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The Shaker Museum and Library was founded in 1950 by John S. Williams, Sr. in collaboration with the Shaker leadership then extant at Canterbury Shaker Village, NH, Sabbathday Lake, ME, and Hancock Shaker Village, MA. The Shaker Museum was the first and, at that time, only public museum dedicated to preserving the life, work, art and religious history of the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, commonly known as the Shakers. The goal was the establishment of a museum that would preserve and interpret the Shaker legacy for generations to come. The important artifacts that the Shakers made available to the Shaker Museum and Library reflect the role they expected the institution to play in the preservation of their history. The capstone of the initial collecting effort was the collection of journals, printed material, manuscripts, and photographs in the care of the Central Ministry that were presented to the Shaker Museum and Library in 1962 by Eldress Emma B. King. Between 1950 and 1962, 70 percent of the collection, which today totals 28,000 objects and 19,000 archival pieces, was acquired. Marble top counter (date unknown), bowls and kitchen implements as displayed in our main gallery. The Shaker Museum and Library has built an outstanding reputation as the premier study collection of Shaker life, culture and religion, as scholars and researchers, including those working at Shaker site restorations, use the Shaker Museum and Library's comprehensive holdings as an essential resource. The Museum was accredited by the American Association of Museums (AAM) in 1972, was most recently re-accredited in 2004 and was named a primary organization by the NewYork State Council on the Arts (NYSCA). In 1996, the Shaker Museum and Library was cited as one of the "Most Extraordinary Museums" in New York State at Why I Love NY awards. Upon the founder's death in 1982, the institution began to evolved from a family-based collection to a professional institution. An organizational infrastructure, with professionally-trained directors, collections care and conservation management practices, and educational programming was implemented during this period. In 1990, the Board of Directors changed the organization's name to the Shaker Museum and Library, in recognition of the dual nature of the institution's collections.