Lighthouse library
The libraries were housed in small, wooden bookcases with doors that opened outward. A catalog and circulation log were attached to the inside of the doors. Inside the bookcases were three shelves: two main shelves for books and bound periodicals, and a thin shelf about 1.5 inches tall, intended for two volumes of religious material, laid flat.[1] The libraries were stocked with a selection of novels, nonfiction works, religious works, and magazines.[2] Some libraries were stocked with children's books for keepers that requested them.[3]
The program was inaugurated in 1876 by Arnold Burges Johnson, a scientist and Chief Clerk at the United States Lighthouse Board.[4]
By 1885 there were about 380 lighthouse libraries in circulation.[1]
References
- ^ a b c Johnson, Arnold B (Jan 29, 1885). "Lighthouse Libraries". Christian Union. 31 (5): 9.
- ^ a b Holland, F. Ross (1972). America's lighthouses: their illustrated history since 1716. Brattleboro, Vt: S. Greene Press. p. 50. ISBN 978-0-8289-0148-2.
- ^ a b Weiss, George (1926). The lighthouse service: its history, activities, and organization. Baltimore, Maryland: The Johns Hopkins Press. p. 80.
- ^ a b The National Cyclopædia of American Biography. Vol. 16. New York: James T. White & Company. 1937. pp. 180–1.
- ^ Avery, Myrtilla (1901). "Summary of New York and other traveling library systems". Traveling Libraries. Home Education Department. Bulletin 40. Albany: University of the State of New York. p. 115.
- ^ Yarborough, Margaretta J. (1992). "Library Service to the Strands: North Carolina's Lighthouse Libraries". North Carolina Libraries. 50 (1): 27–30. doi:10.3776/ncl.v50i1.2511. ISSN 0029-2540.
- ^ Johnson, Arnold Burges (1889). The modern light-house service. Washington: Government Printing Office. p. 104.