Mary Baker Eddy loved her adopted city, Boston. She also loved New York City and the world's other major cities. Reading Rooms were outward signs of Christian Scientists' love for the men, women, and children on those city sidewalks, in storied urban neighborhoods, as well as in small towns. In a letter to Carrie Snider written in December of 1904, Mrs. Eddy described the core purpose of a Reading Room, and revealed the urgency she felt about their healing mission:
"I was sorry to read your purpose to give up your reading room in Harlem; that must not be left without a Reading room any more than minus a church of Christ, Scientist. It is an important location for giving to the public our literature and if you relinquish your Reading room the central Reading Room Association must establish a branch in Harlem at once." L06090, Mary Baker Eddy to Carrie Harvey Snider, December 15, 1904, The Mary Baker Eddy Collection, The Mary Baker Eddy Library for the Betterment of Humanity .
