joy to those who borrow them. We have a library in our home too, but those are the classics I and my husband have owned for years, plus the favorites for our children. Hard to part with those!

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