Matador contributing editor Sarah Park has “curated” two
galleries of fascinating libraries around the world. These links will take you
to some interesting buildings dedicated to the written word.
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| Boston Public Library |
I’ve used the Boston Public Library to illustrate this post
because I spent untold hours in this room. Actually, I found my greatest treasure in the
basement of this building. I was researching Tempest at Dawn and discovered
Christopher Collier’s doctoral thesis on Roger Sherman. Collier is the coauthor
of Decision in Philadelphia, among other books. I was able to speak to him on
the phone, and he had no idea that his thesis had been preserved on microfiche or
that it was retained by the Boston Public Library. Since information on Sherman
was relatively rare, it was fortuitous to find this academic profile about the
architect of the Great Compromise at the Constitutional Convention.
Since I’m writing about my time in Massachusetts, there were
two other libraries that had an impact on my writing— the Concord Free Public Library and the
Boston Athenæum. One is public and home to
great literary traditions and the other is one of the oldest private libraries
and cultural institutions in the country. I suggest Sarah Park do a third gallery
of libraries dedicated to unique institutions in the United States.
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| Boston Athenæum |
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| Concord Free Public Library |
