Table of Contents

Order Nr. 73259 INQUIRE WITHIN: A SOCIAL HISTORY OF THE PROVIDENCE ATHENAEUM SINCE 1753. Jane...

INQUIRE WITHIN: A SOCIAL HISTORY OF THE PROVIDENCE ATHENAEUM SINCE 1753.

Providence: The Providence Athenaeum, 2003. 9 x 10.5 inches. stiff paper wrappers. xxxvi, 219+(1) pages. First edition. An outstanding history of this most important historical and influential library. The Providence Athenaeum, 250 years old in 2003, not only played a significant role in defining the cultural, intellectual, and social life of Rhode Island in its early years, but played a major part in shaping America itself. Having withstood numerous wars, depressions, and high times alike..... READ MORE

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Table of contents

             CONTENTS

             List of Color Illustrations VIII
             List of Appendices IX
             Foreword X
             Author's Acknowledgments XII
             Athenaeum Acknowledgments XIV
             Introduction XVII
             
Part I       A Collection of Usefull and Edifying Books, 1753-1831 1
CHAPTER 1    A Fiery Beginning 3
CHAPTER 2    Back in Business in Troubled Times 19
CHAPTER 3    The Providence Library Company Is Incorporated, 1798 26

Part II      Decline and Rebirth, 1831-1835 35
CHAPTER 4    Libraries in Providence 37

Part III     The Athenaeum in Providence, 1836-1849 45
CHAPTER 5    Organizing the Athenaeum 47
CHAPTER 6    Becoming an American Library 57
CHAPTER 7    Politics and Romance 71

Part IV      Victorian Grandeur, 1850-1895 81
CHAPTER 8    Changes in the Building 83
CHAPTER 9    A Time of Intellectual Ferment 93
CHAPTER 10   A Public or a Private Library? 103

Part V       A Home Library, Larger and Better Arranged, 1895-1970 113
CHAPTER 11   More in Touch with the Times 115
CHAPTER 12   Grace Leonard, an Addition, and a War 129
CHAPTER 13   Depression, War, and Genteel Stagnation 143

Part VI      Freeing the Spirit of the Athenaeum, 1970-2003 155
CHAPTER 14   The Moubayed Years, 1970-1981 157
CHAPTER 15   Into the Twenty-first Century 173
             Appendices 187
             Notes 203
             Select Bibliography 212
             Illustration Credits 213
             Index 214