Salem Athenaeum facts for kids
The Salem Athenaeum is a special library in Salem, Massachusetts. It started in 1810 and is one of the oldest libraries in the United States where people pay to be members. You can find it at 337 Essex Street, in a historic area called the McIntire Historic District.
In 2023, the Athenaeum finished a big project to fix up its old building. Now, they are working to raise money to make the building easier for everyone to use, meeting today's library standards.
Contents
How the Athenaeum Started
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The Salem Athenaeum began in 1810. It was formed when two older libraries joined together. These were the Social Library, which started in 1760, and the Philosophical Library, which began in 1781.
The first leader of the Athenaeum was Edward Augustus Holyoke. When it first opened, the library had about 2,700 books. These books came from the United States, England, and other parts of Europe. Over the years, members also gave books from their own collections.
The Athenaeum got its first permanent building in the 1850s. This was possible because of a generous gift from Caroline Plummer. In 1905, the Athenaeum sold that building. They used the money from the sale to build their current home, which opened in 1907.
What Books and Resources Are There?
Members of the Salem Athenaeum can get books in several ways. They can pick them up at the library, get them delivered to their car (curbside), or have them sent to their home. The Athenaeum uses a website called LibraryThing to show all the books they have in their online list.
One very old collection, called the Kirwan Collection, is always on display. It's a special part of the library's history.
For many years in the 1800s, librarians only worked one day a week. They mostly helped with simple tasks. The library's leaders decided which books to buy. From 1885 to 1947, Miss Alice Homans Osborne was the librarian. She organized all the books using a system called the Dewey Decimal system between 1895 and 1898.
The first librarian who was trained professionally was Cynthia Wiggins. She worked at the Athenaeum from 1960 to 1994. Today, the library has over 50,000 books on many different subjects.
Programs and Events
The Salem Athenaeum offers many fun activities for its members. These include book clubs where people discuss books together. They also have "Summer Salons," which are like special gatherings.
The annual Adams Lecture focuses on American history. There are also art shows and groups for writers.
The Salem Literary Festival is a yearly event about books and writing. It started in 2008. Since 2017, the Salem Athenaeum has been the main organizer of this festival.
Famous Members
Some well-known people have been members of the Salem Athenaeum:
See Also
- John Tucker Daland House
- Salem Philosophical Library (1781–1810), an earlier library that joined to form the Athenaeum
- Salem Social Library (1760–1810), another earlier library that joined to form the Athenaeum
