NAHANT — Director of the Public Library Nori Morganstein announced that on May 3, the library will officially turn 130 years old.
First founded in 1819, the Nahant Public Library will be remembered as one of the oldest municipally-owned library collections in Massachusetts, according to the library’s website. Since then, the library has gone on to become a staple of the town’s character and a lasting relic of Nahant’s history, but the library itself has humble beginnings.
It all started when William Wood, a Boston merchant who would spend 19th-century summers in Nahant, donated the very first collection of books to the town, with the goal of forming Nahant’s own library. In a letter by Wood that was dated April 8, 1819, he stated he “Had collected from various quarters about ten hundred volumes of books, for the purpose of forming a Library at Nahant…”
According to the Nahant Historical Society’s webpage, it was stated that subscriptions, or borrowing fees, would be used to purchase trees, because as Wood put it, “In order that your pleasant abode may be rendered delightful by shade.”
Wood requested help from friends and family to contribute various books to his mission to supply the town with a library, with a total of 1,075 volumes — and some even survive to this day, having been carefully handled and archived to preserve the library’s history.
The collection was housed in the former stone schoolhouse, where the library playground now sits. Per the library’s website, it still owns about 300 of those original volumes today. U.S. Sen. Henry Cabot Lodge, chair of the Library Board of trustees at the time, decided with Nahant residents that the still-growing collection needed its own building, and in 1895, the library opened its doors in the building it’s housed in today.
“I think it’s very exciting. I was here in 2019 when we celebrated the 200th anniversary of the original collection of the library, so it’s exciting to be able to celebrate the building now, too,” Reference and Adult Services Librarian Carolyn Ziering said.
Morgainstein said she’s very excited to celebrate the milestone anniversary for the library.
“And on Saturday, we’ll celebrate the 130th anniversary, with people giving historic tours of the building, two people talking about the history, and I’m going to have a slideshow that talks about all the library offers, and also what the library needs to keep running for another 130 years,” Morganstein said.
The historic milestone rides on the coattails of a broader issue that’s facing libraries across the country. After an executive order on March 14 eliminated the Institute of Library and Museum Services (ILMS), it put countless libraries at risk of losing access to resources for patrons. The hope of Morganstein’s presentation at the celebration is to increase awareness about the dangers libraries throughout the U.S. currently face.
The event on May 3 will run at the library, located on 15 Pleasant Street, from 1-3 p.m. Free refreshments will also be provided by the Friends of the Nahant Public Library.
