USA > Massachusetts > Commonwealth history of Massachusetts, colony, province and state, volume 5 > Part 25
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SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY
BUSH, GEORGE GARY .- History of Higher Education in Massachusetts (U. S .: Bureau of Education, Circular of Information, No. 6, Wash- ington, 1891).
BUTLER, NICHOLAS MURRAY, editor .- Education in the United States (Albany, Lyon, 1900)-A series of monographs prepared for the Paris Exposition of 1900.
CUBBERLEY, ELLWOOD PATTERSON .- The History of Education (Boston, Houghton Mifflin, 1920).
DEXTER, EDWIN GRANT .- A History of Education in the United States (London, Macmillan, 1906).
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EDUCATION AND SCIENCE
HANUS; PAUL HENRY .- Beginnings in Industrial Education (Boston, Houghton Mifflin, 1908).
HARVARD UNIVERSITY .- Reports of the President and Treasurer (Cam- bridge, 1826 and later years)-Previous to 1878, the report of the treasurer's statement was not mentioned on the title page.
INGLIS, ALEXANDER JAMES .- The Rise of the High School in Massachu- setts (Teachers College, Contributions to Education, no. 45, N.Y., Columbia Univ., 1911).
MANGUN, VERNON LAMAR .- The American Normal School; Its Rise and Development in Massachusetts (Balto., Warwick and York, 1928).
MARTIN, GEORGE HENRY .- The Evolution of the Massachusetts Public School System; a Historical Sketch (N.Y., Appleton, 1915).
MASSACHUSETTS : BOARD OF EDUCATION .- Annual Report (Boston, 1838- 1919).
MASSACHUSETTS : COMMISSION ON INDUSTRIAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCA- TION .- Report (Boston, 1906).
MASSACHUSETTS : COMMISSION ON INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION .- Annual Report (Boston, 1907-1909).
MASSACHUSETTS : COMMISSION TO INVESTIGATE SYSTEMS OF MANUAL TRAIN- ING AND INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION .- Report (Boston, 1893).
MASSACHUSETTS : DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION .- Annual Report (Boston, 1920 and later years).
MASSACHUSETTS : SPECIAL COMMISSION ON EDUCATION .-- Report, Jan. 29, 1919 (Boston, 1919)-Senate document no. 330.
MASSACHUSETTS : SPECIAL COMMISSION FOR AN INVESTIGATION RELATIVE TO OPPORTUNITIES AND METHODS FOR TECHNICAL AND HIGHER EDUCA- TION .- Report [Boston, 1923].
MONROE, PAUL, editor .- A Cyclopedia of Education (5 vols., N. Y., Mac- millan, 1911-1913).
SUZZALLO, HENRY .- The Rise of Local School Supervision in Massachu- setts (the School Committee, 1635-1827) (Teachers College, Contribu- tions to Education, Vol. I, no. 3, N. Y., Columbia Univ., 1908).
SWIFT, FLETCHER HARPER .- State Policies in Public School Finance (U. S .: Bureau of Education, Bulletin, 1922, no. 6, Washington, 1922).
SWIFT, FLETCHER HARPER .- Studies in Public School Finance (Minnesota Univ., Education Series, no. 1, Minneapolis, Univ. of Minnesota, 1922).
THWING, CHARLES FRANKLIN .- A History of Higher Education in Amer- ica (N. Y., Appleton, 1906).
UPDEGRAFF, HARLAN .- The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts (Columbia Univ., Contributions to Education, Teachers College Series, no. 17, N. Y., Columbia Univ., 1908).
CHAPTER IX
LIBRARIES PUBLIC AND PRIVATE (1890-1928)
BY CHARLES F. D. BELDEN Director of the Boston Public Library
CONDITIONS FORTY YEARS AGO
"All nations recognize the United States as leading in the matter of libraries. The United States recognizes the New England States, and especially Massachusetts, as its head, and Massachusetts looks at Boston as the Mecca of the ideal li- brary system." This statement, made by Melvil Dewey in 1889, at the dedication of the free library of Wilkesbarre, Pennsylvania, expressed the general opinion of the time. In articles and addresses dealing with library affairs, Massachu- setts in the 'eighties and 'nineties was referred to as "the banner State," while the Public Library of Boston was spoken of as "the noblest institution of its kind in America, and the largest free circulating library in the world." The figures of the United States Bureau of Education in 1891 amply cor- roborate these testimonies. The statistics showed that at that time the number of libraries wholly or mainly supported by taxation was 179 in Massachusetts, as against 220 in all the rest of the Union; 29 states being totally without public libraries.
