New Acquisition in Special Collections

We are thrilled to highlight our most recent acquisition: The Repertory newspaper. Originally published in 1803 in Newburyport, Massachusetts, as the New England Repertory, the paper moved to Boston in 1804 and changed its name to The Repertory and later to The Repertory and General Advertiser. It was published until 1820 and was an early National Era newspaper published in broadsheet format. Despite its name, this paper does not address the theater. Rather, this is a news-of-the-day publication filled with interesting reports on the news and issues of Boston and the rest of the nation.

Ken Herrara, Director of News and Information at WISN-AM radio in Milwaukee, was generous enough to donate a bound volume of the Repertory from 1809 and 1810. We are grateful to Mr. Herrara, a collector of historic newspapers, who is eager to ensure that these primary sources are in "a public place where they are accessible to all."

Page One (below the fold) of the March 14, 1809 edition of The Repertory includes a full transcription of President James Madison’s inaugural address (pictured). Paying homage to his predecessor and fellow Virginian, Thomas Jefferson, Madison also gave a nod to such enduring values in presidential speeches as peace and liberty.

These issues of The Repertory from 1809 and 1810 help fill out our holdings. The State Library of Massachusetts already owns issues of this paper from 1806, 1808, and 1817. In addition, this gift is a valuable addition to our collection of newspapers published in Boston and towns across Massachusetts that date from the 18th and 19th centuries.

-Paige Roberts, Head of Special Collections

Paul Demakis Collection open to researchers

The Paul Demakis collection, which documents Mr. Demakis' years as a State Representative, is now open for research. Some of the major topics covered are abortion rights (particularly buffer zones around abortion clinics), Mass Turnpike air rights, and domestic partnership. The case files and neighborhood files (especially Back Bay) often concern issues relating to neighborhood life: parking, traffic, trash cleanup, relations between residents and businesses, and conflicts between residents.

The featured image is of a MASS PIRG newsletter annotated with a "love letter" to Mr. Demakis, who strongly supported MASS PIRG's intiatives.

-Katie Chase, Special Collections Librarian

From the Preservation Lab

December was a busy month in the Preservation Lab, though the near radio-silence from me on the blog would indicate otherwise. In November I began gathering information and structuring my plan for conducting a preservation survey of the State Library's storage spaces and collections. As I've mentioned previously, this project is conducted in conjunction with the Preservation Management Institute at Rutgers University.

Once I had my plan of action, December was spent in the stacks: measuring temperature, relative humidity and light levels; assessing air flow, fire suppression systems and potential water threats; counting microfilm reels, video tapes and audio tapes; and surveying the condition of glass plate negatives, oversize framed objects, rare materials and miscellaneous objects in our vault (commemorative plates, doorknobs, building keys, medals, etc.). It was a great opportunity to look at our collections on the item-level, as well as at the collection level. And honestly, some of the things we have are just plain cool - such as two phonodiscs (33 1/3 rpm) titled "John F. Kennedy : a self-portrait ; the gallant warrior of the thousand days" - so it was fun for me to have a chance to spend a few minutes examining them.

Now that I have surveyed the storage spaces and collections I am left with a stack of notes about two inches thick. January will be spent synthesizing these notes into a document that describes preservation at the library in great detail and provides recommendations for areas of growth in regards to preservation. I am eager to complete this document as it will provide a sound basis upon which the preservation program at the library can move forward and perhaps even highlight some potential grant writing opportunities.

- Lacy Crews, Preservation Librarian

Massachusetts Legislators Information

The Massachusetts General Court (State Legislature) begins its next biennial session next week. State senators and representatives will be sworn in on Wednesday, January 7^th

The General Court's website should have a directory of the new legislators by next week. In the meantime, the library has paper copies listing the members of the legislature who recently were elected.

Election results are available on the Secretary of State’s webpage for the 2008 Return of Votes for the Massachusetts State Election. Organized by district, this details the candidates and vote totals for state and federal races and for statewide ballot questions.

Massachusetts Electors meet in House Chamber

Members of the 2008 electoral college met all around the country on December 15th as required by statute:
http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/provisions.html#6


Massachusetts electors met in the House chamber with many in attendance to view this historic event. President-elect Barack Obama and Vice-President- elect Joseph Biden received the support of all twelve electors. This number is determined by the number of members of Congress in each state.


Included in State Library's Massachusetts state documents collection are the proceedings of previous Electoral Colleges.



More information on this important component to our government can be found at:
http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/about.html

Pamela W. Schofield
Reference Department

Murray Explores State Library Special Exhibit of the History of Plymouth

A press release from the office of Senate President Therese Murray:

For Immediate Release

Contact: Samantha Dallaire

December 10, 2008

617-722-1500

Murray Explores State Library Special Exhibit of the History of Plymouth

(BOSTON, MA) – Senate President Therese Murray (D-Plymouth) met with State Librarian Elvernoy Johnson to explore a special exhibit currently featured in the library that examines the history of America's Hometown. The exhibit, Plymouth: People, Politics and Primary Sources is a collection of the library’s documents that trace the history and highlight the Wampanoag, the Pilgrims, and the growth of the town.

"Our town is where the Commonwealth’s story begins," said Senate President Therese Murray. "The State Library of Massachusetts has done a wonderful job giving the public a snapshot of the history of Plymouth."

In addition to early documents such as a facsimile of William Bradford's Of Plimoth Plantation and records of the colony of New Plymouth, the exhibit includes town reports, tax valuations, newspapers, maps and legislative documents relating to Plymouth from the 18th through the 20th centuries. The library also explores contemporary politics, tourism and celebrations as well as the Wampanoag experience.

The exhibit, which runs through January 23, 2009, is located at the State Library of Massachusetts in the State House and is open to the public weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Murray was elected in March 2007 as the first female President of the Senate in Massachusetts history. From January 2003 through March 2007, she chaired the Senate Committee on Ways and Means. She is currently serving her 8th term in the Massachusetts Senate, representing the people of Bourne, Falmouth, Kingston, Pembroke, Plymouth, Plympton, Sandwich and precincts 10, 11, and 12 in the Town of Barnstable. For more information, visit ThereseMurray.com.

Massachusetts--What's in a Name?

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has had many names. It started out as the Massachusetts Bay Colony because of the Massachusetts Bay Charter. At some point it is referred to as a Province. If you look at the top of the page in the Acts and Resolves of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, it changes from a colony to a state on August 28, 1776. Later it became a commonwealth as it is called in the Constitution. The word commonwealth was used previously as evidenced by the use of this term in “The Capitall Lawes of New England” in 1642. (Harts, Commonwealth History…) All commonwealths are states. Kentucky Pennsylvania and Virginia are also Commonwealths.

Sources include:

• Hart, Albert Bushnell. Commonwealth History of Massachusetts


• Secretary of State’s Massachusetts Facts: a review of the government, and symbols of the Commonwealth


• Acts and Resolves of the Province of Massachusetts Bay


• Massachusetts Constitution