Guide to the Providence Athenaeum records, 1831-1836

Providence Athenaeum
251 Benefit Street
Providence, RI, 02903
Tel: 401-421-6970
email: info@provath.org
website: www.provath.org

Published in 2018

Collection Overview

Title:	Providence Athenaeum records
Date range:	1831-1836
Creator:	Providence Athenaeum (1831-1836)
Extent:	93 items
Abstract:	Providence Athenaeum records, dating 1831-1836.
Language of materials:	English
Repository:	Providence Athenaeum
Collection number:	Arch-002

Scope & content

Providence Athenaeum institutional records, dating 1831-1836.

Administrative records (Series 1):

• The Institution records, Feb. 1831-Nov. 1835 (Archives Closet 2, Shelf 1, Item 1), all handwritten entries in a notebook, include: meeting minutes; a "True Copy" of Charter from the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations (June 1831 session); the Act of Incorporation granted to Cyrus Butler, John Mackie, Charles Dyer, and Richard W. Greene, and their association named the "Providence Athenaeum" (2 pages); the Constitution (3 pages); By-Laws (8 pages), and Membership statement (5 pages) that "any individual who shall pay into the treasury a sum not less than one hundred dollars, shall be a Patron, and any individual who shall pay therein twenty-five dollars, shall be a Stockholder, entitled to one share in the joint stock of the Institution". A catalog published 1833 is bound in as well. In the Minutes from the first two meetings held at the Arcade building in Providence (6 pages) it is recorded that at the Feb. 21, 1831 meeting, to plan establishment of an Athenaeum, William T. Grinnell was chosen chairman and Thomas M. Webb secretary; at the July 18, 1831 meeting an election took place ... officers Tristam Burges, President; John Mackie, 1st Vice President; Frederick A. Farley, 2nd Vice President, Thomas H. Webb, Secretary, John R. Bartlett, Treasurer. Additional Minutes record activities of "The Annual Meeting" (Nov. 28, 1831) signed Fred'k A. Farley; 2nd Annual meeting (Nov. 25, 1832) signed Thomas H. Webb; 3rd Annual Report (Nov. 25, 1833) signed J[ohn] Kingsbury, Trustee, and D.C. Cushing, Secretary. The minutes of the 4th (Nov. 24, 1834) and 5th (Nov. 30, 1835) annual meetings are also signed by D.C. Cushing, Secretary.
• Minutes of Trustees (Board of Directors) meetings from July 1831-April 1836 (Archives Closet 2, Box 1, Item 6) include the July 20, 1831 entry recording that 7 committees were formed: For taking lease of rooms at the Arcade, On Printing, For Selecting Books, On the purchase of Books, For procuring Periodicals, For Binding, and For Purchasing Record Books, etc. Other minutes in 1831 are dated Aug. 10, Sept. 5, and Sept. 19. The last three minutes are dated March 5, March 26, and April 2, 1836 with a final entry reading "The regular meeting of the Board was held this evening ... the Treasurer was directed to issue notice to the Treasurer of the Arcade Corporation that the Athenaeum will surrender the occupancy of the room No. 44 Arcade which they now occupy. Adjorned to the call of the Committee appointed to sell the books. [Signed] D.C. Cushing, Secy."

Catalogs (Series 2): There are 3 copies of the 1833 published catalog, each bound in with various other documents. In the Catalogue of the Providence Athenaeum Library dated 1833 (Archives Colset 4, Shelf 1, Item 1) a list of Trustees in included: Lemuel H. Arnold, Thomas Burges, Richard J. Arnold, Thomas C. Hoppin, William T. Grinnell, William Butler, John Taylor, Stephen Tripp, J. Kingsbury, and Zachariah Allen.

Collection records (Series 3): The charging records, dating 1831-1836, were created by the Librarian at the "Delivery Desk" (circulation desk), listing which books were taken out by members. 1831-1836.

