The History of the Pembroke Public Library
The Story of the Pembroke Public Library
By Deborah Wall, Library Director
Pembroke has a long history that illustrates its love and respect for reading and learning as a community. The first effort to provide a shared reading experience was the Pembroke Female Reading Society which was organized on April 15, 1811.
The Female Reading Society was founded to provide women an opportunity to read and learn. Many prominent Pembroke names are attached to the Society including the Barker family. Membership was by invitation only. As was common for the time, as women married they abandoned outside activities to focus on caring for their families. By 1874, the Ladies Reading Society had only one member original to the society and had essentially ceased to exist.
Reading was still important to residents. On December 8, 1874, the Pembroke Reading Club was started. Admittance required acceptance by two-thirds of the members. The club’s only purpose was to share the enjoyment of reading. A mission of the group was to start a free library in Pembroke that all residents could enjoy. They started the Free Library Association. Members included many of the well-known Pembroke families including Barker, Oldham, Collamore, Shepard, and Bonney. In 1875, the Pembroke Free Library Association voted to accept all the books of the Female Reading Society conveyed to them by Eliza Whitman William. The members donated their own books to the library to add to the collection. A notice was posted at town hall for all interested people to meet for the purpose of growing a free library. There was a formal ball to raise money and $20 of the proceeds was given to the library. J. H. temple was a signer of the notice and a charter member of the Reading Club.Also in 1875, the first spelling bee was held to raise money for the library. Residents paid a fee to participate and the money was used to purchase new books. The Pembroke Free Library was finally established in 1878. At the annual town meeting of 1886, the town appropriated one half of the dog tax to support the library, which continued to be administered by the Association. The dog tax earned the library $93.99 that year.
The school committee also saw the value of the public library early. In the 1886 town report the committee wrote:
“Just a word as to our Free Public Library. Here is a library in which there are many good, readable books; books that are instructive and entertaining; books that no person who has a just appreciation of the character, value and use of good books, and the benefit that may be derived from their perusal, can possibly object to. And good books are an important factor in the education of the young mind, and are a valuable supplement to our school work. It is much better that our young people should be encouraged in the reading of such books, and gathering such instruction as may be obtained from the reading matter of our library, than to be lounging around the stores, spending their time in learning many things that poisons the mind and renders it unfit for the contemplation of any good and useful work.
Reading these old school reports is very enlightening. Some things really don’t change.
In 1878, the Pembroke Free Library had rented a room in the Burton Homestead at the corner of Center and Mattakeesett Streets. The cost was $6 a year. This allowed them to provide access to all Pembroke residents. When the rent was raised to the unsustainable amount of $10 a year, and to provide more space for books, the library moved to the second floor of the Ladies Sewing Circle building in 1890.
People were needed to run a library and serve the residents. The first permanent librarian was Miss Ellen Cox. She was a teacher and only 19 years old when she started in 1887 while the library was at the Burton homestead. She remained librarian for 40 years until just before her death in 1937. She was 68 years old. Miss Cox truly began to put the “public” in public library. She started the practice of lending and borrowing from the Hanson town library and the Cobb Library in Bryantville. She encouraged school children to visit the library during school hours. Library books were on loan to all the schools for student and teacher use and the librarian made routine school visits. In 1924, an official “branch” was organized at the Central School. The Massachusetts Division of Libraries loaned reference books to the library. There were “branch” libraries in private homes to “enable people in these localities to obtain reading easily. At the March 1937 Town Meeting, Miss Cox asked the town to accept the library since she was the last surviving member of the Free Library Association. The town agreed. The first trustees were appointed in 1938 and the first “town librarian” was Mrs. Florence Bonney Whitcomb who was in her early 70s but ran the library until 1953 when she retired at the age of 87. The town granted her $325 for her years of service.
By Deborah Wall, Library Director
Pembroke has a long history that illustrates its love and respect for reading and learning as a community. The first effort to provide a shared reading experience was the Pembroke Female Reading Society which was organized on April 15, 1811.
The Female Reading Society was founded to provide women an opportunity to read and learn. Many prominent Pembroke names are attached to the Society including the Barker family. Membership was by invitation only. As was common for the time, as women married they abandoned outside activities to focus on caring for their families. By 1874, the Ladies Reading Society had only one member original to the society and had essentially ceased to exist.
Reading was still important to residents. On December 8, 1874, the Pembroke Reading Club was started. Admittance required acceptance by two-thirds of the members. The club’s only purpose was to share the enjoyment of reading. A mission of the group was to start a free library in Pembroke that all residents could enjoy. They started the Free Library Association. Members included many of the well-known Pembroke families including Barker, Oldham, Collamore, Shepard, and Bonney. In 1875, the Pembroke Free Library Association voted to accept all the books of the Female Reading Society conveyed to them by Eliza Whitman William. The members donated their own books to the library to add to the collection. A notice was posted at town hall for all interested people to meet for the purpose of growing a free library. There was a formal ball to raise money and $20 of the proceeds was given to the library. J. H. temple was a signer of the notice and a charter member of the Reading Club.Also in 1875, the first spelling bee was held to raise money for the library. Residents paid a fee to participate and the money was used to purchase new books. The Pembroke Free Library was finally established in 1878. At the annual town meeting of 1886, the town appropriated one half of the dog tax to support the library, which continued to be administered by the Association. The dog tax earned the library $93.99 that year.
