I’ve always been a lover of libraries, and although I am among the thousands who get most of my day-to-day information online, it doesn’t replace the slow, relaxing pace of a good read held firmly in hand.

Fran Wiggin, the Bedford Library’s former director, knew of my love of books. But nothing prepared me for the day she brought me into the New Hampshire room, where a small, yellowed and worn leather-bound book sat in a box on the large glass table. On close inspection, the lined pages revealed names of books and the names of Bedford residents from more than 200 years ago.

It turned out that this List of Subscribers book contained both the original accessions (purchased books), as well as the names of the 38 Bedford residents who paid to be part of the Bedford subscription library. Before the time of “free” libraries, townspeople would get together and pay a set fee. The money collected would go into purchasing books from an agreed-upon list. Only those paying the fee could borrow the books purchased by the subscription library.

This leather-bound register sitting on the New Hampshire Room’s table was probably one of the oldest – if not the oldest in New Hampshire – dating back to July 6, 1789.

Both Fran and I agreed that it was a pity to leave this historically significant book in a state that could not be seen or used by the public. We had to do two things.

We had to find a place that could restore the register to as close to its original state as possible and find the funds to pay for this restoration project.

The library’s new director, Mary Ann Senatro, had recently brought in the Northeast Document Conservation Center to complete a preservation survey for some of the older books housed in the New Hampshire room. She had learned that the original register from 1789 could be restored very close to its original state. With the financial support from the Bedford Library Foundation, a very detailed “estimate for treatment” for this Library Register was requested from Northeast Document.

With the estimate for treatment in process, money had to be found to pay for the complete restoration. It was at this time that Senatro heard about the New Hampshire Moose Plate Program from the New Hampshire Library Association. The program supported conservation and cultural heritage projects in New Hampshire. The Moose Plate program is funded by the purchase of the New Hampshire Moose vehicle registration plates. After a review of the program’s requirements were made by both Senatro and myself, it was determined that the program’s requirements and the register’s restoration fit with the type of project the Moose Plate program granted money.

When the quote came in from Northeast Document Conservation Center at $7,015, Senatro and I applied to the Moose Plate program for a grant. By October 2006, the Bedford Library was informed that it had won a $3,783 grant toward the register’s restoration. This preservation project was made possible by funds received from the sale of the moose license plate and administered by the New Hampshire State Library, a division of the New Hampshire Department of Cultural Resources.

The balance of $2,780 was made up by the Bedford Library Foundation, whose fundraising efforts are greatly supported by the residents of Bedford.

The foundation’s contribution included costs around microfilming each page of the register and producing three copies, one for the library, the New Hampshire State Archives and the New Hampshire State Library.

Photographs of the whole conservation process were also paid for by the Bedford Library Foundation.

The 1789 List of Subscribers Register, after more than six months of restoration with conservation specialists at Northeast Documents, finally made its way back to the Bedford Library. Its pages washed, leather restored, spine sewn and rebound, was stored in a newly constructed acid-free box.

The Bedford Library Foundation is currently looking for donors who can help fund the construction of a special display case for public viewing of this very unique book from Bedford’s past.

But why wait? If you are interested in finding out who was part of this late 18th early 19th century library and what they read, you can satisfy your curiosity by accessing the newly produced microfilm. Why not check out old Bedford names like Isaac Riddel and John Goffe and see what books these Bedford founders were interested in reading?

(Editor’s note: The Bedford Library received a grant to restore its List of Subscribers Register from 1789. Here, resident Hope Inman tells readers about the restoration project.)