USA > Rhode Island > Providence County > Providence > State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations at the end of the century : a history, Volume 2 > Part 63
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When the building thus planned was completed and occupied, it was found that its cost was "about $15,000", a sum which seems small at the present day. Yet it was sufficient at that time to erect a building which was not only creditable, but which has stood as a cherished archi- tectural monument on two of the principal streets of the city from that day to this. The two other societies, which were named in con- nection with the Atheneum, were at that time in search of permanent quarters for their belongings. For many years, however, the Rhode Island Historical Society has occupied a building of its own, on Water-
1Mr. Pitman was a graduate from Brown University in the class of 1799, and served as judge of the United States District Court, 1824-64.
2William Giles Goddard was a graduate from Brown University in the class of 1812, and was a member of the faculty of Brown University from 1825 to 1842.
3The second "Town House", (occupied from 1795 to 1832).
4The Rhode Island Historical Society was incorporated in 1822.
"The Providence Franklin Society, founded in 1821, under the name of Philosophical Association", received its present name in 1823.
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man street, next east of the Brown University Library, ereeted in 1844. The Providenee Franklin Society, though still in hired quarters, has for many years had its museum, speeimens, and other exhibits in its own hall, first at 27 North Main street (1849-79) and later at 54 North Main street (sinee 1879). This institution was founded in 1821, under the name of "The Philosophieal Association"; and in 1823 it was incorporated under its present name. A lease of a part of its premises to the Providenee Franklin Society, by the Providence Atheneum, was executed July 16, 1838; Owen Mason and George Baker signing in behalf of the latter, and John Pitman and Stephen Tripp in behalf of the Athenaeum. The joint tenaney thus planned for did not prove
PROVIDENCE ATHENAEUM, ERECTED 1837.
permanent, and by 1849 the entire building was left in the possession of the Athenæum.
Ground was broken for this elegant structure April 4, 1837, and it was oeeupied July 16, 1838. The plans were drawn by William Strick- land, of Philadelphia, assisted by Russell Warren. The building com- mittee consisted of Zachariah Allen, John J. Stimson and William S. Patten, and the contraetors were Samuel B. Durfee and Ebenezer Carpenter. "The building", to quote the descrip- tion supplied by the building committee, "is of the Grecian Doric order of architecture, construeted of granite. It is forty-eight feet in width and seventy-eight feet in depth. The front
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THE GROWTH OF THE LIBRARY.
is fine hammered granite, from Quincy, Massachusetts, from the quarry owned by Nathaniel F. Potter, of Providence". "The side- walls of the building are of granite, from Johnston, in this State, from a quarry of Amasa Sweet" (rought ashler). The cost of the entire work, including grounds, fences, etc., was $18,897.18. The building was completed in 1838, and dedicatory exercises were held in the First Baptist meeting-house, on the afternoon of July 11. The principal address was by Dr. Francis Wayland, at that time the president of Brown University, and this address was subsequently published as a pamphlet.1 The building was opened for the use of the proprietors July 16, 1838, the books having been removed from their temporary quarters in the Arcade.
While the general outline of the building has remained unchanged to the present day, various changes in detail have been rendered neces- sary. In 1841 the east room, then separated from the main room by a masonry partition, was finished, and occupied with books. In 1849 the Providence Franklin Society, by removing to other quarters, left the library free to occupy the basement rooms. In February, 1869, ex- tensive changes were completed, which had occupied about five months. At this time the masonry partition on the principal story was entirely removed, making nearly the whole story one large room, as at present; and the gallery was added, increasing the shelving capacity very largely. In 1897 better accommodations were obtained by fitting up additional shelving in the basement, and especially by the addition of the attractive art room, at the west end, nearly on a level with the gallery, the latter being made possible by a generous gift of more than $2,000 from Mrs. Thomas P. Shepard. In honor of the donor's father this room will henceforth be known as the "William Giles Goddard memorial room". Two reference rooms near the main entrance were fitted up respectively in 1894 and 1897, and an entrance to the building was for the first time provided at the eastern end in 1897. About this time also (in 1898) a "Children's Alcove" was established, electricity was introduced, the heating improved, the grounds put in better condi- tion, and the very convenient room for bound volumes of periodicals finished for use, in the basement. Space was provided for more ade- quate bulletins of new books in 1895, and the card-catalogue cases were enlarged in 1901.
