"Of great importance both to civil & religious welfare" : the Portsmouth Social Library, 1750-1786 / Jim Piecuch.
- Title:
- "Of great importance both to civil & religious welfare" : the Portsmouth Social Library, 1750-1786 / Jim Piecuch.
- Author:
- Piecuch, Jim.
- Call Number:
- 977.8 N5321h
- Physical Description:
- p. [66]-84.
- Source:
- Vol. 57, Nos. 3-4 (Fall-Winter 2002) Historical New Hampshire.
- Description:
- Thirty-four leading men in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, established a social library in 1750, out of their belief in reading as the basis for self-improvement. The library was consciously patterned after similar institutions in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Newport, Rhode Island. Each member contributed money for the purchase of books. Several members, however, devoted as much time, if not more, to projects other than reading, and the library failed to hold their interest. Financial problems and divisions among members caused by the growing rift with Britain in the 1760's led to the collapse of the library. Attempts to revive the library in 1775 and 1785 failed, and it was dissolved in 1786.
- Language:
- English.
- Organizations:
- Portsmouth Social Library (Portsmouth, N.H.)
- Terms of Use:
- New Hampshire Historical Society.
- Electronic Resources:
- Full Text
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