The Library’s special collections are housed in the Constance V. R. Dexter Special Collections Room. Access to the special collections is by appointment only. Visitors with appointments will be given priority over patrons who visit unannounced.
To initiate a visit to the Thayer Memorial Library Special Collections, or to request assistance with historical or genealogical research, please contact the Special Collections Archivist by email at vhatchell@lancasterma.gov or call 978-368-8928 ext. 6. Please give as much information as possible in your request.
The Rare Book Collection consists primarily of printed books, but also includes newspapers, periodicals, pamphlets, broadsides, proof sheets, and other special forms of publication. Strengths of the Library’s Rare Book Collection include:
- Volumes that reflect the history of libraries or of book collecting in the Town of Lancaster.
- New England imprints, particularly Massachusetts imprints, up to the mid-nineteenth century.
- Volumes produced by European printers and/or publishers important in the history of the book, whether significant in the history of printing, publishing, typography, book illustration, or some other aspect of bookmaking or the book-trade.
- Illustrated works in botany, horticulture, gardening, and natural history, through the 19th century.
- Sermons and other religious works, American and English, up to the mid-nineteenth century.
- Historical writings of all descriptions, up to the mid-nineteenth century, with s
- Special emphasis on American history.
The Lancaster Collection of the Thayer Memorial Library is a comprehensive repository of material documenting the history of Lancaster and the activities of its inhabitants. Items in the collection shed light mainly on the history of the geographical area presently defined as Lancaster, although any material considered valuable in understanding the development of the Town, as it exists, may be included.
The Manuscript Collection is a sub-collection within the Lancaster Collection.