The policy of the library, as a shareholders' library, was clearly outlined from the beginning; and, while it has not attracted to itself gifts of so great magnitude as in the case of the Boston Athenæum, the service which it has rendered to the community is of much the same character and scope. When, in the middle of the century, the present
1A discourse delivered at the opening of the Providence Athenaeum, July 11, 1838, by Francis Wayland. Providence: Knowles, Vose & Company, 1838. 37 pages.
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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND AND PROVIDENCE PLANTATIONS.
"publie library" movement made its appearance in this country, the question of transforming the existing library into a free public library was several times seriously agitated in the ease of the Boston Athenæum, but it does not appear that the suggestion was made in Providenee with equal seriousness. But when, in 1878, the Providenee Publie Library opened its doors to the public, from no souree did it receive a more hearty weleome than from the Providenee Athenæum.
The first president of the library, in the reorganized form, in 1836, was John Pitman. His term of service extended over twenty years, to 1856, during which the amendment to the eharter brought about the ehange, by which the library has since been known as "The Providence Athenæum". His successors have been William S. Patten, 1856 to 1870; William Gammell,1 1870 to 1882; Alexander Farnum,2 1882 to 1883; Augustus Woodbury,3 1883 to 1888; Samuel L. Caldwell,4 1888 to 1890 ; Samuel W. Peekham,5 1890 to 1895; Joseph C. Ely,6 1895 to 1897 ; Royal C. Taft,7 1897 ; and Alfred Stone,8 sinee 1897. The direet- ors have comprised nearly one hundred and fifty of the most respected eitizens of Providenee.
The finanees of a library like this are intimately connected with the number of shareholders, which for many years increased but slowly. In 1837 there were 292; in 1846, 429; in 1850, 516; in 1861, 584; in 1886, 696; in 1901, 771. There was expended in 1840 $2,545.19; in 1850, $5,009.22; in 1870, $6,072.25; and in 1900, $7,280.77.
The number of volumes was 4,162 in 1837; 10,485 in 1843; 20,267 in 1856; 40,734 in 1882; and 63,354 in 1901.
Among the earlier gifts to the library, in money, was one of $10,000 from Alexander Dunean, for Cyrus Butler, in 1849. A gift of $10,000 was received in 1866 from the executors of the late Captain Thomas
1Professor Gammell was a graduate from Brown University in the class of 1831, and was a member of the faculty of Brown University from 1832 to 1864.
2Mr. Farnum was a graduate from Brown University in the class of 1852, and was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Providence Public Library from 1875 until his death, in 1884, serving as treasurer from 1876 to 1884.
3Rev. Dr. Woodbury was a graduate from the Harvard Divinity School in 1849, and was settled over the Westminster Church ( Unitarian) in Providence from 1857 to 1892.
'Rev. Dr. Caldwell was a graduate from Waterville College (now Colby College), in the class of 1839, and was settled over the First Baptist Church, Providence, from 1858 to 1873. From 1878 to 1885 he was president of Vassar College.
5 Mr. Peckham died in office in 1895, having witnessed nearly sixty years of the history of the library. He served as the first librarian, from 1836 to 1838, and held nearly every other position connected with the institution.
6 Mr. Ely was a graduate from Brown University in the class of 1870, and was a lawyer of high standing and accomplishments.
"Mr. Taft served as governor of Rhode Island, 1888-1889.
* Mr. Stone served as secretary of the American Institute of Architects from 1893 to 1898; and was the architect of the Providence Public Library building, completed in 1900.
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THE GROWTH OF THE LIBRARY.
Poynton Ives (grandson of the Thomas Poynton Ives, mentioned above). In 1867 a considerable number of subscriptions were made for the increase of the permanent fund, amounting to $3,285.
In 1880 the library received from the executors of the late Carring- ton Hoppin a book fund amounting to $3,000, to be used for works on Italy and Italian art, and to be known as the "Carrington Hoppin fund". In 1889 it received from Thomas Poynton Ives Goddard a book fund of $10,000, the income to be used for purchasing "standard works of permanent value".
From individual friends of the library also have been received a large number of special collections of books of exceptional value, from their illustrations or their rarity.
Besides the gradual increase in the collection of books, there was for many years a gratifying development of works of art. No art museum was to be found in Providence until a comparatively recent period in the history of the Providence Atheneum, and the gift of a copy of Stuart's portrait of Washington, in 1838, by Mr. Samuel Larned, was hailed with pleasure, and proved to be the first of a long line of gifts of paintings, busts and other works of art. One of the most note- worthy of these was the celebrated painting by Edward G. Malbone ("The hours"), secured by subscriptions from various friends of the library, and presented in 1854. The generous gift of Mrs. Thomas P. Shepard, in 1896, of more than $2,000, already mentioned, for the " William Giles Goddard Memorial Room", has most fortunately pro- vided an appropriate and attractive place for nearly all the library's art treasures, whether in the form of books, paintings, or other valu- able objects.
The use of the books has represented a steady, though not rapid increase, comparing very favorably with the circulation of similar libraries elsewhere. There was a circulation of only 3,684 in 1837; but 12,506 in 1840 ; 19,707 in 1850; 22,902 in 1870; 40,800 in 1886; 53,327 in 1899; and 50,832 in 1900.
Catalogues have been published as follows: The first catalogue in 1837; the second (supplementary), in 1839; a consolidated catalogue in 1853, and a supplement to this last in 1862. Beginning in Septem- ber, 1860, the annual additions to the library formed an appendix to the annual reports of the library until 1895, when the publication of a monthly "Bulletin" was begun. Reports have been published regu- larly since 1836.
The first librarian, who was also one of the latest presidents, was the late Samuel W. Peckham, elected in 1836, a man of uncommon gifts, whose whole active career may be said to have been intimately con- nected with the history of the Providence Atheneum, and who pre- pared the first catalogue. On the opening of the present building, in 1838, Stephen R. Weeden was chosen librarian, serving until 1845.
-
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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND AND PROVIDENCE PLANTATIONS.
Mr. Weeden was succeeded by Thomas Hale Williams. who served until 1854. In this year Mr. Josiah Dunham Hedge was elected, whose term of service of twenty-five years is thus far the longest in the history of the library-from 1854 to 1879. Mr. Hedge was a graduate from Harvard College in the class of 1828, and a brother of Rev. Dr. Fred- eric Henry Hedge, for some time (1850-56) a distinguished clergyman in this city. Mr. Hedge was about forty-five years of age on assuming the duties of librarian, and was a man of uncommonly wide reading and profound learning. His administration was a period of notable development in the history of the library. His careful report, made April 6, 1868, on the condition of the library, is a valuable contribu- tion to our knowledge of its chief departments. The present excellent development of such departments as the French and German literature received a notable impulse during Mr. Hedge's term of service through the efforts of Mr. Stephen H. Arnold, then a member of the Board of Trustees, and now vice-president. On Mr. Hedge's lamented death, in 1879, Mr. Daniel Beckwith succeeded, serving until 1894. Mr. Beckwith was a graduate from Brown University in the class of 1870, and, besides a wide acquaintance with literature, had had repeated opportunities of European travel and study. His administration was coincident with some of the most noteworthy stages of development in the American library movement, and was marked by the strengthening of several important departments. On Mr. Beckwith's resignation in 1894, due to long-continued ill health, Mr. Joseph Leroy Harrison, of Albany, N. Y., was elected his successor and is still in service. He was a member of the class of 1886, at Cornell University, and a graduate from the New York State Library School at Albany in 1893. The present librarian is pre-eminently a man with a genius for organization, and for the more helpful forms of library work; and his accession marks the application of distinctly modern methods to this ancient institution. Every department of the work has felt the impress of his vigorous policy, but chiefly the methods of the delivery desk and the administrative measures which have been undertaken. The library has been re-classified by the Dewey system, and the card-catalogue has been well advanced towards completion. The measure which is perhaps the most noteworthy one of his administration thus far, is the adoption of the constitution and new by-laws, in 1895. This admirable instrument, drawn up by the president, Mr. Joseph C. Ely, but also emphatically embodying the ideas and beliefs of the librarian, was immediately put into operation. It may almost be regarded as embodying the application of the most intelligent treatment thus far given, not merely to the problem of this particular library, but to American proprietary libraries in general. In the light of the principles here embodied, the modern proprietary library may be said to have "oriented" itself, and to have placed itself
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THE GROWTH OF THE LIBRARY.
in proper relations, not to the colonial community of two hundred and fifty years ago, but to the community of to-day, with its public library and other provisions for the public on a general scale. One of its most important results has been to assist in unifying the resources for serious study, accessible to the community, in the three largest libraries of the city. In all other co-operative measures, including those con- nected with the Providence Public Library, Mr. Harrison, the libra- rian of this library, has been intimately interested; and when in 1900 the "Co-operative Bulletin of the Providence Libraries" was estab- lished, he was appointed to the position of managing editor, a place which he still continues to fill. Mr. Harrison received a leave of absence in 1900, to accept an important appointment as the director in charge of the American Library Exhibit at the Paris Exposition, being absent at Paris for several months.
The present force comprises the following, in addition to the libra- rian : Grace F. Leonard, cataloguer; Mary H. Balch, delivery desk ; Abbie C. Harkness, delivery desk; Everett T. Whitford, delivery desk (evenings) ; Catharine P. Whitaker, assistant.
The library is open daily, except Sundays and holidays, from 9 A. M. to 10 P. M. (except from about June 15 to September 20, when the library closes at 7 P. M.).
The present list of officers (Sept., 1901) comprises the following : Alfred Stone, president ; Stephen H. Arnold, vice-president; Charles R. Stark, treasurer ; Pardon S. Jastram, secretary ; and the following directors : Augustus M. Lord, Theodore F. Green, Augustine Jones, Albert G. Harkness, Lorin M. Cook, Henry B. Gardner, W. Whitman Bailey, Frederick H. Jackson, Fletcher S. Mason, John C. Pegram, Howard M. Rice, Robert W. Burbank, and Horatio N. Campbell.
THE PROVIDENCE PUBLIC LIBRARY.
Introductory Sketch, 1871 to 1878 .- The history of the Providence Public Library, as an institution in actual operation, dates only from February 4, 1878, on which day its doors were first opened to the public. The roots, however, of the movement leading to this event are to be looked for much earlier than 1878.
The manuscript records of the library, now in its archives, date from June 15, 1871, on which date the meeting of an informally chosen committee is recorded. Yet even before this there were occasional meetings of citizens informally held, at the Brown University Library and elsewhere, during the years 1870 and 1871. Of this preliminary movement the late Dr. Welcome O. Brown appears to have been one of the most determined promoters, and his relation to it is thus stated by Judge Stiness :
"About 1870, as the interest and membership in the Providence Franklin Society had been gradually decreasing, Welcome O. Brown,
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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND AND PROVIDENCE PLANTATIONS.
M. D., its president, with other members, felt that it would be better to disband and put the society's library and valuable museum of natural history where they would be open to all. Dr. Brown conceived the idea of making these the nucleus of a public institution, and he worked zealousły to create interest in the project. Zachariah Allen,1 always large hearted and alive to the welfare of the community, gave his earnest help and strong influence; Reuben A. Guild, LL. D., librarian of Brown University, acted as a committee on publicity, and wrote many articles for the newspapers; while others, too many to name, cordially approved and aided the movement. Under this inspiration the Providence Association of Mechanics and Manufacturers offered to contribute its library, and thus the beginning of a Free Library and Museum was at hand".2
It has sometimes been remarked as a striking fact that the outcome of this library movement in Providence, in its final form, was widely different from the aim at first proposed; and the successive changes in the charter certainly confirm the statement. Yet it should perhaps be noted also that there was at first much indefiniteness as to the question of what precise form was most desirable for the institution, and it would appear that, in Dr. Brown's mind, an institution of the type of the Cooper Institute3 in New York seemed the ideal one, while in Dr. Guild's mind the ideal type was that of the Boston Public Library.4 The former type was indeed embodied in the charter as first drawn, but the latter was recognized in the charter as amended.
That the Cooper Institute type should have been that first recognized would appear to have been inevitable from the nature of the various societies represented on the Joint Committee. These public-spirited organizations, each one of which had not merely an honored name, but much vigorous life behind it for at least a part of its history, included the following: The "Providence Association of Mechanics and Manu- facturers", founded in 1789, and organized for the purpose of promot-
1Zachariah Allen, who died March 17, 1882, at the age of eighty-seven, was a graduate from Brown University in the class of 1813, and formed a most interesting link between the past and the present, having been active on com- mittees of the Providence Library Company, which came to an end in 1836, and also one of the joint committee which organized the Providence Athe- næum in the same year. Mr. Allen was a director of the Providence Athe- næum in 1836-49 and 1865-69.
