Historical Society Libraries in the U.S.

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Historical Society Libraries in the U.S.

• by
• Donna Kafel
• November 29, 2005

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History of Historical Societies

• First one est. in 1791 Massachusetts Historical
  Society need to memorialize the American
  Revolution and the making of the American nation
• Conceived not just as historical society for its
  own locality but as historical society for the
  nation (13 colonies at the time)

Jeremy Belknap
1744 - 1798
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Functions of Historical Society Libraries

• Collector
• Repository
• Preservation
• Publisher
• Access to researchers

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Geographical Distribution

• 99 listed in the 2005 edition of the Directory of
  Special Libraries
• Located in 48 states, greatest concentration is
  in the Northeast
• Rhode Island has 5 (including one in Kingston
  the Pettaquamscutt Historical Society Library)
• Often situated in regions where significant
  historical events occurred or large cities

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Focus of Historical Societies

• Local history
• State history
• National history
• History of area industry
• History of ethnic groups
• Others architecture, preservation of antiques,
  historic buildings

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How are they funded?

• Majority are privately funded through
  memberships, endowments, and grants
• Wisconsin Historical Society- the oldest American
  Historical Society to receive continuous public
  funding
• State archives and National Archives are
  government funded

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Who uses them?

• Historians
• Researchers
• Authors, biographers
• Genealogists
• General public

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Staffing

• Majority of historical society libraries are
  staffed by one librarian
• For the MHS, Directory of Special Libraries
  lists a staff of 12(however close to 50 work
  there on average-projects funded by grants)

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Who has access?

• Many are open to the public by appt., smaller
  libraries are open only a few hours/wk.
• Fees may be charged to non-members
• Staff may provide copies for a fee
• Sometimes fee for research services Security a
  very big concern

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What are in the collections?

• Manuscripts (diaries, letters, speeches,
  documents, logbooks)
• Books
• Newspapers, directories, periodicals
• State Archives census records, legislative
  documents, court records
• Maps, business records
• Photos, microfilm, prints, videos

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Current Issuesin Historical Society Libraries

• Access versus security
• Preservation of documents
• Publishing (editing, annotating)
• Digitization

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Job requirements/useful skills

• Masters of Library and Information Studies
• Often combined with a degree in history
• Knowledge of Archival management
• Background in Information technology is valuable
• Experience in applying for grants and fundraising

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Associations

• SLA (of course!) Division of Museums, Arts
  Humanities, Solo Librarians, Digital Content
• IRLA (Independent Research Libraries Association)
• Society of American Archivists
• Journals American Archivist, Archival Outlook

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Thank You!