Page 1 - Books & People, Spring 2015
P. 1

Volume 22, Number 1, Spring 2015



                                 Books&People



       in this issue             A Share of History:



         E-Books Are Coming      Piecing Together the

                         PAGE 2  Story of Share #2458



Meet the Special Collections     by Morgan Aronson and Kathleen Fox

                         PAGE 5

                                 Piecing together the Library’s extensive shareholder history is an exciting, if frustrating,

                                 endeavor. It begins with the New York Society Library’s Articles of Subscription, the

                                 precursor to our Royal Charter, which outlines the objectives of the Library, the duties

                                 of its trustees, the terms of subscription, and the rights and privileges of its members as

                                 shareholders. To become a member of the Library in 1754, one had to purchase a share,

                                 a certificate of ownership, at a cost of 5 pounds and then pay dues to maintain one’s

                                 borrowing privileges at a cost of 10 shillings annually. The profits from such payments

                                 were used to hire a librarian, purchase books, and secure the Library’s first home at

                                 Federal Hall. Shareholders since have reserved the right to “bequeath, inherit, or

                                 alienate” their share as well as vote in the annual election of trustees.



Receptions

                   PAGE 8



                                 A share certificate once thought to be lost
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