2Chief Justice Stiness's "Historical Sketch", at p. 39-40 of the pamphlet entitled "The new building of the Providence Public Library", (1901).
3The Cooper Institute is cited with emphatic approval at p. 17-18 of the pamphlet (prepared by a committee consisting of Zachariah Allen, Rev. Edwin M. Stone, and Dr. Welcome O. Brown), entitled "Free public library, art-gallery, and museum, in the City of Providence, R. I.", (1871).
4See the articles by Dr. Guild, in the Providence Journal, especially those of Sept. 10, 1874, and Oct. 30, 1875, emphasizing this point. Other articles by Dr. Guild, on the general subject of the proposed enterprise are found in the Providence Journal, June 17, 1871; June 13, 1872; Feb. 4, 1873, and Nov. 25, 1874; and in the Providence Press of Nov. 20, 1871. Dr. Guild died May 13, 1899.
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THE GROWTH OF THE LIBRARY.
ing manufacturing industries in Providence; the "Rhode Island Society for the Encouragement of Domestic Industry", organized in 1820, for similar purposes to those of the society just named, yet with an aim to include a wider local field; the "Rhode Island Horticultural Society", organized in 1845, for the development of local interest in fruits and flowers, and landscape gardening; the "Providence Frank- lin Society", organized in 1821, under the name of the "Philosophical Association", and under its present name in 1823, for the promotion of researches in natural science; and the "Franklin Lyceum", or- ganized in 1831, for the purpose of debating questions of the day. Each one of these five societies1 possessed "a local habitation", as a place for meeting, and possessed a library. One of them, the Provi- dence Franklin Society, possessed a museum of natural history. There was, as yet, in Providence no art museum2 to be represented on this joint committee, and this factor also was not lacking, in the general scheme proposed, since one public-spirited individual, the late Henry J. Steere, a member of one of these "society committees",3 expressed his willingness to contribute towards an art gallery as one of the features of the proposed institution. It will readily be seen, as stated by Judge Stiness, that, if the societies had joined under this charter as first proposed, "the combination would have been a sort of poly- technic institute. Agriculture and art, natural science and rhetoric, mechanical industries and horticulture would have been represented".+
The report adopted at the meeting of the above named Joint Com- mittee early in 1871 is printed in full in one of the pamphlets already cited.5 Four resolutions were presented, one of which advocated ap- plying for an act of incorporation; and accordingly there was pre- sented and passed, at the January session of the Rhode Island General Assembly, in 1871, a charter, organizing the new institution under the corporate name of "The Board of Trustees of the Free Library, Art Gallery, and Museum, in the City of Providence"; and thus the shape which the movement should take was committed to the "polytechnic" type of institution.
The draft of this charter was prepared by a committee of unusual ability and efficiency, their names being entered in the following
1Later, one other organization, the Providence Board of Trade, was repre- sented in the membership of the Joint Committee (Dec. 8, 1871); and one of its representatives, Mr. William Binney, became one of the permanent members of the Board of Trustees. The Providence School Committee also took action on the subject, but without choosing a representative. "Free public library", p. 15.
2The Rhode Island School of Design was incorporated in 1877, and opened in 1878. The Providence Art Club also was founded in 1878, and incorporated in 1880.
3That of the Providence Franklin Society.
""The new building of the Providence Public Library", p. 46.
""Free public library", etc., p. 4-6; also at p. 40-42, of "The new building."
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order, in the printed record: John R. Bartlett,1 John H. Stiness,2 William T. Nicholson,3 Henry Staples,4 and William F. Chan- ning.5
As has been noted by all who have written on the subject, one of the names deserving to be borne in highest honor on the roll of the library's benefactors is that of Dr. W. O. Brown, without whose effective services as promoter the original impulse would have been wanting, but there is another name entitled to high honor in these early stages of the enterprise, in supplying the needed financial im- pulse. This is the name of Joseph A. Barker,6 who, as well as Dr. Brown, represented the Providence Franklin Society on the Joint Committee. Mr. Barker-to quote from Judge Durfee's account of the matter-"a man of moderate means, strongly emphasized some hopeful words which he uttered, with a pledge of $10,000 for the enterprise ; and" at a later meeting, " 'having come to the con- clusion', as he informed his associates, 'that he could not better dispose of his little property than by giving it for a free library', he promised $15,000 more, on condition that $75,000 should be contributed by others, and that the city should give a lot for the building".7
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