Image: Former MBLC Chair Mary Ann Cluggish (right) accepting the Elizabeth Putnam Sohier Commissioner Award at the MA State House next to MBLC Commissioner Debby Conrad on November 6, 2025.

Elizabeth Putnam Sohier was the driving force behind the Free Public Library Commission, established in 1890, and now known as the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC).  Sohier served as a library Commissioner from the agency’s inception in 1890 until her passing in 1926. She was deeply committed to expanding access to free public libraries, particularly in small towns and rural communities, and worked tirelessly to ensure that state aid for libraries reached underserved areas.

The Elizabeth Putnam Sohier Commissioner Award honors a former Commissioner from the MBLC for their outstanding efforts to ensure that all residents have equal and free access to the resources available through Massachusetts public libraries.  For her extraordinary dedication to libraries, the MBLC was pleased to award the 2025 Elizabeth Putnam Sohier Commissioner award to Mary Ann Cluggish. Mary Ann Cluggish’s leadership and advocacy led to increased state aid for libraries and bond funding for the Massachusetts Public Library Construction Program. 

For over forty years, Mary Ann has devoted her time and advocacy to libraries as trustee of the Wellesley Free Library and Commissioner for the MBLC under the appointment of three governors: Deval Patrick, Charlie Baker and Maura Healey. Never afraid to speak up on behalf of libraries, Mary Ann was relentless in her efforts to reach out to legislators to secure funding for Massachusetts libraries and has said “In this digital age, libraries are longer transactional. They are transformational.  When you walk into a library your world gets bigger.”  Because of Mary Ann’s efforts and commitment to libraries, she has certainly made the world of libraries more inclusive, free and equal.