Forbes Library - Northampton, MA - May 11, 2024

In May, Library Land reader Athena wrote to gently chide us for seeing so few Hampshire County libraries and offering a number of suggestions. A few weeks later, finding myself in Northampton, I visited the Forbes Public Library. It was a real treat. This local history collection, in particular, was very impressive.

But first, some strangeness.

I was there with my wife. As we walked to the front of the library, we noticed a tall statue of Athena just to the left of the door. Was the email from the Goddess? Was Athena (Goddess of Wisdom) using Athena (reader) to lure me to the library? Is there any way to know for certain? I don’t think so. Does it matter? Not in the least! Either way, it was a terrific visit.

The library opened in 1894 and was a gift of Judge Charles Edward Forbes. When Forbes died in 1881, he left the town $220,000 (approximately $6.3M in 2023 dollars) to build and maintain a public library. There was one interesting stipulation: “No minister of religion is to have anything to do with the management of the institution.” Hopefully, he’s OK with Athena standing out in front!

In addition to the funds for the library, he also bequeathed many clocks from his collection, including an unusual and beautiful cabinet clock.

The Forbes Library - and a smaller branch in Florence - currently serves about 25,000 people, not counting the city’s many students. This is a little ironic seeing as the library served as the first library for Smith College many years ago. Speaking of schools and students, although the library isn’t within walking distance of any public schools, there were a number of high schoolers working together during my visit.

As one enters the library, the circulation desk is before you. To the left are stairs to the second floor and down to Children’s (which I did not visit). Further back in the left is a relaxing space with a lovely fireplace and a public puzzle. To the right are the reference and non-fiction sections. I had an opportunity, there, to speak with Lisa Downing, the library director. She filled me in on some of the library’s history, the community it serves, and more.

One of the things she told me about was the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Library and Museum on the second floor. Being generally interested in presidential libraries and history, I raced right up!

I hadn’t realized Coolidge had once been the mayor of Northampton and had died there in 1933. The small museum provides an overview of his life through documents, prints, ephemera, and other items. The most unusual was “Thunderbolt,” the electric exercise horse Coolidge used while in the White House.

From there, I made my way to the library’s local history room, where I met Elise Bernier-Feeley, the local history librarian. What a fun visit! We talked about all sorts of things - Mary Parsons, who was once accused as a witch but who constantly outsmarted the men trying to exert control; the size and scope of the collection, which she attributed to the work of past director Joseph Harrison, who was committed to collecting whatever he could; and the library’s complete run of the Hampshire Gazette (from 1786 to the present!).

When asked for her favorite part of the collection, Elise didn’t hesitate. It was the Judd Manuscript, a 70 volume collection of hand-copied notes from town and city halls, archives, and libraries in Massachusetts and Connecticut. Sylvester Judd traveled around the region collecting, copying, and indexing these materials. Judd was also the editor of the aforementioned Hampshire Gazette.

One thing that sometimes troubles me when looking at local history and archives is how many seem to begin in the colonial period and end in the 19th century. That isn’t the case at the Forbes. Elise told me the library had recently received the business records of the Iron Horse, a local venue that had closed but recently reopened under new management. (Wendy and I had been there the night before to see the Meridian Brothers, but that is an altogether different story!)