<\/p>\n
Among very old institutions in America are public and semi-public libraries. Long before the municipalities took responsibility for such libraries and made them free to all residents, almost every American community of any size had one or more semi-private libraries, operated by organizations whose members, on payment of annual dues, had the privilege of taking books from the library. That was the way a library started in Waterville about 1830, and the Waterville Library Association operated a fairly large, but not free, library, until the gift of the present library building by Andrew Carnegie in 1904 made it necessary to place the library under control of city government and have its borrowing privileges free to all residents of Waterville.<\/p>\n
The Waterville Public Library, Inc. is still a corporate organization which operates the library, but its trustees are appointed by the Mayor with consent of the City Council, and by annual appropriation the city provides about four-fifths of the money needed to run the library each year. Just before the second World War in 1940 the city was providing about $10,000 a year for the library, toward an annual budget of about $12,000. In this year 1979 the library’s total budget exceeds $130,000, of which the city supplies a bit more than $100,000. The library building is the property of the city, not of the library corporation.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately there are not available records of the voluntary organizations that were active in Waterville more than a century ago, but records of such associations in other towns are still extant. One such record that recently came to my attention was that of the Buxton Social Library, started in 1806. Buxton is in York County not far from the New Hampshire border. It was the home of Kate Douglas Wiggin, author of “Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm,” and in an old church in that town is still performed once each year Mrs. Wiggin’s play “The Old Peabody Pew.”<\/p>\n
Some of the rules laid down by the Buxton Social Library were these: “No member shall take more than one book at a time, or retain it more than 60 days, on penalty of paying such fines as the Society shall establish.”<\/p>\n
The library was supported not by fixed annual dues, but by taxes levied by the Society on its members at irregular intervals. To assure collecting such taxes, the Society had this rule: “When any member neglects or refuses to pay the sum taxed to him for more than two months after the annual meeting, he should be refused use of the library until he complies.” To make sure that no member was paid for any library service, they had this rule: “No member of the Society shall be entitled to any pecuniary recompense for any service performed for the Society.”<\/p>\n
A membership in the Society was called a share, exactly as in the early 19th century was membership in an organization owning a toll bridge or a section of a toll highway. Such a share was like a share of stock today, although it did not bring dividends. The membership fee was originally set at one dollar, but by 1830 it had risen to $2.50. In other words, owning it for 25 years, a share in the library increased in value by 150 percent. The irregular taxes that I have mentioned were law. At the annual meeting in 1806, members were assessed 25 cents each. Fines were imposed for non-attendance at annual meeting. The records contain many items like this one in 1812: “Voted to tax Samuel Arnold 78 cents; 53 cents for detention of books and 25 cents for non-attendance at annual meeting.”<\/p>\n
Sometimes membership fees were paid in goods rather than cash. In 1812 it was voted to accept from Eben Ballard and Elijah Hanson a bookcase valued at $5 in payment for their membership fees. The next year saw this vote: “To receive into membership William Rounds on his father’s share and his additional payment of 50 cents.”<\/p>\n
Those association libraries almost never had buildings. The books were kept at first in the librarian’s home, then later in rented quarters in a store or office building. Here is an item in the Buxton records in 1813: “Voted to appoint a committee of three to supervise moving of the books from the home of Thomas Payne to that of the new librarian, Robert Wristern.”<\/p>\n
One way the library got new books and supplies was to sell old ones or old fixtures. In 1814 the Buxton library voted to sell the old bookcase at auction; to be delivered as soon as they could get a new case. The record says: “The old case was struck off to Thomas Bradbury for one dollar.”<\/p>\n
In 1815 they voted to authorize the librarian to have printed a catalog of their books and sell it for ten cents a copy. In 1818 came the first vote to have worn books bound. It seems there was a local binder in Hollis who could do the job. In 1819 a committee had some trouble agreeing on books to be sold, but they finally decided upon a list to be put up at auction at the end of the year 1820. After long discussion, the annual meeting agreed that the minimum price accepted for each book should be not less than 25% of its value fixed by the committee.<\/p>\n
David Hanson was named auctioneer. At the same meeting it was voted that future meetings be opened with prayer if any clergyman happened to be present. The results of the auction were duly recorded. Joshua Lane got a three-volume set of the long novel Carmellia for 20 cents. Jacob Strout paid 32 cents for a work on the Constitution of the U.S. Samuel Edgerly prevailed with two shillings (34 cents) for a book entitled “The Salem Witchcraft.” A book for little folk, called “The Childrens’ Friend” went for 32 cents. The Rev. Lewis Long paid a quarter of a dollar for the Letters of John Adams. Books of sermons were cheaper. Simmon’s Sermons brought 19 cents, and Evan’s Sermons 28 cents. Total receipts of the auction were $4.86.<\/p>\n
As time elapsed, the Society became anxious to retain members. In 1827 they voted “To remit one half of all taxes against Samuel Mason provided he pay his tax for the present year” The next year saw a vote remitting all fines and taxes against Michael Hanson if he would only pay the current years’ tax.<\/p>\n
Sometimes the society did not accept a proffered gift. In 1831 they voted to return “Barclay’s Apology” to the person who presented it, with the thanks of the Society for his good will in making the offer. In 1832 there was discontent with the committee to select books, and it was voted: “The Committee on Books shall put no books into the Library previous to the next annual meeting, when the Committee shall have recommended books ready for the Society to examine, and approve or reject.”<\/p>\n
The question of a paid librarian first arose in 1836, when it was voted: “The librarian is authorized to employ some suitable person to take care of the books in the library, and pay such person one dollar for their work during the ensuing year.” In 1838, the Buxton Social Library voted to dissolve, and the members signed the following “We, the members of the Buxton Social Library, have agreed to sell all the books belonging to said library at the dwelling house of Jeremiah Staples on Friday, March 9, 1838, at one o’clock in the afternoon, and an equal portion of the net proceeds shall be paid to each member.” That document was signed by 19 persons, all of them men.<\/p>\n
When the books were sold, the bid prices ranged from 12 cents to 50 cents, with the commonest price being 37 cents. The sale brought a net return to each member of $5.19. The taxes of 25 cents for annual tax and 25 cents for absence from annual meeting were continued throughout the 33 years of the Buxton Library’s existence, but other taxes were frequently charged. For over-due books there was the fine rule: “Any person who shall retain a book more than 60 days shall pay a fine of one percept of the cost of the book for each day retained. A lost book must be paid for at full cost.”<\/p>\n
Equally complicated was the charge for damaged books. “A book damaged while in possession of the borrower shall be taxed in the following ratio: for each leaf torn out or lost, one-half the cost of the book, for each leaf torn out but not lost, one-quarter the cost, for two leaves, two-thirds of the cost and for more than two leaves, the full cost of the book.”<\/p>\n
Admission to membership was not by simple application. As in the case of a lodge or secret society, a member had to be voted in. That article in the constitution said: “Any person who has made application for membership should be voted upon by ballot in the following manner. Each member shall be furnished a piece of paper and shall place the same in a receptacle held by the president. If the voter approves of the applicant he withdraws the paper; if he disapproves he leaves it in the receptacle. The president shall count the objection votes, and if one-third of total votes cast are against the applicant, he shall be declared not accepted, otherwise he becomes a member of the society upon payment of the membership fee.”<\/p>\n
Here is another regulation: “While a member failing to pay all taxes and fines by time of the annual meeting shall forfeit his share in the library and all its privileges, any member who at the time of meeting shall be absent more than 65 miles from the meeting place, may be discharged of his obligation and retain his membership on payment within two months after his return.”<\/p>\n
One unusual rule was that every book, regardless of how short a time the member had it, had to be returned before or at the annual meeting. That was to assure that, when a new year started, all the books should be in the library, and a new start be made from base zero. That, in substance, is the story of how one Maine community operated a library 150 years ago.<\/p>\n
We have now just time to close this program with some more references to the origin of words. A number of very common words owe their origin to religion. The first bead was a prayer bead, the word derives from the Greek word for prayer. Bonfire had its origin in the church. It was a fire of bones. A number of common words have the same root as cathedral. Among them are chair, throne, and chaise. The word chapel comes from capella, a cloak. When fourth century St. Martin died, his cloak was kept as a relic, and his shrine took the name of his cloak.<\/p>\n
The word mass is from the Latin word meaning dismissal, taken from “Go, you are dismissed.” The old English poem quotes a peasant as saying if he got to mass in time for the last words, he considered himself present. The word scruple at first referred to a pebble in the shoe. Tribulation is in origin related to food. It is from grinding corn into meal.<\/p>\n
Now for some words having to do with the female sex. Alimony is allied to aliment (food). Alimony is “eating money.” The boudoir is the or sulking room. Chaperone originated in the cope, a part of the costume of Knights of the Garter when in full dress. Since those knights were court attendants, an escort can be called a chaperone. The word suitor somewhat appropriately means chaser. The original meaning of the verb “to wed” was to place a wager, to bet on. I don’t dare say that, too, is appropriate. Some Latin roots give us multiple English words.<\/p>\n
But that is enough for today. We must now say goodbye until next week.<\/p>\n
Year: 1979<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Read the script for “Little Talks” program #1219, Broadcast on December 2, 1979<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":405,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[803,35296],"tags":[],"builder_content":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9927"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/405"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9927"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9927\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9927"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9927"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9927"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}