Local History

The Barclay and Bishop Local History Room is open to the public whenever the Library is open. There are resources on Massachusetts history as well as those that are specific to the Town of Reading. We can help you get started in your search for information about your house, the town, or genealogy.

The Local History Room is named for Miriam Barclay and Eleanor Bishop who dedicated much of their adult lives to preserving and teaching about the history of Reading.

Internet Archive of Local History Resources

The Reading Public Library owns books about Reading history which have been scanned and made available online through the efforts of the Internet Archive. Internet Archive, a non-profit organization founded in 1996, is building a digital library of books and media such as newsreels, advertising, cartoons, music, radio shows, and more.   Materials in the archive, mostly published prior to the 1920s, are in the public domain and can be used without restrictions.  Like a paper library, they provide free access to researchers, historians, scholars, and the general public.

The following are books that the Reading Public Library owns, and other libraries have already digitized for the Internet Archive.   We are pleased to connect our users to searchable editions of these books that were originally published without Table of Contents and/or Index.  Follow the full text link for the online edition.

Proceedings of the 250th anniversary of the ancient town of Redding, once including the territory now comprising the towns of Reading, Wakefield, and North Reading : with historical chapters. edited by Chester W. Eaton, Warren E. Eaton ; compiled and arranged by Will Everett Eaton (published in 1896).

Genealogical history of the town of Reading, Mass. : including the present towns of Wakefield, Reading, and North Reading, with chronological and historical sketches, from 1639 to 1874. by Lilley Eaton (published in 1874)

Reading’s “Old Burial Ground” now in Wakefield, Massachusetts, 1688. by William E. Eaton. (published in 1935)

Vital records of Reading, Massachusetts, to year 1850 -by Thomas Williams Baldwin (published in 1912).

Mass. Memories Road Show

There was a terrific turnout in late October for our Mass. Memories Road Show event.  Staff and volunteers were kept busy scanning, labeling and taping stories, that went along with the wide variety of photographs brought to the Reading Public Library.

Thank you to all participants,  to our grant partners – Reading Historical Commission, Reading Antiquarian Society, RCTV , English-At-Large, and to the volunteers who worked the Road Show.

Mass. Memories Road Show photographs are processed and are  on the Reading page of the Mass. Memories website!  The video material is still in the works and will appear on the same site a bit later this winter.

If you missed the Road Show and have photographs, there is a related Flickr site available.  It is accessible from the link above.

Funding for the Road Show was sponsored, in part, by the Joseph P. Healey Library at UMass Boston and Mass Humanities.  Local support was provided by the Reading Public Library and the Friends of the Reading Public Library.

Watch the video below to see how a Road Show works.

How Do I Find what I Need?

• Our guide will help you get started:
  Finding Your Way to Reading Local History Resources (pdf file)
• Our floor plan will help you locate resources within the Local History room:
  Local History Room Floor Plan (pdf file)
• Looking for information on old businesses or industries? This guide will help you start your search:
  Where to Find Business Information in the Local History Room (pdf file)
• What we have in our collection:
  Bishop-Barclay Room Available Resources

Ask Us for Help: