The Library
is open year round.
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, 8:30 to 4:30
(Closed for lunch 12 to 1)
Appointments are required
.Polly Collinsa Gift from Mother Ann to Eldress Eunice 
August, 1859
(Collection of the Shaker Library,
United Society of Shakers, Sabbathday Lake, ME).
The Shaker Library welcomes anyone interested in learning more about
the Shakers. This invitation includes scholars, writers, students of
all ages, teachers, genealogists, and the Shaker enthusiast.
About the Shaker Library:
Established in 1882 by Elder Otis Sawyer, the Shaker Library is located
at the only active Shaker Community in the world. It is housed in the
original 1880 Shaker Schoolhouse with the collections enclosed in a
two-level temperature and humidity controlled vault.
The Library is both the archive for the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Community,
as well as a nationally known center of primary and secondary materials
by and about the Shakers, from their origins to the present day. Subjects
covered include history, religious philosophy, herbal medicine, architecture,
furniture, crafts, music, and education. The Library's Radical Collection
of materials on other communal and radical religious sects in America
in addition to other special collections, provides context for the experience
of the Shakers.
The Shaker Collection:
The Shaker Library's collection of original and published materials
includes books, archival manuscripts, ephemera, periodicals, scrapbooks,
photographs, drawings, maps, oral histories, video and sound recordings,
and microfilm of Shaker materials held in other libraries.
A detailed description of these categories follows:
Books--over 3,000 volumes written by and about the United Society of
Shakers. This aspect of the Library has been built from the foundation
of Elder Otis' original library of 191 items. Many of these books are
not listed in available bibliographies. Books are cataloged according
to The Library of Congress cataloging system.
Photographs and other images--Thousands of images from the late nineteenth
century to the present representing all of the Shaker Communities. Collection
includes photographs, slides, postcards, and stereoviews.
Manuscripts--8,000 items including diaries and journals, autograph books,
covenants, financial records, membership records, correspondence, testimonies,
sermons, inspired writings, music, poetry, recipes and prescriptions,
and school books. This part of the collection represents most of the
Shaker Communities but is strongest in Sabbathday Lake and Alfred, Maine
materials.
Ephemera--2,200 plus items including pamphlets, broadsides, almanacs,
catalogues, and stationery produced by Shakers and the world's people;
1,380 labels printed by Shakers for their own products; 2000 postcards;
posters of 20th century Shaker exhibits. This collection grows weekly
with the addition of 20th century items.
Periodicals--Over 5,000 clippings; complete runs of The Shaker, The
Daystar, The Shaker and Shakeress, The Shaker Manifesto, The Manifesto,
and the Shaker Quarterly; runs of several social reform and spiritualist
journals to which Shakers contributed (Banner of Light, World's Advanced
Thought); complete run of The Manchester Mercury, the 18th century newspaper
from the hometown of founder Ann Lee.
Clipping file--Over 5,000 clippings arranged by community and subject;
includes 18th, 19th, and 20th century articles on the Shakers and related
topics. Scrapbooks--64 kept by Sabbathday Lake or Alfred Shakers, including
several kept by friends of the Communities. The scrapbooks document
the interests of individual Shakers and include clippings, brochures,
poetry, correspondence, photographs, postcards, and greeting cards.
Microfilm--227 reels including the Shaker manuscript collections of
the Western Reserve Historical Society, New York State Library, New
York Public Library, Library of Congress, University of Kentucky. Also
included are cathedral records from Manchester, England, the birthplace
of Anne Lee.
Maps--210 maps, views and cemetery charts. Many of the maps are 19th
century county and state maps showing locations of Shaker communities
in various states. Other examples include plans of The Shaker Village
of Alfred, Maine, and maps of Shaker land in New Gloucester, Maine.
Oral histories and other sound recordings--19 unique interviews (with
typescripts) with Maine Shakers and individuals closely associated with
them during this century; numerous taped lectures including ones given
at Shaker conferences at the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Community in the
1980s; sermons given by Brother Theodore Johnson in the 1980s.
Music--Numerous recordings of Shakers from the Sabbathday Lake and other
Shaker Communities singing traditional Shaker spirituals; recordings
of Shakers singing with other musicians; and recordings by non-Shakers
performing Shaker songs.
Videocassettes--Contemporary documentaries and broadcasts about the
Shakers.
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Special Collections
Special collections on radical religious groups, on herbal medicine,
and on Maine agriculture are maintained in an effort to provide an opportunity
for researchers to view the Shakers in context spiritually and socially.
The Radical Collection
This important sub collection of the Shaker Library contains printed
material about radical religious sects and communal groups all over
the world. The Library has catalogued this material using the Library
of Congress subject headings and classification.
Included are materials on the following groups:
FREEWILL BAPTISTS--One of the strongest collections anywhere of books
and periodicals on the history of Freewill Baptists. The most complete
run available of the Maine Free Will Baptist Repository.
KORESHAN--545 items including periodicals, books, postcards, and membership
lists. This is the largest collection of its type outside the Koreshan
Community Library at Estero, Florida.
SOUTHCOTTIAN--Followers of Joanna Southcott, "messenger and prophet."
Includes Christian Israelites, Ashton-Under-Lyne, England; Christian
Israelites, Sydney, Australia; New and Latter Day House of Israel, London,
England and other splinter groups. The strongest portion of this collection
reflects Christian Israelite activity in Benton Harbor, Michigan. Manuscripts
and published material are included.
JERUSALEM COMMUNITY--Founded by Jemima Wilkinson in New York State.
Includes many issues of the Publick Universal Friend; copies of 90%
of the manuscript holdings of Cornell University; many imprints.
MORMON--Correspondence from the first half of the nineteenth century
and 20 imprints.
ONEIDA--20 books, several issues of the Oneida Circular; manuscripts.
RELIGIOUS SOCIETY OF FRIENDS--QUAKERS; 250 volumes written by and about
Quakers in Great Britain and the United States.
BISHOP HILL, CHRISTIAN SCIENCE, SWEDENBORG, FRUITLANDS, MUGGLETONIANS,
HARMONY, EPHRATA, NEW LLANO, OWENITES, HUTTERITES, ZOAR, PANACEA SOCIETY,
ETC.--Numerous imprints and some manuscript references. In addition,
there are nearly one hundred volumes which serve as encyclopedias describing
many other efforts in both spiritual and communal realms.
Herbal Medicine & Maine Agriculture
To view in context the Shaker interest in herbal medicine, the Library
holds 19th century volumes reflecting Thomsonian medicinal practices
and other medical advice of the period. Rare books on Maine and agriculture
provide additional context for the experience of the Maine Shakers.
Contact Information Telephone: 207/926-4597 E-mail: brooks1@shaker.lib.me.us
Mail: Shaker Library, 707 Shaker Road, New Gloucester, ME 04260
Brief, ready-reference questions will be answered by phone, e-mail,
or letter.
The Shaker Library is open year round, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday,
8:30 to 4:30 (EST)
Appointments are required.