Providence Athenaeum newsletters (Arch-007)

This collection consists of the Providence Athenaeum's newsletters, The Owl (1995-2002) and The Universal Penman (2002- ):

• Series 1. The Owl, 1995-2002
• Series 2. The Universal Penman, 2002-present

These two Providence Athenaeum newsletters (1995-present) contain similar content to the previously-published Athenaeum's bulletins (1895-1995).

Series 1. The Owl, published from 1995 September through 2002 Spring, is comprised of 22 issues. The inspiration for the newsletter's title is the Owl of Athena; as Wikipedia states "In Greek mythology, a little owl (Athene noctua) traditionally represents or accompanies Athena, the virgin goddess of wisdom ... because of such association, the bird ... has been used as a symbol of knowledge, wisdom, perspicacity and erudition throughout the Western world". The Providence Athenaeum's logo of the owl is taken directly from the Athenaeum's seal, 1901.

Content: The issues consist mainly of notices of upcoming events and trips, staff photos and profiles, and administrative overviews and messages (mission statements, master plans, statistics). Both the 1999 Spring and 2000 Winter issues have annual reports inserted (the 1998 and 1999 Annual Reports). The 2000 January issue is entitled "Special Millennium Issue" and includes a Mission statement, Master plan, CRIARL membership, Personnel Roster, and "A statistical look at the Athenaeum". The 2000 Spring issue includes a 4-page insert of the minutes from the 1999 Annual Membership Meeting.

Frequency: Varies from 1-4 issues per year.

Numbering/Dating: The first two issues of The Owl are dated and have volume/issue numbering (Vol. 1, No. 1 (September 1995) and Volume 1, No. 2 (December 1995)). After that, each issue is dated but unnumbered.

Format: Length varies from 4-16 pages; page height is consistent at 28 cm., printing is on medium weight stock cream paper with black ink.

Subtitle on masthead: The Owl's first 8 issues (1995-1998) were subtitled "A Providence Athenaeum Newsletter". From Fall 1999 to Summer 2000 the subtitle changes to "The Providence Athenaeum Newsletter". With Spring 2000 the subtitle reverts to original "A Providence Athenaeum Newsletter"; the subtitle of the Fall 2000, and Winter 2000 issue is "Newsletter of the Providence Athenaeum".

Masthead formatting: From 1995 September through 1998 Summer issues, The Owl is in small type, and a small owl on a branch appears on the front and back cover. The1999 Spring issue has the owl on the cover, but a raven "perched upon a bust of Pallas..." appears on the back cover. With the1999 Fall and 1999/2000 Winter issues, The Owl masthead increases to the full width of the publication. On the1999 Fall masthead, Athena's owl is larger, and back cover has a seal of "Providence Athenaeum, 1753" with Athena's image in profile. A square woodcut of an owl first appears on the back cover of the 2000 January issue, and moves to the masthead in subsequent issues. The 2000 Summer issue has a graphic of Poe and his raven on the back cover. Starting with the 2000 Fall issue and ending with the final issue (2002 Spring), the masthead is comprised of the square owl woodcut, title, subtitle, and date within a rectangular box.

Series 2. The Universal Penman, published from 2002 to present, is comprised of 33 issues as of Spring 2019. According to Executive Director Jonathan Bengtson, the Universal Penman was one of the first books ordered for the Providence Library Company in 1753, one of the few books to survive the 1758 fire since it was checked out at the time, and is the inspiration for the name of this newsletter. Robin Wetherill (Communications Manager) is credited as Editor of the Penman beginning with the 2016 Spring issue and continuing to the present.

Content: Issues of the Universal Penman continue with the same types of content found in the previous Athenaeum newsletter entitled The Owl.

Frequency: Varies from 1-7 issues per year, averaging 3 per year. From 2016-2018 the subtitle was "A Semiannual Publication of the Providence Athenaeum"; in Spring 2019 this changed to "An Occasional Publication of the Providence Athenaeum".

Numbering/Dating: Issues are dated but unnumberred. The first issue (May/June 2002) is erroneously dated "May/June 2003".

Number of pages: Varies from 4-16 pages, with the longer issues beginning in 2016 when the page size decreased.

Title: From May 2002 through December 2007 the title is "The Universal Penman". From January 2008 onward, the title changes to "Universal Penman".

Masthead subtitle: From 2002-2015, the subtitle is "Newsletter of the Providence Athenaeum". From Spring 2016 through Spring 2018, the subtitle changes to "A Semiannual Publication of the Providence Athenaeum", and with the Spring 2019 issue, the subtitled again changes to "An Occasional Publication of the Providence Athenaeum".

Format changes:

• March/April 2003 through Spring 2015 issues are 28 cm. high, on medium stock white paper, black ink, and have small images; color photographs first appear in the Fall 2005 issue, and larger images become more frequent.
• In 2015 the Athenaeum conducted a rebranding; all Athenaeum materials were changed, including the Athena logo and the Universal Penman design.
• Spring 2016 through Spring 2019 issues: The height decreases to 25.6 cm., heavy stock paper covers are added; the title page includes a table of contents. The number of pages varies from 12-18 pages, double that of pre-2016 issues. The Spring 2017 issue is the earliest featuring staff silhouette portraits at the top of articles they author