How far have Boston and Massachusetts maintained their preeminent position in the library world during these last forty years? Library conditions in America have tremendously advanced during the last generation. Towns which not long ago did not possess even a public school now have a modern library; cities which at the end of the last century did not spend a cent of public money on books are now spending mil- lions of dollars. Hence Boston and Massachusetts no longer hold the unique position they once occupied. This does not
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LIBRARIES PUBLIC AND PRIVATE
mean that Boston and Massachusetts have fallen behind; it merely means that the country has caught up with their standards.
OUTSIDE INFLUENCE OF MASSACHUSETTS
Boston and Massachusetts have played a significant part in the advancement of the public library movement in America. Eighty years ago this city and State were the first to start the movement for public libraries. Forty years ago Massa- chusetts set the example, establishing public library commis- sions to promote library interest, especially in the towns of the Commonwealth. As soon as the Massachusetts Free Pub- lic Library Commission began to work, inquiries about its activities came from every State of the Union, even from various parts of Europe. At present all the New England States, and the majority of all the States of the Union, have established commissions.
In the field of public and private libraries, Massachusetts is still in the lead. It is the only State in the country in which there is no town, no matter how small, without the benefit of a public library. In 1930 Massachusetts harbors 415 free public libraries (excluding branch libraries) in our 355 cities and towns. The Public Library of the City of Boston stands acknowledged as the head of this great system. In addition it is one of the three outstanding scholarly public libraries of America. The Library of Congress and the New York Pub- lic Library surpass it in the wealth of their collections; but the Boston Library has set an example in the liberality with which its great collections are made available for consulta- tion and for free circulation. So has the Massachusetts Archives, property of the Commonwealth, with more than a million pieces of manuscript, and still the richest mine of mate- rial for the early history of America. And there is the State Library, a public library in almost every sense, one of the greatest of its kind. Alongside these official, tax-supported collections rest the treasures of the Massachusetts Historical Society and of the American Antiquarian Society libraries, which make these manuscript resources well-nigh inex- haustible. To these should be added the great association libraries, like the Boston Athenaum, the General Theological
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CONTENTS AND CIRCULATION
Library, and the libraries of a dozen or more colleges-partic- ularly the vast Library of Harvard University, with its nearly three million volumes. It is obvious that Massachu- setts is still in library affairs the "banner State," while Greater Boston is probably the greatest book center in America.
RISE OF THE BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY (1852-1895)
First established in 1852, the Boston Public Library in 1858 moved into one of the first public buildings erected in Massachusetts for the housing of books. This Boylston Street edifice was thought to be spacious, and even luxurious. In hardly more than twenty years the construction proved too small; from 71,000 volumes in 1858, the collections had in- creased to nearly 400,000 by 1880. Recognizing the need for a larger building, the legislature granted to the city a very valuable and central plot of land for the site of a new building. This tract was at the corner of Dartmouth and Boylston Streets-where the great library now stands.
The erection of the building was entrusted to the New York firm of McKim, Mead & White. The actual work was begun in 1888, and it lasted for seven years. Considerable financial difficulties arose. The cost, originally estimated at $450,000, exceeded $2,300,000. But the building-with its noble facade in Italian Renaissance style, with its spacious entrance hall, beautiful corridors and arcaded courtyard, and lavishly decorated with paintings and sculptures by some of the best contemporary artists through private gifts-won the admiration of both laymen and experts.
CONTENTS AND CIRCULATION
Even a short review of the development of this library dur- ing the last thirty-five years requires recourse to figures, which more concisely than anything else reflect the facts.
In 1895 the Boston Public Library contained 628,000 vol- umes. By the end of 1928 this number had risen to 1,442,000. In 1895 the system included twelve branches and nine reading rooms besides the central Library. At present, with the elimi- nation of the distinction between branches and reading rooms, there are thirty-two branches. The present number of card
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holders, possessed of the registered privilege of drawing books, is 149,000; and the yearly circulation of books for use outside the building is nearly 4,000,000. In Bates Hall alone -the main reading room of the Library, with a seating capa- city of 310-some 300,000 volumes were used during the last year. How many of the 10,000 reference books kept there on open shelves were consulted, and how many times, remains of course uncounted.
