Tina Fratta, Maldon Library, Tarrangower Times
This year The Maldon Athenaeum Library will have been operating as our local library for 160 years. Its inaugural meeting was held on January 26, 1863, when several good citizens of the town gathered to establish the original Maldon Athenaeum Mechanics Institute.
Housed for the first few months in temporary rooms, the first permanent wooden building was erected on the Post Office Reserve by the end of 1863 and by January 1864, the new Reading Room was open and well patronised.
The Mechanics Institutes served as focal points for their communities, offering libraries and reading rooms, opportunities for self-education and other attractions such as lectures, meeting rooms, museums, concerts and various games. It is a credit to the townspeople that the library has continued to provide such a remarkable service continuously for so many years. The Athenaeum library belongs to the people of Maldon and Tarrengower, and it is your local support and patronage that sustains this living piece of our history. Its quiet “old world charm” never fails to give pleasure to those who visit, locals and tourists alike.
We have an extensive collection of over 18,000 books for loan, many generously donated by the folk of Maldon, including a large collection of thrillers and detective novels. New books are regularly added to the collection. The library is run entirely by volunteers, and our funding is maintained through members’ annual subscriptions, grants, and the generosity of donors. If you are not yet a member, please consider joining and supporting our unique and friendly local library. New volunteers are always needed and welcome to become a part of the living history of Maldon.
This article appeared in the Tarrangower Times, 27 January 2023.