Taking care of the Blackstone Library is no easy feat! The building takes a lot of work to maintain, and we’d be lost without the hard work of our dedicated custodians throughout the years. Today’s 125^th anniversary fact is about one of our earliest library custodians. Fred Minott Augur was the library custodian from 1905-1927 and we’re lucky enough to have a formal portrait of him in the library archives. His work was just as essential then as it is today–a newspaper article from 1916 makes sure to note that while he and his wife would be taking a vacation, his son Minott Augur “will have charge of his father’s work at the library.”

This week’s 125^th Anniversary Fact is about an artifact found during one of our previous renovations. This cup was uncovered behind the rotunda along with a page from an 1895 newspaper. Originally used as a drinking cup, it was coated with zinc and finally used as a container for mixing paint. We wonder if that break in the lip just visible on the right was what demoted it from drinking cup to paint mixer!  It has been carefully restored by Nancy and Bill Hendricks who have identified the design as one available between 1890 – 1900. You can visit it, and many other interesting Blackstone artifacts, in the display case on the top floor outside the computer lab!

While we know it’s been a while since we’ve been able to host lectures, concerts, and other events in person, we’re sure you all remember one of our favorite library spaces–the auditorium! Here you can see the view from the auditorium stage just before the library was opened to the public. Today’s 125^th Anniversary fact concerns the chairs you can see in the picture. We were sure that seating was all long gone, but back in 2019 William and Cynthia Kobak very kindly donated an original pair back to us. We always love it when pieces of Blackstone history find their way back home!

The Blackstone Library has always cultivated a spirit of creativity and innovation in its staff. This dates all the way back to the earliest days of the library, as evidenced by this week’s 125^th Anniversary Fact. In our archives we have a document labeled Classification of the Blackstone Library. Why is this a big deal? Because it doesn’t match any known library classification system out there! It has elements of the Dewey Decimal System, the Library of Congress classification system (the gold standard for college and university libraries), and is reminiscent of some classification systems used in the UK. The Dewey Decimal system may be synonymous with the library these days, but that wasn’t always the case. It appears some of our early librarians felt his methods could be improved upon! We’re not sure if this system was ever put into place here at the Blackstone–the margin notes indicate that this was work in progress–but it’s an excellent reminder that the library is a living thing. We’re always adapting to best fit the needs of our community, and what works today may not work tomorrow–whether it’s a program, service, or classification system!

The Reading Room is one of the most popular destinations at the Blackstone, but it didn’t always look the way it does now. This photograph of the Reading Room was taken after construction of the library was finished, but before it was officially opened to the public. Most of this furniture is sadly long gone, but you may be able to spot a piece or two that is still in use today!

Today’s 125^th Anniversary Fact is almost 125 years in the making and comes from our financial archives. While investigating last week’s fact about our fancy flooring, we came across this receipt from the book supplier Baker and Taylor dated 1898. What’s so interesting about that? Well we still get most of our books from them today! Here at the Blackstone Library, we’re certainly consistent. We order the books online these days rather than by correspondence, but maybe we should ask for a long-time customer discount?

For today’s 125^th Anniversary Fact we’re exploring a library detail that’s right under your nose…and your toes! It’s probably been a while since you’ve seen it in person, but our rotunda is home to 12,500 square feet of hand laid mosaic tile flooring imported from Paris. Each tile is only about the size of a nickel which makes the variety of designs featured even more impressive! Whoever laid the tile was truly a master craftsman, and we’re currently trying to learn more about the origins of the materials used and who exactly may have done the work. Stay tuned–we hope to have an update for you some day soon!

https://www.blackstonelibrary.org/jbml125/For this week’s 125^th Anniversary fact we’re taking you back to the groovy days of the 1970s and one of our earliest renovation projects. It’s hard to imagine now, but there was a time when the Blackstone Library did not have a dedicated space for children. Recognizing the needs of the community, The Branford Woman’s Club teamed up with the library and began raising money in the early 1970s to change all that. They played an integral role in making the project happen, and Blackstone opened the brand-new Children’s Department in February of 1974!

Today we’re sharing another library artifact that makes us thankful for computers! In our Blackstone Library archives we have a collection of original Accession Records dating from the earliest days of the Blackstone to approximately the 1940s. What exactly is an Accession Record? They’re massive hand-written ledgers of every book purchased for the library collection and include information on purchase dates, prices paid, publication information, and even when the book was eventually removed from the collection–known as Condemning according to the stamp that was used at the time. These ledger books were specially designed by Melville Dewey (of Dewey Decimal fame) and include a handy list of standardized abbreviations to help save time and space. These books are a real gem of library history, but we think we’ll stick with our computerized catalog!