The annual appropriation for 1928 was a little over $1,- 138,000. In addition, the Library has a yearly income of about $27,500 from its trust funds, the aggregate sum of which is $765,000. During the past few years the yearly sum of $125,000 has been set aside from the annual appropria- tion for the purchase of books; in addition to which the in- come of the trust funds is used almost entirely for that purpose. In trust funds and gifts, $466,000 has been re- ceived since 1889.
The number of acquisitions, through purchases and gifts, is steadily increasing. In the single year 1928, over 98,000 volumes were added to the Library. The problem naturally arises : where to find room for all these books? For the last ten years this question has been the chief care of the Library's administration. Although in 1918 an annex was built on the Blagden Street portion of the building, this relief can be but temporary : the need for more space is already pressing.
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY COLLECTIONS
One of the chief distinctions of the Boston Public Library lies in its exceptionally rich special collections. The private library of Nathaniel Bowditch, the eminent navigator and mathematician, was given to the Library in 1858. The li- brary of Thomas Prince, one of the most outstanding collec- tions of Americana, bequeathed by him to the Old South Church, was placed in the custody of the Library in 1866. In 1871 the Ticknor collection of Spanish and Portuguese books was received. The Barton collection of Shakespeareana and of other Elizabethan and Jacobean authors was acquired in 1873. In 1881 the library of Theodore Parker came into the possession of the Library.
Courtesy of Halliday Historic Photograph Co.
BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY
Courtesy of Boston College
LIBRARY AT BOSTON COLLEGE
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PUBLIC LIBRARY COLLECTIONS
Under the care of such trustees as Edward Everett, George Ticknor and Nathaniel B. Shurtleff, and under the leadership of librarians like Charles C. Jewett, Justin Winsor and Mellen Chamberlain, the Boston Public Library has occupied a com- manding position among the libraries of America. The City gave liberally for the development of the general collections, while scholars left to the institution their private collections.
After the early 'nineties the situation had perceptibly changed. Year after year it became increasingly difficult for the administrators of the Library to keep up its distinctive character. On one side, the city appropriations became more inadequate; on the other, the attention of donors turned to the rapidly growing university and college libraries.
Several important special collections, however, have been received since the 'nineties. In 1894 the library of President John Adams, formerly in the Public Library of Quincy, was deposited in this Library. In the same year Allen A. Brown gave his unusually rich music library, to which in 1909 he added his large collection of dramatic literature. In 1896 Thomas W. Higginson gave "The Galatea Collection of Books relating to the History of Women"; in 1897 the Boston Browning Society deposited its books. Mellen Chamberlain bequeathed to the Library his collection of rare manuscripts and autographs, together with several hundred choice printed books. This collection was received in 1900. In that year Mrs. Rufus W. Griswold presented a most valuable group of Poe letters, and letters of Poe's friends, to the Library. In 1917 Josiah Henry Benton left to the library his unusual col- lection of Books of Common Prayer, nearly seven hundred volumes, among them being many rare and early editions. The most important late acquisition of the library was the unique Defoe collection of Professor William P. Trent of New York, which was purchased in 1928.
The Library endeavors to do its best to serve both the aver- age public and research scholars. At an expense of a quarter of a million dollars, a treasure room has been built, and the Barton Room and the north gallery of the third floor, where the special collections are located, have been put in fire-proof condition.
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LIBRARIES PUBLIC AND PRIVATE
STATE LIBRARY OF MASSACHUSETTS (1826-1930)
The origin of the State Library may be traced back to 1811, when provision was made for the annual interchange of stat- utes between the States. The Massachusetts State Library is primarily a legislative reference library, kept according to the first statute on the subject, in 1826, "for the use of the governor, lieutenant-governor, council, general court and such officers of the government and other persons as may be per- mitted to use it." As the Library has increased, the number of other persons permitted to use it has also increased. In fact, the main portion of the Library has become in every sense public.
