The Phillips Library of the Peabody Essex Museum

Peabody Essex Museum

The Peabody Essex Museum , originally the Peabody Museum of Salem and the Essex Institute, in Salem, Massachusetts is the oldest continuously operating museum in the United States, and holds one of the major collections of Asian art in the US; its total holdings include about 1.3 million pieces, as...

 in Salem, Massachusetts

Salem, Massachusetts

Salem is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,407 at the 2000 census. It and Lawrence are the county seats of Essex County...

, "is made up of the collections of the former Peabody Museum of Salem

Peabody Museum of Salem

The Peabody Museum of Salem in Salem, Massachusetts, originated in the mid-19th century as the Peabody Academy of Science. In 1992 the museum merged with the Essex Institute to form the Peabody Essex Museum.-Further reading:...

 and Essex Institute

Essex Institute

The Essex Institute in Salem, Massachusetts, was "a literary, historical and scientific society." It maintained a museum, library, historic houses; arranged educational programs; and issued numerous scholarly publications...

, which merged in 1992. ... Both had libraries named for members of the Phillips family." "The Phillips Library is located in Plummer Hall ... on Essex Street" The building underwent restoration in 1998. "The library, with its gold-leaf pillars, and busts of Nathaniel Bowditch

Nathaniel Bowditch

Nathaniel Bowditch was an early American mathematician remembered for his work on ocean navigation. He is often credited as the founder of modern maritime navigation; his book The New American Practical Navigator, first published in 1802, is still carried on board every commissioned U.S...

 and George Peabody

George Peabody

George Peabody was an American-British entrepreneur and philanthropist who founded the Peabody Trust in Britain and the Peabody Institute in Baltimore, and was responsible for many other charitable initiatives.-Biography:...

, is best known for holding the original 1692 Salem witchcraft trials

Salem witch trials

The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings before county court trials to prosecute people accused of witchcraft in the counties of Essex, Suffolk, and Middlesex in colonial Massachusetts, between February 1692 and May 1693...

 papers, and early works by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Nathaniel Hawthorne was an American novelist and short story writer.Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in 1804 in the city of Salem, Massachusetts to Nathaniel Hathorne and the former Elizabeth Clarke Manning. His ancestors include John Hathorne, a judge during the Salem Witch Trials...

."

Further reading

• Kathy McCabe. A new chapter at Phillips Library. Boston Globe, May 24, 1998
• Steven Rosenberg. Access a Concern After Museum Cuts Library Hours. Boston Globe, Mar 28, 2004. Pg. 1
• Phillips Library Cutbacks Will Hurt Researchers. Boston Globe. Apr 8, 2004. Pg. 4
• Steven Rosenberg. Salem Museum Urged To Rethink Library Cuts. Boston Globe, Apr 15, 2004.
• Petition Urges More Services At Peabody Essex Library. Boston Globe, Oct 10, 2004.
• Tom Dalton. PEM hires director for Phillips Library [Sidney Berger]. SalemNews.com, February 13, 2007

External links

• Phillips Library webpage, Peabody Essex Museum
• Flickr. Photo of library interior, 2006
• Flickr. Photo of library interior, 2010
• Flickr. Photo of Daland House, Salem, 2010. Part of the Phillips Library occupies this building.

See also

• John Tucker Daland House
  John Tucker Daland House
  The John Tucker Daland House is an imposing, Italianate house designed by architect Gridley James Fox Bryant. It is located at 132 Essex Street, Salem, Massachusetts, United States, and now owned by the Peabody Essex Museum as home for the Essex Institute...
  
  , Salem; contains part of the Phillips Library
• Peabody Essex Museum
  Peabody Essex Museum
  The Peabody Essex Museum , originally the Peabody Museum of Salem and the Essex Institute, in Salem, Massachusetts is the oldest continuously operating museum in the United States, and holds one of the major collections of Asian art in the US; its total holdings include about 1.3 million pieces, as...
  
  , Salem