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Byberry Library Company Records

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Held at: Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College [Contact Us]500 College Avenue, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania 19081

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.

Overview and metadata sections

Byberry Library was established on December 29, 1794, and incorporated in 1799. It opened with 63 volumes in the house of a member. In 1798, the library was moved to the Byberry Friends School House. When the School House was rebuilt in 1823, the books were temporarily removed, but replaced in the school the following year. Although the stockholders were not exclusively Friends, the Library was generally under Quaker management.

According to a pamphlet prepared for the 150th anniversary of Byberry Meeting House, the Library was still in operation in 1958.

This collection contains the records of the Byberry Library Company, 1794-1930. It includes the minutes of the director's meetings; constitution and by-laws, financial and property records, and miscellaneous papers.

The collection is organized into 5 series. The series are:

  1. Minutes of the Committee of Directors
  2. Constitution, By-Laws, Catalogues
  3. Circulation Records
  4. Financial Records
  5. Property Records

For current information on the location of materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.

Deposited by Byberry Monthly Meeting

Removed from Byberry Monthly Meeting Records in 1991, catalogued separately and stored in Record Group 4.

Publisher
Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College
Finding Aid Author
FHL staff
Finding Aid Date
2000
Sponsor
Encoding made possible by a grant by the Gladys Kriebel Delmas Foundation to the Philadelphia Consortium of Special Collections Libraries
Access Restrictions

The collection is open for research.

Use Restrictions

Some of the items in this collection may be protected by copyright. The user is solely responsible for making a final determination of copyright status. If copyright protection applies, permission must be obtained from the copyright holder or their heirs/assigns to reuse, publish, or reproduce relevant items beyond the bounds of Fair Use or other exemptions to the law. See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/.

Collection Inventory

Minutes, 1795-1830.
Box 1
Minutes, 1795-1802, 1802-15, 1815-23.
Box 1
Scope and Contents

Rough, bound together in one book

Minutes, 1830-1865.
Box 1
Minutes, 1865-1877.
Box 1
Minutes, 1877-1888.
Box 1
Scope and Contents

Includes Minutes of the Annual Elections, 1871-1887

Constitution, By-Laws, and Catalogue, 1794.
Box 1
Scope and Contents

Includes Constitution, By-Laws, and signatories but no catalogue: also includes Minutes of the Annual Elections, 1799-1870

Constitution, 1799.
Box OE
Scope and Contents

Ms. of constitution and incorporation; no catalogue listing or membership

Constitution, 1800.
Box 1
Scope and Contents

Includes added ms. entries, 1806-15 and list of members, 1815

Constitution, 1840.
Box 1
Constitution (2), 1870.
Box 1
Numerical catalogue of Books, n.d.
Box 1
Record of Damages, 1798-1804.
Box 1
Catalogue of books, 1922.
Box 1
Scope and Contents

On inside cover: Mary Magruder/1922.

Charge-out book, 1795-1799.
Box 1
Scope and Contents

Indexed

Charge-out book, 1851-1876.
Box 2
Scope and Contents

Indexed

Treasurer's Accounts, 1794-1838.
Box 2
Treasurer's Accounts, 1838-1875.
Box 2
Scope and Contents

Includes printed list of members and catalogue, 1849

Treasurer's Book, 1875-1916.
Box 2
Scope and Contents

Includes receipts which were inserted into the book

Bill, Receipts, and a Financial Resolution, 1903-1930.
Box 2
Scope and Contents

Includes some receipts which may pertain to Byberry PM

Property records, 1899-1905.
Box 2

Print, Suggest