Williamsburg Library Association and Meekins Library Accession Record Books

The Williamsburg Library Association and Meekins Library Accession Record books contain a sequential list of the public library's earliest acquisitions. The listing includes the accession number, author, title, place and publisher, year of publication, pages, size, description of the binding, source of book, cost, classification, and notes.
A group of residents in Williamsburg, Massachusetts, established the Williamsburg Library Association in December 1876 to meet their "desire for books." This was a subscription library. In 1888, a corporation was established. Books were housed in the librarian's home on North Main Street or in rooms around town.
The free Meekins Library was founded with the 1894 bequest from local farmer Stephen Meekins and the new Meekins librarian began to purchase books in 1895. The original library was built in 1896, dedicated on February 1, 1897, and named for the benefactor. In the early years, the Meekins Library purchased books separately from the Williamsburg Library Association.
Eventually, the Williamsburg Library Association and the Meekins Library merged.
These volumes show the growth of the collection from 1876 through 1935.

Please credit the Meekins Library, Williamsburg, Mass., as the original source of the item for all use.

Williamsburg Library Association, Accession Records (Volume 1876 Dec. - 1912 Aug.)
Williamsburg Library Association, Accession Records (Volume 1912 Nov. - 1921 Mar.)
Meekins Library Accession Records (Volume 1895 May - 1897 Dec.)
Meekins Library Accession Records (Volume 1898 Jan. - 1935 Aug.)
Page from the Meekins Library Accession Volume 1895-1897 in Digital Commonwealth

Definition of an Accession Record: "A list of the bibliographic items added to a library collection in the order of their addition. Normally such a list includes the accession number, brief bibliographic identification, source, and price paid for each item." (Online Dictionary for Library and Information Science by Joan M. Reitz)

We welcome any additional information or questions you might have about an item in our collection. Please contact us.

You can reach the Meekins archivist and librarians with questions about Meekins collections at: meekins@cwmars.org or 413-268-7472.