Medfield Social Library Explained
| Medfield Social Library |
| Location: | Medfield, Massachusetts, United States |
| Established: | 1786 |
| Collection Size: | Approximately 700 volumes (as of 1816) |
| Dissolved: | A remnant reportedly stored at the town farm (1880s) |
The Medfield Social Library (est.1786) was a proprietary library in Medfield, Massachusetts.[1] It incorporated in 1809. By 1816 it consisted of some 700 volumes,[2] among them The Panoplist, Mary Pilkington's Mirror for Females,[3] Susanna Rowson's Invisible Rambler, Claude-Étienne Savary's Letters on Egypt, Scott's Lessons in Reading,[4] and George Staunton's Embassy to China.[5] [6] Librarians included "Dr. Prentiss." As of the 1880s "a remnant" of the library was reportedly "stored at the town farm."
Further reading
- A catalogue of books in the circulating library in Medfield, with the names of the proprietors of said library. Medfield, Mass.: 1791.
- A catalogue of books, together with the Constitution of the incorporated Library Society in Medfield, and the names of the proprietors by Library Society in Medfield. Dedham, Mass.: Printed by Herman Mann, 1810.
- Medfield Library [catalog]. Dedham, Mass.: Printed at the Dedham Gazette office, 1816.
Notes and References
- For context, see: List of libraries in 18th century Massachusetts
- Medfield Library [catalog]. 1816
- An example of Pilkington's Mirror (but not necessarily the version in the Medfield Social Library):
- WorldCat. William Scott 1750-1804
- Medfield Library. Catalogue of books. 1810
- Report of the Free Public Library Commission of Massachusetts v.9 (1899)
