|
History Room Highlight: September
September is here and on top of officially being back-to-school season it's National Library Card Sign-Up month! Many of you know that your PFL library card gets you access to all kinds of cool things--including remote access to NewspaperArchive, a digitized database of newspapers from across Maine as far back as the 1810s--but do you know how those cards came to be?
In the early 19th century, most libraries operated as something called "subscription libraries." Subscription libraries were sort of like private clubs and one could pay an annual fee--their subscription--and have access to a collection of books they were able to borrow from. They worked a bit like a hybrid between Netflix and Blockbuster. The Patten Library Association was first founded on 9th October, 1847 as a subscription library. It was named for the two brothers, George and John Patten, who headed the group with George serving as the first president of the association.
The Patten Library Association was a great success and outgrew a number of locations around town over the next 40 years. Eventually it reached a size where it was decided that a purpose-built library building should be constructed. The only question was how to raise enough money for the proposal. This is when local philanthropist Galen Moses stepped in. He offered the Patten Library Association $10,000 towards the construction of the building on the condition that they do away with the subscription model and become a public library, open to all citizens. The Patten Library Association accepted Moses' gift and his condition, changing their name to the Patten Free Library to make clear that all could now access their collections, free of charge.
So when you pull out your Patten library card to check out the latest bestseller, borrow something unusual from our Library of Things, or sign up for passes to a local park or museum, think fondly of good ol' Galen Moses! Don't have a library card? September is National Library Card Signup Month, and the perfect time to get one!
| 
