Rumford Branch Library building turns 100

Thursday, October 27, 2005

BY RICHARD C. DUJARDIN
Journal Staff Writer

EAST PROVIDENCE -- For the city's oldest public library, it was the 
kind of celebration that comes only once in a century.

Last night, as another circulation day ended at the Rumford branch, 
readers, friends and staff members gathered over cake, pretzels and ice-cream 
cones transformed into witches' hats to celebrate the building's 100th 
birthday.

Branch librarian Denise Inman said that if you go deep into the 
branch's history, you'd find its roots reach back twice as many years as does 
the building that was being celebrated yesterday.

It was in 1772, according to one newspaper account, that Dr. Joseph 
Bridgham assembled a group of men who were forming a subscription library in 
East Providence.

Although not much is known about the early years, the records indicate 
that by 1811, a women's reading group had started meeting every two weeks, 
with one member reading aloud while others did needlework. A horsehair trunk 
encased in a plexiglass box -- which had been sitting atop a bookshelf 
in the library and was taken down for the festivities -- is one of the 
sole reminders of the group that called itself the Young Ladies Reading and 
Charitable Society.

In the display yesterday, the trunk was filled with 17 very old books, 
carefully : the Holy Bible, works dealing with the lives of George 
Gordon Byron and John Milton, Benjamin Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanac, 
Francis Wayland's The Elements of Moral Science, and an early copy of Richard 
Dana's Two Years Before the Mast.

The name of the group appeared to change every couple of decades or so. 
In 1825, it called itself The Female Benevolent and Library Society; by 
1842 it was The Female Library Society.

By 1859, the collection had grown to the point that its supporters 
decided it was time to move it to a front hall of the Aldrich House at Pleasant 
Street and Newman Avenue. When they again ran out of space, the 
collection moved to the "David Carpenter place," which later became the site of 
The 
Wheeler School's Seekonk farm. There they gave it a new name: The 
Seekonk and East Providence Library Association.

But in 1883, when the association sought support for its activities 
from the State of Rhode Island, it changed its name to the East Providence Free 
Library Association, a move that so upset its Seekonk members that they 
decided to divide the library in two, with librarians Sara Carpenter 
and Christopher Dexter in charge of making sure that each town got exactly 
the same number of books.

Late in the century, the whole East Providence collection was moved 
again, to the site of the original Town Hall on Pawtucket Avenue, not far from 
where the library is today.

Finally, after Samuel W. Bridgham, a New York banker and East 
Providence summer resident, decided to fund a new library in honor of his late 
parents, construction began, leading to opening ceremonies at the present site 
on Oct. 26, 1905.

"It's not often that one gets to celebrate the birthday of a 
100-year-old building, and at the same time celebrate the opening of a new branch," 
said the city's assistant director of library services, Cindy Lunghofer.

She was alluding to the expected opening of the new Riverside branch, 
which may get its occupancy permit from the city's building official as early 
as tomorrow.

Helping to keep guests entertained at last night's celebration was 
musician-puppeteer Rick Goldin, of Lowell, Mass., who with his hand 
puppets Henry the Horse and Quackleberry Duck sang a melody of tunes, including 
"I Can't Imagine a World Without Pizza."

Inman said that in her 14 years as branch librarian, the library has 
been able to grow very little because of its tight quarters, but has carved 
out some room for a small collection of videos and two public-access 
computers.

It has always been, she said, a library with strong neighborhood roots. 
"People bring their children and grandchildren here, and tell us how 
they used to come to the library when they were children. I think people 
like it's homey feel."

State Rep. Elizabeth M. Dennigan, D-East Providence, recalled that 
there was an attempt by city officials 10 years ago to close the library, until a 
grass-roots campaign finally persuaded them to reconsider.

Cindy Thrana, vice president of the Rumford Women's Club, said it was 
appropriate that the club was providing last night's snacks, since 75 
percent of the libraries in this country "were started by women's 
groups."

After its opening in 1905, the library continued to grow with donations 
from local citizens. A big boost came when the Rumford Chemical Works 
donated 3,000 books from its discontinued library, bringing the holdings to 
10,000.  Today the holdings are nearly 35,000 volumes, counting children's 
books. 

Although the building was originally known as the East Providence Free 
Library, it became the Rumford Branch Library in 1969, after a study 
panel recommended that all of the city's independent libraries be merged into 
one system.