Previous Commissioners

In 1890 the Commonwealth of Massachusetts became the first state in the nation to form an agency dedicated to the development of public library service.  The Free Public Library Commission was specifically authorized to provide towns maintaining free public libraries one hundred dollars-worth of books selected and purchased by the Commissioners, and the librarian and trustees of free public libraries were invited to ask the Board of Library Commissioners “for advice regarding the selection of books, the cataloguing of books and any other matters pertaining to the maintenance or administration of the library.”

We honor all who have served the Commonwealth and its libraries as members of the Board of Library Commissioners giving generously of their time and talents in the pursuit of excellence in library service for the people of Massachusetts. [There is a gap in this list for the 1940s war years which will be filled with continued research.]