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76:, founded in 1781. The first president was Edward Augustus Holyoke. When the athenaeum first opened, the collection was made up of 2,700 books. The combined collections included books from the United States and England and other parts of Europe. Individual members also donated books from their personal libraries over the years.
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For much of the 19th century, librarians were appointed to work just one day a week to do mostly clerical work and the Board of
Trustees decided book purchases. Between 1885 and 1947, Miss Alice Homans Osborne served as appointed librarian of the Salem Athenaeum after graduating from high school.
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The
Athenaeum's first permanent building was constructed in the 1850s with a large bequest from Caroline Plummer. In 1905 the Athenaeum sold that building and used the proceeds to build their current facility, which was dedicated in 1907.
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Osborne reclassified the collection to the Dewey
Decimal system between 1895 and 1898. The first professional librarian of the Salem Athenaeum was Cynthia Wiggins. Wiggins stayed in the position from 1960 to 1994.
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The Salem
Literary Festival is an annual literary event. Cornerstone Books (closed 2010) started the festival in 2008. From 2017 to the present, the Salem Athenaeum is the primary presenter of the festival.
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In 2023, the athenaeum successfully completed a restoration project for the historic building. They are currently raising funds to make the building more accessible to meet modern library standards.
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Members of the Salem
Athenaeum can pick up books on-site, curbside, and have books delivered to their home. Salem Athenaeum uses the website LibraryThing to host their online catalogue. The
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The Salem
Athenaeum offers a variety of programs including book groups, Summer Salons, annual Adams Lecture which focuses on American history, exhibitions, and writer's groups.
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The Salem
Athenaeum was founded in 1810 by the merger of two antecedent organizations: the
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Location of the Salem
Athenaeum since 1907, a Federal style building on Essex Street
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The Salem Athenæum, 1810–1910 by Joseph
Nickerson Ashton (Berkeley press, 1917)
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Today, the collections include over 50,000 volumes on diverse topics.
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Plummer Hall, formerly Salem
Athenaeum before sold in 1905 to the
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Catalogue of the library of the Athenaeum in Salem, Massachusetts
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Historic preservation organizations in the United States
365:"No sequel for Cornerstone Books: Store to close Monday"
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Salem Athenaeum Official Website (accessed Oct. 9, 2009)
431:"Vignettes of Library History: No. 6: Salem Athenaeum"
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425:by Joseph Nickerson Ashton (Berkeley Press, 1917)
243:"Book Delivery/Curbside Pickup | Salem Athenaeum"
648:List of Athenaeums in the United States by city
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883:Association for Computers and the Humanities
197:Clemmons, John; Wiggins, Cynthia B. (1968).
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429:Clemons, John; Wiggin, Cynthia B. (1968).
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805:Connecticut Museum of Culture and History
156:(1760–1810), predecessor to the Athenaeum
150:(1781–1810), predecessor to the Athenaeum
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1178:Steamship Historical Society of America
815:New Haven Museum and Historical Society
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1131:Preservation Society of Newport County
820:Polish American Historical Association
810:Danbury Museum and Historical Society
542:Congregational Library & Archives
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1241:1810 establishments in Massachusetts
1200:Historical Society of Windham County
1026:Duxbury Rural and Historical Society
1021:Dedham Historical Society and Museum
303:"Online Catalogue | Salem Athenaeum"
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175:"Capital Projects | Salem Athenaeum"
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980:Essex National Heritage Commission
949:American Society for Legal History
527:Athenaeum Music & Arts Library
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903:Colonial Society of Massachusetts
858:South Portland Historical Society
607:The Young Men's Institute Library
1098:New Hampshire Historical Society
913:Massachusetts Historical Society
562:Mercantile Library of Cincinnati
1173:Block Island Historical Society
1157:Rhode Island Historical Society
1152:Providence Preservation Society
1071:Waterfront Historic Area League
283:"Exhibitions | Salem Athenaeum"
209:(3): 257–260 – via JSTOR.
1126:Newport Restoration Foundation
1076:Swift River Historical Society
1016:Company of Military Historians
435:The Journal of Library History
203:The Journal of Library History
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1276:Libraries established in 1810
1205:Preservation Trust of Vermont
1056:Old Colony Historical Society
825:Stonington Historical Society
582:Redwood Library and Athenaeum
423:The Salem Athenæum, 1810–1910
1061:Plymouth Antiquarian Society
1046:Lexington Historical Society
1031:Fitchburg Historical Society
1001:American Antiquarian Society
928:The Trustees of Reservations
923:South End Historical Society
853:Pejepscot Historical Society
830:Watertown Historical Society
602:St. Louis Mercantile Library
1011:Cape Cod Modern House Trust
954:Medieval Academy of America
888:Boston Landmarks Commission
148:Salem Philosophical Library
74:Salem Philosophical Library
72:, founded in 1760, and the
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1236:Libraries in Massachusetts
1215:Vermont Historical Society
1121:Newport Historical Society
1051:Maria Mitchell Association
1041:Ipswich Historical Society
1036:Harvard Historical Society
1006:Beverly Historical Society
552:Lanier Library Association
537:Charleston Library Society
44:McIntire Historic District
1066:Quincy Historical Society
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522:Athenaeum of Philadelphia
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263:"Books | Salem Athenaeum"
1251:History of Massachusetts
1210:Stowe Historical Society
848:Maine Historical Society
567:New York Society Library
143:John Tucker Daland House
745:42.520429°N 70.900502°W
597:St. Johnsbury Athenaeum
547:General Society Library
1256:History of New England
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893:The Bostonian Society
750:42.520429; -70.900502
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1147:Providence Athenaeum
908:Historic New England
791:historical societies
577:Providence Athenaeum
512:in the United States
510:membership libraries
154:Salem Social Library
40:Salem, Massachusetts
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711:Saint Johnsbury, VT
572:Portsmouth Athenæum
131:Nathaniel Hawthorne
121:Frank Weston Benson
115:Notable proprietors
103:Programs and Events
36:The Salem Athenaeum
18:The Salem Athenaeum
557:Center for Fiction
126:Nathaniel Bowditch
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223:. Salem Athenaeum
90:Kirwan Collection
16:(Redirected from
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84:Collections
1230:Categories
1140:Providence
736:70°54′02″W
733:42°31′14″N
658:Boston, MA
399:2023-12-01
374:2023-12-01
350:2023-12-01
308:2023-12-01
288:2023-12-01
268:2023-12-01
248:2023-12-01
227:27 October
180:2023-12-01
161:References
942:Cambridge
716:Salem, MA
447:0022-2259
221:"History"
508:List of
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137:See also
1192:Vermont
1114:Newport
419:. 1842.
389:"About"
53:History
42:in the
1166:Others
994:Others
876:Boston
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840:Maine
451:JSTOR
443:ISSN
229:2021
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
