The Patricia Lennon Archives Center will be closed, next Saturday (November 18, 2023). Please accept our sincere apologies for any inconvenience this closure may cause.
The Archives Center will resume normal opening hours, on Saturday, November 25. As always, please do not hesitate to contact the archivist with any questions you might have or with requests to schedule a research visit outside of our regular opening hours.
Starting in the first week of October, there will be two significant changes to the way we do things at the Patricia Lennon Archives Center.
First, for a trial period, we are changing the Archives Center’s opening hours. As of Monday, October 2, the new opening times will be:
Thursdays, 10am-noon,
Saturdays, noon-3pm,
By appointment.
We hope that the new Saturday opening hours will make it easier for people to come in and access the collections. Please note that, as before, researchers may (and we encourage them to) email the archivist, if they would like to schedule a visit outside the posted times.
Second, in line with many other historical societies, we will be introducing a fee structure for our research services for people who are unable to visit the Archives Center in person. We will post a detailed schedule on the Archives Center’s web pages soon but, in short, non-members who need people to research topics on their behalf can hire PLAC staff at the rate of $15 for every half hour.
The good news is that, as a benefit of their annual membership, HSH members are eligible for two hours of research time every year and a members’ special rate of $5 for research time for every half hour thereafter.
And, of course, whether you are a member or not, there is still no charge for “in person” visits to the Archives Center and its collections.
The Historical Society of Haddonfield is pleased to announce that our headquarters building, Greenfield Hall, has now reopened for tours by appointment! Visitors can schedule a tour by contacting our office at 856-429-7375 or [email protected]. We will continue to monitor the state’s COVID safety guidelines, and we can’t wait to see you in person soon.
Our new Patricia Lennon Archives Center is still in transition after our recent collections move, but we continue to answer research questions by phone and email. Please send your research questions to [email protected] or leave us a message at 856-429-7375, and our archivist Dana Dorman will get back to you within a week or two.
The Historical Society of Haddonfield has received a new $10,000 grant from the Haddonfield Foundation in support of its planned new archives center building. The Foundation awarded the grant in honor of past Historical Society president Pat Lennon, so it will be matched dollar-for-dollar through a challenge grant issued earlier this year by a donor who worked with Pat at the Historical Society and admires her greatly.
“We are so thankful for the foundation’s ongoing support of the Historical Society,” said Doug Rauschenberger, president of the Historical Society of Haddonfield. “And we’re so pleased that this challenge grant is helping to draw even more attention to Pat’s many contributions to this community.”
With this grant and its match, the Society has now raised more than $858,000 in gifts and pledges for the new building. Donations can be mailed to the Historical Society, and gifts can also be made online. Donors who wish to have their gifts matched must designate that they are giving in Pat’s honor.
The Society will begin construction on the new building this month. The planned facility will nearly triple the storage space for archival collections while incorporating up-to-date temperature and humidity controls and fire suppression system in an ADA-compliant building. Space in the new building will also be reserved for Haddon Township Historical Society archival collections, thanks to a generous gift earlier this year from the William G. Rohrer Charitable Foundation.
A rendering of the planned new Archives Center reading room.