The State Library, as established by the Act of 1826, pro- vided that the books and maps in the several departments of the State House should be collected in the Land Office. There- upon, the collection of statutes by Massachusetts led to the formation of legislative libraries throughout the country. Additional statutes of 1836, 1860, 1882 and 1902 defined and redefined the scope of the Library. The trustees summed up these again in their annual report for 1910 as follows: "The library should possess the laws and the judicial decisions of the United States, the several States and Territories; the laws and the judicial decisions of Great Britain and her colo- nies and dependencies; and the statute laws, at least, of all the other countries of the civilized world. ... The library's collection in this line to-day is unique. . . The library should contain the congressional and public documents of the United States and of the several States; the parliamentary re- ports, i.e., the sessional papers, of Great Britain and selected departmental reports of her colonies and dependencies. The library possesses most of these. . .. The library has a large collection of material relating to New England, and especially to Massachusetts as colony, province and commonwealth. This material includes history, biography, genealogy, town reports, maps and newspapers. All possible additions should be made to this collection." Among a number of other recom- mendations, the trustees suggested that each department of the government should have its special library. The policy thus prescribed has been systematically carried out-within
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MASSACHUSETTS STATE ARCHIVES
the available means. To-day the State Library contains nearly 500,000 books and pamphlets.
MASSACHUSETTS STATE ARCHIVES (1821-1930)
The public archives from 1630 to date consist principally of papers relating to legislation, deposited there in accordance with the law. But the Archives contain also many papers not mentioned in the Massachusetts Bay Records, Province Laws, or Acts and Resolves.
The Archives first attracted the attention of the legislature in 1821, when the house of representatives ordered that the Secretary of the Commonwealth be directed to make out a statement of the condition of public records and documents be- longing to the Commonwealth. In 1831 a fireproof addition was built to the State House for the safekeeping of the Archives; and in 1836 Joseph B. Felt was appointed to ar- range the material. Within the next ten years all the papers relating to legislation had been classified up to 1780. These papers, about 200,000 pieces arranged under 76 topical head- ings, fill 241 volumes. Three volumes of Hutchinson papers and eighty-one volumes of miscellaneous papers belong also to this group, called the "Archives proper." From 1780 to date at least a million other pieces of legislative papers have accumulated.
The Massachusetts State Archives contain, in addition, the following groups of documents : about 5,000 maps and plans, from 1630 to date, including the official town series of 1794 and 1830, many of which are unique; the General Court records, from 1628 to date, including the judicial court rec- ords from 1628 to 1686; the printed House Journals from 1730 to 1779, the only perfect file covering that period in existence; the executive and legislative records of the Coun- cil, from 1692 to 1780; the engrossed acts from 1692 to date; the house and senate journals, from 1780 to date; the Council records and files from 1780 to date; the Charters of Massa- chusetts of 1628 and 1691, with the explanatory Charter of 1726 and the Exemplification; the Constitutions of Massa- chusetts, and the proceedings and papers of the various con- stitutional and other conventions of 1779-80, 1788, 1814,
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LIBRARIES PUBLIC AND PRIVATE
1820, 1853 and 1917-1919; the military records of the Pequot, King Philip's, French and Indian, and Revolutionary Wars and Shays's Rebellion; miscellaneous records extending to every phase of the history of Massachusetts. The work of arranging and classifying is satisfactorily progressing, but as yet no adequate list of this immense material exists.
TOWN LIBRARIES IN 1890
The example of Boston in founding its public library was quickly followed by other communities of the Commonwealth. The Civil War interrupted the movement, but in the early 'seventies it was already in full swing. In 1839 Horace Mann, then secretary of the Board of Education, found that there were from ten to fifteen town libraries in the State, contain- ing in all about 4,000 volumes. Alongside these were 299 "social libraries," with 180,000 volumes. Of these, 36, con- taining 81,000 volumes, were located in Boston. These "so- cial libraries" were not open to the public; only 25,000 "proprietors" had access to them. Half a century showed a vast difference. Out of the 351 towns and cities of the Com- monwealth in 1889, no less than 175 had free public libraries under municipal control; and 248 had libraries in which the people had rights or free privileges. In 1839 there were only 300,000 books in all the libraries of Massachusetts; in 1889 there were 2,500,000. Whereas in the 'thirties less than a sixth of the population had any right of access to books, in the 'eighties only about a sixteenth was without it. The 103 towns which had no libraries numbered only about 135,- 000 inhabitants, out of a total population of 2,239,000.
FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY COMMISSION (1890-1925)
With the desire to provide those 103 small towns with public libraries and to help the library activities in the others, the legislature of the Commonwealth in May, 1890, passed an act empowering the governor to appoint five persons to con- stitute a Board of Library Commissioners. Twenty-nine years later (1919), in a general redistribution of executive departments, this commission was placed under the Depart-
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FREE LIBRARY IN EVERY TOWN
ment of Education of the Commonwealth. Since then it has been known as the Division of Public Libraries.
The principal regulations of the original Statute of 1890 were as follows: "The librarian or trustees of any free pub- lic library may ask the Board for advice in regard to the selec- tion of books, the cataloguing of books, and any other matters pertaining to the maintenance or administration of the library.
"The Board is authorized and directed to expend, upon the application of the board of library trustees of any town hav- ing no free public library owned and controlled by the town, a sum not exceeding one hundred dollars for books for any such town.
"Any town accepting the provisions of this Act shall an- nually appropriate from the dog tax, or shall otherwise annually provide for the use and maintenance of its free pub- lic library, a sum not less than fifty dollars, if its last assessed valuation was one million dollars or upward," with similar smaller sums for less populous places.
The Library Commission saw its task clearly from the be- ginning and addressed itself to it with great skill and en- thusiasm. Its work during the last forty years is inseparable from the growth of the public libraries in the towns of Massachusetts.
A FREE LIBRARY IN EVERY TOWN (1890-1930)
One of the first acts of the State Library Commission was to make clear what it meant by a free public library. "The Commission desires it to be understood," it announced, "that its definition of a 'free public library' applies only to libraries that allow the free circulation of books for general reading to the homes of the inhabitants of the towns in which they are located, and that are managed as a public trust." Next, the Commission devoted itself to an intensive study of the existing conditions. Its first chairman, Caleb B. Tillinghast, then State librarian, compiled from the reports of the Board of Education a large collection of facts about the free li- braries of the Commonwealth. This compilation-published with the first report of the Commission and filling nearly three hundred printed pages-is a monument of public li-
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LIBRARIES PUBLIC AND PRIVATE
brary conditions in Massachusetts at the beginning of the 'nineties.
The field work of the Commission was begun at once. En- listing the cooperation of officials, professional men and other citizens interested in libraries, the Commission started agita- tion, in every town not yet having a public library, for taking action to conform with the requirements of the Act of 1890.
The results were quick. At the annual town meetings held the following spring, 37 communities were reported as ac- cepting the provisions of the act. A year later, 19 other towns came in line. Within five years, only 32 towns were without a free public library, and this number diminished from year to year. By 1904, Newbury was the only town without a library; but the inhabitants of this town enjoyed the privileges of the library of the adjoining town, Newbury- port. In 1905 a new town, Plainville, was formed which waited for its library until 1908. In September, 1926, New- bury secured its own library. Since then, in point of free public libraries the towns and cities of the Commonwealth have been one hundred per cent complete.
HELPING THE SMALL LIBRARIES (1900-1930)
In 1900 the legislature passed a new act, authorizing the commission to render additional aid, a sum not exceeding one hundred dollars, to small libraries in towns the valuation of which did not exceed six hundred thousand dollars. In 1906 this act was modified to the effect that the commission was authorized to spend annually a sum not exceeding two thou- sand dollars. In 1914 this sum was raised to ten thousand dollars, and the number of towns to be helped was corre- spondingly enlarged. From that time on, all towns with a valuation under $1,000,000 had a right to ask for direct aid. The distinction between towns which had libraries before 1890 and those which had not was abolished.
To intensify the work of the commission, the appointment of a field agent was necessary. Since 1910 this representative of the commission has been in direct contact with the libraries, visiting them, discussing their problems on the scene, and making suggestions for various ways of improvement.
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HELPING THE SMALL LIBRARIES
The Library Commission could not have accomplished its work with such success without the support of private in- dividuals and various organizations. Among the latter, the Woman's Education Association and the Library Art Club have rendered particularly effective service. For some thirty years, ending in 1926, the Woman's Education Association maintained nearly two hundred traveling libraries, which it loaned to small libraries. In addition, it operated over sixty picture collections. Members of the association have sys- tematically visited the town libraries since the 'nineties. These visits, regularly maintained for many years, helped to settle matters of policy and administration with trustees and li- brarians. The association's "Committee on Libraries," in ad- dition has been active in the preparation of book lists, which have been regularly sent out by the Commission to public li- braries in the State.
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