Education expanded beyond
the walls of the Academy into
the community when, in
1842, the Trustees established the "Lower Merion Literary Company" which
resided in the third floor Committee or Library Room.
This Township-wide library was established by individuals who donated their
own books. To supplement this small collection, funds were raised by
selling stock shares. The proceeds were used to purchase the entire
"Harpers' Family Library" and the "Harpers' Classical Library" of
434 volumes at a cost of 50 cents per volume. Other series-type collections
were added, for example, the "Library of Useful Knowledge."
To this core Quaker collection, other book titles were selected to give the
library an uncensored window on the world. Such thought-provoking authors
as de Tocqueville, Dickens, Darwin and Harriet Beecher Stowe were liberal
additions to the library holdings. To better reflect this broader coverage
of topics, there was a change in name to the "Lower
Merion Library Company" by 1849.
Each book was carefully protected by a hand-stitched, brown bookbinder's
cloth cover with a distinctive book plate on the inside.
The books were shelved by Accession Number and a Library Holdings Book was
on display for the public to use.
This book was an alphabetical list of
the book titles with reference to the
Accession Number. A Docket Book
was also maintained by what book
was borrowed and by what patron.
This Docket Book is a Who's
Who of Lower Merion, with such
family names as Bowman, Evans,
Jones, Levering, Lodge, Price, Ott,
Roberts and Scheets, to name a few.
Upon review of the library
holdings, there is a traditional coverage of the Classics, Biographies,
Comparative Religion, Science, Fiction,
Travel and Self-Improvement. Lower
Merion was primarily a farming and
mill community at this time, so we
see "How To" titles on: diseases of
the horse, a recipe book for manure,
the art of farrning, an introduction to
geology, designs for cottages and farm
houses, and a mill-wright's guide.
By 1874, the collection had
grown to over 1,400 volumes and
the Academy was becoming overcrowded. In 1876, after the Union
Sunday School had its own building
to serve the community, the entire
library collection was relocated to this
new facility. Having larger quarters in
the community center allowed the
collection to grow and to remain an
educational resource.
With the construction of the
Cynwyd Elementary School in 1914,
students were transferred from the
Academy into their new building. The
Union Sunday School was removed,
which left the library without a home.
The "Academy Library Association of Lower Merion" was then formed with the
intent to return the library to the Academy. But because of a new lease
agreement between the Lower Merion School District and the Trustees, this
was not possible.
To the rescue came the Bala-Cynwyd Women's Club who took on the project of
preserving the library for our community. In July 1915, the
Bala-Cynwyd Library Association was founded. The older books in the
collection were put in boxes and stored in the Academy where they are
today.
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Front page of the catalogue book of the Lower Merion Library, started in 1842. The initial collection boasted over 400 books, most purchased for 50 cents each.
The library's collection had books on controversial topics: Bookplate for the first edition of Charles Darwin's "Journal" (1846).