LibriVox Forum

The Chautauquan [Shaw-taw´-quaw] was issued monthly from 1880-1913?. The subtitle of this magazine is "A monthly magazine devoted to the promotion of true culture. Organ of the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle." Some of the material that runs through most of this volume includes "Tales from Shakespeare" by Charles Lamb, A Tour Around the World, and articles about some of the western state (probably territories at the time).

The organization that published this magazine still exists today and is known as the Chautauqua Institution. There is a wikipedia article that gives some information as well. Towards the end of the 1800's in the US there was a definite movement towards self-improvement and education. The Chautauqua Institute was a large part of that movement. They published this magazine, held summer meetings/classes in Chautauqua, New York (that continue to this day), sponsored Learning Circles throughout the country, and eventually published books. Although the format varies over time, there was usually a reading list of about half a dozen books for each year, which were then discussed at the summer Institute and/or in the Learning Circles. The idea was to provide a structured way to learn about important topics. I think this magazine merged with The Outlook sometime around 1913.

Periodicals were very important in the mid to late 1800s and early 1900s. Books were expensive, newspapers only covered local immediate news, and there were few forms of entertainment available. A magazine subscription or two was within the budget of most people. Magazines from that era represent a wonderful cross-section of life, from trade journals, to fashion magazines, to children's, and etc. I feel strongly that they are worth preserving, and The Chautauquan is important even within that group as the prime example of the self-education movement.
http://www.pgdp.net

• Serialised books
• Sunday readings (4) with Christian flavour
• Other complete content on various topics
• C. L. S. C. Work *
• C. L. S. C. Testimony *
• Local Circles* (news from groups that met in various places)
• Questions and Answers (editor answers readers questions sent by mail)
• Questions For Further Study
• Answers to Questions For Further Study in the November Number
• Outline of C. L. S. C. Studies For January
• C. L. S. C. Round-Table—Colonel Daniels {notes from a live lecture}
• Editor’s Outlook
• Editor’s Note-Book*
• Editor’s Table*
• The Transit of Venus
• Table Talk*
• New Books For Holiday Times*

1) The editions have serialised books with one chapter per edition, so you'd need to listen to various editions to get the full story. Would that work?

2) Is it worth recording them or should the focus be on the more academic / enduring pieces of the magazine?