The Library as Museum

A story in the New York Times caught my eye because it was about a library--specifically, the Little Falls Library in upstate New York.  Although like many older communities in the Northeast, the City of Little Falls has an active historical society, over the years items of historic or artistic interest have been donated to the library, where they mostly have gathered dust during the hundred years of the library's existence. The Library Director, Marietta Phillips, discovered some of these materials in a collection upstairs in the old mansion that is the library building. It appears that she told the Trustees that she had discovered some items of interest, for soon two of the items were being put up for auction to raise money for the library.  Ms. Phillips did not have that in mind and, commenting of one of the Trustees, "She thinks she's the queen of the world and doesn't have to abide by anybody's rules." (Pleasant Valley Free Library has on occasion had a Trustee with a similar attitude, but happily that is not tolerated for long.)  The president of the Board, however, said, "We're not a museum, we're a library" and went along with the sale. The Board intended, he said, to use the money to preserve other artifacts the library owns better.

One item did get auctioned off--a thirteen-star flag believed to have flown over Washington's headquarters in Newburgh during the American Revolution.  The Times does not report who bought it or how much money it made for the library.  But there was a lot of protest from the Historical Society and local newspapers when the sale was revealed to the public.  Ms. Phillips resigned on principal.  Another item already up for auction, an invitation to Abraham Lincoln's inaugural ball, was withdrawn after the controversy.

The Pleasant Valley Free Library is not a museum, either, but once in a while someone donates a painting, a statue, or other art or historical object.  Since we are not a museum, we don't really have a good way to display these objects.  A few years ago we discovered that one of the donated art objects has a substantial value--not millions, but thousands of dollars according to an independent appraisal.  Our Board has valued keeping this in the library in the past.  It is not totally clear that this is the right decision--if sold, the money could be added to capital, which could use an infusion (our regular income is essentially restricted to operating costs).  If donated to the Pleasant Valley Historical Society, more people might get a chance to see it.  Although this object is on display in the Library building, most patrons just look at the books and DVDs.

At least we are not experiencing conflict between the Director and the Board on this issue.  My take is that no one thinks it is necessary to do anything for the present situation.  Perhaps if we someday get a new or expanded building, we will need to consider whether we want to have a more prominent display area or whether we should deaccess (as the museum people say) our items that cannot be lent to patrons.