Morse Institute Library

In 1808, the library began as a collection of about 100 books by Samuel Morse.{{Cite web |title=Our History - About the Library - Digital Branch at Morse Institute Library |url=https://morseinstitute.libguides.com/about-the-library/our-history |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230316195432/https://morseinstitute.libguides.com/about-the-library/our-history |archive-date=16 March 2023 |access-date=16 March 2023 |website=Morse Institute Library}} He was a portrait artist and had an interest in developing a circulating library.{{cite web|url=http://www.galleryofthelouvre.com/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130914171529/http://www.galleryofthelouvre.com/|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 14, 2013|title=Samuel Morse|website=Samuel Morse|accessdate=23 June 2017}} By 1852, the collection, entitled the Citizen's Library, amassed 425 books.{{cite web|url=http://morseinstitute.org/about/history/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140807001226/http://morseinstitute.org/about/history/|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 7, 2014|title=History of the Library - Morse Institute Library, Natick, MA|publisher=|access-date=23 June 2017}} The Morse Institute Library was instituted in 1862 by Mary Ann Morse, Samuel Morse's granddaughter. Over the next several years, Mary Ann began the processes of raising funds and obtaining district approval. The collection opened to the public on December 25, 1873.

{{As of|2017|January}}, the library was governed by a five-member board of trustees elected by popular vote to five-year terms. The library has around 200,000 books, magazines, newspapers, DVDs, CDs, and audiobooks.{{cite web|url=http://www.natickma.gov/299/Morse-Institute-Library|title=Morse Institute Library - Natick, MA - Official Website|website=www.natickma.gov|access-date=23 June 2017}}

The library organizes events open to the public including book clubs, English immersion classes, and movie nights.

One major project is the Natick Veterans Oral History Project. In 1998, Eugene Dugdale, who was a Pearl Harbor survivor, proposed a project to "collect and preserve the personal recollections of those men and women who have served their country in the armed forces past and present."{{cite web|url=http://www.natickvets.org/page.php?page=about|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100703042022/http://www.natickvets.org/page.php?page=about|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 3, 2010|title=Natick Veterans Stories - About the Project|website=www.natickvets.org|access-date=23 June 2017}} The collection has firsthand accounts of veterans from World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, Persian Gulf War, and the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. The administrators of the program work in collaboration with the Natick Public Schools System and the Library of Congress. As of 2023, the project has more than 350 interviews in its collection.{{Cite web |title=About the Project |url=https://natickveterans.com/about-the-project/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221002171723/https://natickveterans.com/about-the-project/ |archive-date=2 October 2022 |access-date=16 March 2023 |website=Natick Veterans Oral History Project|date=15 August 2017 }}

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Category:Library buildings completed in 1808

Category:Public libraries in Massachusetts

Category:Buildings and structures in Natick, Massachusetts

Category:1808 establishments in Massachusetts