Nashua Public Library

The Nashua Public Library (NPL) is the public library of Nashua, New Hampshire.

History of Nashua Public Library

Main

In 1867, the Nashua Public Library was established. It was located on the second floor of the County Records Building.^[1] The Union Athenaeum, a private reading club formed in 1851, and the holdings from the Nashua Manufacturing Company’s library were donated to the new public library.^[2]

In March 1901, approval was given to start work on a new building for the library due to a donation from Mary A. and Mary E. Hunt. It was designed by architect Ralph Adams Cram in the Gothic Revival style. In 1903, two and a half years later, the Hunt Memorial Library was opened. It was named in memory of John M. Hunt.^[3]

Branches

In 1959, the Victorian home of Seth D. Chandler, a Nashua businessman, was left to the city, by his daughter Mabel Chandler, to serve as a branch library to the Nashua Public Library. The house was renovated and dedicated on October 10, 1960, as the Chandler Memorial Library. It served as the library’s Children’s Room and later as its ethnic center until closing its doors for budgetary reasons in July 2006.

Present location

In 1971, the library moved to its present location, a 57,000-square-foot (5,300 m²) building at 2 Court Street. Funding for the library was provided by a generous gift from Eliot A. Carter, a local industrialist. The architect of the building was John Carter. The dedication ceremony took place on September 26, 1971.^[4]

Publications

In 1978, the Nashua Public Library published The Nashua Experience: History in the Making, 1673-1978, A Definitive History of the City. A sequel to this publication, The Nashua Experience: A Three-Decade Upgrade, 1978-2008, written by NPL librarians, was published in 2009.

Library services

Reference

The Reference Department is available by phone, email, instant message, or in person. The library has a variety of databases for cardholders to use for personal and academic research. It also has a microfilm collection of local and national newspapers. The Reference Department maintains numerous historical photos depicting the city of Nashua, as well as its citizens, during different eras, which can be viewed in-house or online. The Reference Department also offers cardholders Interlibrary Loan (ILL) services, borrowing materials from in and out-of-state libraries.

The Reference Department maintains the Hunt Room, Nashua Public Library’s genealogy room. It houses an extensive reference collection of books relating to the history of Nashua, of New Hampshire, of New Hampshire cities and towns, and of New England. Genealogy resources are also available. The Nashua Public Library is also a State Depository Library. Documents published by the State of New Hampshire are maintained by the Reference Department for in-house use.

Library patrons can use the computers in the Reference Department for job searching, resume building, research, and other professional and academic uses. The Reference Department offers a variety of computer classes, allowing customers to learn how to navigate the computer and Web. Some of the classes offered include Computer Basics, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, and Online Job Searching.

Circulation

On the main floor, the Nashua Public Library has an extensive holding of books and other materials, including fiction and nonfiction books, large print books, magazines, and newspapers. The foreign language collection contains books in eight languages, including French, Spanish German, Lithuanian, Russian, Chinese, Portuguese, and Hindi.

Nashua residents, employees, and students can apply for a free library card at the circulation desk. People who own property in Nashua, or who are retired from work in Nashua, can also apply for a free card. Anyone can search for materials in the online catalog. Cardholders can access their accounts online to reserve and renew items. Cardholders can also log in to access the ‘My Discoveries' feature to compile a list of the library materials they may be interested in checking out in the future, read and write reviews, and rate library materials.

Music/Art/Media

The Music, Art, and Media (MAM) Department offers music CDs in a variety of genres, movies in both VHS and DVD format (both fiction and nonfiction), art and music books, and audiobooks in CD and cassette format. Downloadable audiobooks are available for cardholders through the library website. These can be “checked out” and downloaded to a personal computer or MP3 player. Downloadable e-books for nearly any e-book reader can also be checked out from the library website. MAM also offers customers museum passes to several local and Boston-area museums. Throughout the year, a variety of films, concerts, and lectures are offered in the library.

Teens

The NPL offers a Teen Room with computers for recreational and academic use; teen fiction, magazines, graphic novels; and video games. Teen nonfiction can be found in the general nonfiction section of the library. Programs and activities for teens include crafts and an anime club. During the Teen Summer Reading Program, students read to raise money for charity and become eligible to win raffle prizes.

The Nashua Public Library also offers HelpNow!, which provides tutors via the Internet for in English, writing, Spanish, math, science, and social studies. Spanish-speaking tutors are also available.

Children

The NPL Children’s Room offers both fiction and nonfiction books for children from birth to age 11. A small collection of foreign language children’s books is also available. The parenting shelves contain books, magazines, and pamphlets relating to child-rearing. The Children’s Department offers various programs and activities for children including story times and crafts for different age groups.

Books by Mail

People who live in Nashua and have disabilities that prevent them from visiting the library, or who are visually impaired, are eligible for the library's Books by Mail program. These customers can receive books, audiobooks on CD, or magazines. The service is free: customers do not have to pay postage.

Friends of the Nashua Public Library

The Friends of the Nashua Public Library foster public support for and interest in the library. They encourage gifts, endowments, and memorials for public library purposes and foster awareness of and use of the library. They also promote the donation of time and assistance by Nashuans to the library. The Friends seek to provide special programs and services that expand and enrich the library’s regular budget. These “extras” include concerts, readings, speakers, children’s programs, museum passes, materials, and equipment.^[5] For more information about Friends of Libraries, visit FOLUSA.com or Friends of Libraries.

References

1. ^ Nashua New Hampshire, a Pictorial History, p.47-48
2. ^ The Nashua Experience, p.75
3. ^ Nashua New Hampshire, a Pictorial History, p.103
4. ^ The Nashua Experience, p.248
5. ^ "Friends of the Nashua Public Library". Nashua Public Library. http://www.nashualibrary.org/FOL/index.html. Retrieved February 1, 2010. 

External links

• Nashua Public Library

Coordinates: 42°45′47″N 71°27′52″W / 42.76306°N 71.46444°W / 42.76306; -71.46444