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. The Cambridge of eighteen hundred and ninety-six . , who had given the land for the site of the Athenaeumbuilding. Later Mr. Dana, by a codicil to his will, left fifteenthousand dollars for the increase and support of the library;but the city lost this becmest through legal objections to theform in which it was expressed. In 1874 the library, for the use of which a fee of one dollara year had been charged, was made free to the public ; and in1879 the name was changed to the Cambridge Public Library. In 1875 the library contained seven thousand volumes ; in1885 it had increased to eighteen th
. The Cambridge of eighteen hundred and ninety-six . , who had given the land for the site of the Athenaeumbuilding. Later Mr. Dana, by a codicil to his will, left fifteenthousand dollars for the increase and support of the library;but the city lost this becmest through legal objections to theform in which it was expressed. In 1874 the library, for the use of which a fee of one dollara year had been charged, was made free to the public ; and in1879 the name was changed to the Cambridge Public Library. In 1875 the library contained seven thousand volumes ; in1885 it had increased to eighteen thousand; and in 1895 toabout fifty thousand. In 1887, when the need of enlarged accommodations had be-come urgent, Mr. Frederick H. Rindge generously offered togive the city a large tract of land on Broadway, and to erectthereon a public library building. The offer was gratefullyaccepted, and the building was completed in June, 1889. Itcontained a book-room, or stack, capable of holding eighty-five thousand volumes, a reading-room measuring sixty by. THE CHILDRENS ROOM. 229 twenty feet, a delivery-room, and a suite of rooms for the pres-ervation of the works of Cambridge authors and artists andother memorials of the history of the city. In 1894 a new wingwas added, which provides a reading-room for children, a cata-logue-room and librarians room, and on the second floor a trus-tees room and a large room which is to be used as a referencelibrary of American history. In the general reading-room there is a selection of abouttwenty-five hundred volumes of cyclopaedias, dictionaries, andother books of reference, which can be consulted without for-mality by all readers. There are also about a hundred andthirty periodicals, including the leading reviews and magazines,American and foreign, with a select list of newspapers. The childrens room is liberally furnished with juvenile peri-odicals and books. Scrap-books of pictures are provided forlittle ones who are not yet able to read. This
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, bookpublishercambr, bookyear1896