News Release

Constitution Day observance will profile ‘Library of the Founding Fathers’

August 27, 2008

Penn State Harrisburg will celebrate Constitution Day on September 17 with a look at the little-known, yet vastly historic “Library of the Founding Fathers.”

The special collection, initiated by Benjamin Franklin for Pennsylvania’s Colonial General Assembly and now a part of the State Library of Pennsylvania, was a key asset at the First Continental Congress in 1774. Later it is likely that Thomas Jefferson consulted the law volumes while working on the Declaration of Independence.

The 6:15 p.m. presentation in the Morrison Gallery of the college library is free and open to the public. For information, phone 717-948-6049.

Despite its importance, the Pennsylvania General Assembly Collection – the law library at Independence Hall when both the Declaration and Constitution were drafted and signed – slipped from recorded history following its move from Philadelphia to Harrisburg in the 19 th century. For most of the past 200 years, the General Assembly Collection was neglected, relocated several times and barely escaping a fire in 1897. The volumes eventually became scattered among various historic sites and among the general collection of the State Library.

An effort begun in 1986 gathered the books into one place at the State Library in Harrisburg. They were later incorporated into the new Rare Books Room of the library.

As part of the program, Clare Zales, deputy secretary of the office of commonwealth libraries, will discuss the origins and history of the colonial collection and a panel of experts will follow with a profile of its significance.

Following an introduction from Distinguished Professor of American Studies and Folklore Simon Bronner, the panel will include House of Representatives Republican Whip David Argall, Professor of American Studies and Social Science Michael Barton, and retired Assistant Professor of Community Systems and Afro-American Studies Clem Gilpin.