Access Points

Subject Names

• Allen, Zachariah, 1795-1882
• Arnold, Lemuel Hastings, 1792-1852
• Arnold, Richard James, 1796-1895
• Bartlett John Russell, 1805-1886
• Burges, Tristam, 1770-1853
• Butler, Cyrus, 1767-1849
• Butler, William
• Cushing, D. C. (Daniel C.)
• Dyer, Charles
• Farley, Frederick A. (Frederick Augustus), 1800-1892
• Greene, Richard W. (Richard Ward), 1792-1875
• Grinnell, William T.
• Hoppin, Thomas Cole, 1785-1850
• Kingsbury, John, 1801-1874
• Mackie, John, 1780-1833
• Taylor, John
• Tripp, Stephen, 1775-1849
• Webb, Thomas H. (Thomas Hopkins), 1801-1866

Subject Organizations

• Providence Athenaeum

Subject Topics

• Library administration--Rhode Island
• Library catalogs--Rhode Island--Providence
• Subscription libraries--Rhode Island--Providence--History

Document Types

• Administrative records
• By-laws (administrative records)
• Catalogs (documents)
• Charters
• Constitutions
• Library catalogs
• Minute books

Subject Topics

• Rhode Island/Local Interest

Arrangement

Arranged in 3 series and chronologically thereunder:

• Series 1. Administrative records
• Series 2. Catalogs
• Series 3. Collection records

Historical Note

The Providence Athenaeum (1831-1836) was established in 1831 in Providence, Rhode Island as a subscription library and reading room. It existed for only six years before both it, and the previously-established Providence Library Company (1753-1836) dissolved their corporations and sold their collections to a third corporation, The Athenaeum, established in 1836 and later renamed the Providence Athenaeum in 1850.

A primary impetus for forming the Providence Athenaeum was the fact that as early as 1825 the Providence Library Company was losing its financial footing. By February 1831, a meeting was held to consider the feasibility of starting a second organization. On June 22, 1831 the Providence Athenaeum was incorporated. On July 18 an organization was effected, with subscribers contributing $100 each (patrons) or $25 (stockholders). Tristam Burges was elected president along with other officers and trustees. A constitution and by-laws were written. The reading room opened in August 1831 at Nos. 42 and 44 in the Arcade building in downtown Providence. On November 28, 1831 the first Annual Meeting was held, and in December the circulating library opened with 1,159 volumes.

“Movement for the union of the libraries: As early as July 1832 … the subject of uniting the libraries began to be discussed, and formal negotiations … continued until a final agreement was reached.” On January 25, 1836 a meeting in Masonic Hall was held and it was declared that “after mature consideration, and ineffectual attempts for a union, have severally resolved to dispose of their libraries and dissolve their corporations ... the books of each were to be purchased by the new institution [i.e. The Athenaeum].”

"From a brief statement concerning the old Athenaeum appearing in the first annual report of the new institution, submitted in February, 1837, the following estimate of its work is taken: 'From [1831-1836] ... notwithstanding many circumstances adverse to its growth, it succeeded in making, if not a large, a very choice collection of books--which ultimately constituted by far the most valuable portion of the Library of the new institution [i.e. The Athenaeum established 1836], at the date of its origin.'"

Source: Seventy-sixth annual report of the Board of Directors of The Providence Athenaeum to the Corporation, submitted September 24, 1911, pages 34-41.

Access & Use

Access to the collection:	Open to public research. Materials are available by prior appointment that requires 24-hour advance notice.
Use of the materials:	It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances. Researchers seeking to publish materials should complete an Application to Publish Library Materials available through written request to info@provath.org
Preferred citation:	Providence Athenaeum records, Arch-002, Providence Athenaeum.
Contact information:	Providence Athenaeum 251 Benefit Street Providence, RI, 02903 Tel: 401-421-6970 email: info@provath.org website: www.provath.org

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION
Accruals:	No further materials are expected for this collection.
ABOUT THE FINDING AID
Author:	Finding aid written by Sarah Shaw, August 2018.
Encoding:	Encoded using Oxygen XML Editor 2018-08-01
Descriptive rules:	Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Additional Information

Related material:

Related collections held by the Rhode Island Historical Society, viewed online September 14, 2018: Zachariah Allen Papers, 1767-1946 (MSS 254, Rhode Island Historical Society) John Russell Bartlett Papers, 1826-1883 (MSS 286, Rhode Island Historical Society) In addition, the RIHS holds papers for Richard J. Arnold (MSS 32), Tristam Burgess (9001-B, Box 17), Cyrus Butler (MSS 325), and Richard Ward Greene (MSS 144). Related images held by Brown University and The Providence Athenaeum, viewed online September 14, 2018: Portrait of Zachariah Allen, in the Portrait Collection of Brown University Office of the Curator Painting of John Russell Bartlett held by The Providence Athenaeum Portrait of John Russell Bartlett, in the Portrait Collection of Brown University Office of the Curator Portrait of Tristam Burgess, in the Portrait Collection of Brown University Office of the Curator

Inventory

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