The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (est.1890) is a

state agency A government agency or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government (bureaucracy) that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, s ...

that supports

libraries A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. The governor appoints each commissioner.

History

The agency originated as the Massachusetts Free Public Library Commission "to encourage the establishment of libraries by direct aid and to give advice relating to the maintenance and administration of libraries" in

. It was the first of its kind in the United States. In 1890, the board consisted of Caleb Benjamin Tillinghast,

Samuel Swett Green Samuel Swett Green (February 20, 1837 – December 8, 1918) was an American librarian. Green was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, to the apothecary James Green and Elizabeth Swett. He was educated at Harvard, graduating in 1858. A few years lat ...

, Henry Stedman Nourse, Elizabeth Putnam Sohier, and Anna E. Ticknor. Elizabeth Putnam Sohier and Anna Eliot Ticknor became the first women appointed to a United States state library agency when they were appointed to the agency in 1890. Other early members of the commission included Mabel Simpkins Agassiz, Anna Sears Amory, Deloraine P. Corey. In its first years of existence, the board accomplished significant fulfillment of its mission. In 1890 "105 towns in the Commonwealth were without a free public library. Twenty years later, in 1910, every city and town, with one exception, had a library of its own." The name of the agency changed in 1952 from the "Massachusetts Board of Free Public Library Commissioners" to the "Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners." As of the 1990s it was "responsible for library development and resource sharing." As of 2010, "the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners is the agency of state government with the statutory authority and responsibility to organize, develop, coordinate and improve library services throughout the Commonwealth. The Board also strives to provide every resident of the Commonwealth with full and equal access to library information resources regardless of geographic location, social or economic status, age, level of physical or intellectual ability, or cultural background." It operates from offices in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

's North End.MBLC website
Retrieved 2010-12-29

References

* Annual reports
v.1-8
(1891-1898)
v.9
(1899)
v.10-18
(1900-1908)
v.19-24
(1909-1914)
v.25-27
(1915-1917)
v.28-51
(1918-1940)
1998-present
* C.B. Tillinghast
The free public libraries of Massachusetts
1891.
General library legislation of Massachusetts
798-1890 ca.1891. * Henry Stedman Nourse, ed. Free public libraries of Massachusetts. 9th Report of the Free Public Library Commission of Massachusetts. Boston: Wright & Potter, 1899
Google books
* Zaidee Brown
Directions for the librarian of a small library
rev. ed. 1911. * John Foster Carr. What the library can do for our foreign-born. 1913 * Alice G. Chandler
Country library versus the donor and the architect
Boston: 1915.
Jane Maud CampbellSelected list of Russian books
Compiled for the Massachusetts Free Public Library Commission.

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world. History 19th century ...

Publishing Board, 1916.
Free public library buildings of Massachusetts
a roll of honor, 1918. Boston: Wright & Potter, 1919

About the Commission

* "Books for the masses: success of free libraries in Massachusetts; their establishment encouraged by gift of money from the state - only 53 towns unprovided - work of the Free Library Commission." New York Times, Jan. 30, 1893 * Thurston Taylor. Review of Verschoor and Bundy's Regional Library Systems Development in Massachusetts: A Report of an Investigation with Recommendations (Boston: Massachusetts Division of Library Extension, 1963). In: Library Quarterly, Vol. 35, No. 1 (Jan., 1965), pp. 68–69. * Patricia Nealon. Libraries welcome release of state funds; cramped, aging facilities await work.

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

, Aug 26, 1990. pg. 1 * Sandy Coleman. Underfunded libraries losing grants Unable to meet state budget standards, towns face decertification and loss of aid. Boston Globe, Feb 16, 1992. pg. 1 * Alison O'Leary Murray. Libraries await decisions by state board. Boston Globe, Jan 28, 2007. pg. 4 * Kathleen Burge. State's grants elude libraries; Some did, some couldn't; Communities find

matching funds Matching funds are funds that are set to be paid in proportion to funds available from other sources. Matching fund payments usually arise in situations of charity or public good. The terms cost sharing, in-kind, and matching can be used inter ...

are casualties of recession economy. Boston Globe, Nov 18, 2010. pg. 1

External links

* . (Various documents). {{authority control 1890 establishments in Massachusetts History of Massachusetts Public libraries in Massachusetts State agencies of Massachusetts Organizations established in 1890

History

See also

References

Further reading

Issued by the Commission

About the Commission

External links