The school committee also saw the value of the public library early. In the 1886 town report the committee wrote:
“Just a word as to our Free Public Library. Here is a library in which there are many good, readable books; books that are instructive and entertaining; books that no person who has a just appreciation of the character, value and use of good books, and the benefit that may be derived from their perusal, can possibly object to. And good books are an important factor in the education of the young mind, and are a valuable supplement to our school work. It is much better that our young people should be encouraged in the reading of such books, and gathering such instruction as may be obtained from the reading matter of our library, than to be lounging around the stores, spending their time in learning many things that poisons the mind and renders it unfit for the contemplation of any good and useful work.
Reading these old school reports is very enlightening. Some things really don’t change.
In 1878, the Pembroke Free Library had rented a room in the Burton Homestead at the corner of Center and Mattakeesett Streets. The cost was $6 a year. This allowed them to provide access to all Pembroke residents. When the rent was raised to the unsustainable amount of $10 a year, and to provide more space for books, the library moved to the second floor of the Ladies Sewing Circle building in 1890.
People were needed to run a library and serve the residents. The first permanent librarian was Miss Ellen Cox. She was a teacher and only 19 years old when she started in 1887 while the library was at the Burton homestead. She remained librarian for 40 years until just before her death in 1937. She was 68 years old. Miss Cox truly began to put the “public” in public library. She started the practice of lending and borrowing from the Hanson town library and the Cobb Library in Bryantville. She encouraged school children to visit the library during school hours. Library books were on loan to all the schools for student and teacher use and the librarian made routine school visits. In 1924, an official “branch” was organized at the Central School. The Massachusetts Division of Libraries loaned reference books to the library. There were “branch” libraries in private homes to “enable people in these localities to obtain reading easily. At the March 1937 Town Meeting, Miss Cox asked the town to accept the library since she was the last surviving member of the Free Library Association. The town agreed. The first trustees were appointed in 1938 and the first “town librarian” was Mrs. Florence Bonney Whitcomb who was in her early 70s but ran the library until 1953 when she retired at the age of 87. The town granted her $325 for her years of service.
The library remained at the Sewing Circle until 1958. The trustees feared the space was unsafe and the books too heavy to remain on the second floor, and again the space had become too small. And the Sewing Circle wanted the space back. The “Old Center School” became the library’s new home when the high school relocated and the grammar school moved into the building that is now the Community Center. Unfortunately, since they needed space too, the police station moved into the building with the library. This provided insufficient space for both the library, which was given only two rooms, and the police station. In 1966, a new addition was built onto town hall and the police department moved there.
The Center School was renovated and the library finally had a building to call its own. It was described as “modern” with colorful furniture and ample shelving. In the fall of 1974, Assistant Librarian Madelon Baltzar discovered that a spelling bee originally helped fund the library and a free spelling bee was planned to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the library. Alan Dunphy, a Library Trustee, suggested that a honeybee weathervane be constructed and placed on the cupola of the building. Pembroke artist Richard Edlund was asked to design the weathervane. He changed the design and unveiled the bee that was to decorate the roof in honor of the anniversary of the library. The sculpture is forty-seven inches high and forty-six pound sand was attached to the existing lightning rod with the help of the Pembroke Fire Department. The bee was written up in an article in Yankee Superlatives, a book by Yankee Magazine. It was the only known bee on a library. The bee was stolen in 1979, but was returned and repaired. The library continued to host spelling bees for 20 years. In 2004, the tradition of the spelling bee was resumed for fun not fundraising! During this time the town was growing fast. The “Center Library” became too small again to meet the needs of Pembroke. Residents formed a building committee in the late 1980s to design a new, truly modern building. The early efforts failed and it took the dedicated group eight years to finally get both town approval and state funding to build the new library. The ribbon was cut in October 1998. The town finally had its first library built to be a library.
Designed in the Greek Revival Style, the new Pembroke Public Library (still called “Center Library” by many) was built behind the old building which became the home of the Council on Aging. The new building was three times the size of the old with 18,000 square feet of space. And how the library has grown! In 1975, the library had 24,000 books and 6000 card holders who borrowed 81,500 times. In 2010, there were 91,145 items (books, magazines, DVDs, cds, etc.) and 13,615 card holders who borrowed 157,007 times! And the numbers keep rising. And that is a good thing.
For 300 years Pembroke has placed a high value on reading and learning and as a community has sought ways to share and inspire. The Pembroke Public Library continues this legacy. The information available to residents through the library has grown to heights never dreamed of even 20 years ago, never mind back in 1878. The more things change, the more the community needs the library to provide the road map to the future and allow access to all residents. That was the dream of the Free Library Association which continues to be is fulfilled every day.
From the book: Pembroke 1712-2012: Ancient Trails to the 21st Century. This beautiful book is available for purchase at the library. Call us at 781-293-6771 to pricing and details.
The Center School was renovated and the library finally had a building to call its own. It was described as “modern” with colorful furniture and ample shelving. In the fall of 1974, Assistant Librarian Madelon Baltzar discovered that a spelling bee originally helped fund the library and a free spelling bee was planned to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the library. Alan Dunphy, a Library Trustee, suggested that a honeybee weathervane be constructed and placed on the cupola of the building. Pembroke artist Richard Edlund was asked to design the weathervane. He changed the design and unveiled the bee that was to decorate the roof in honor of the anniversary of the library. The sculpture is forty-seven inches high and forty-six pound sand was attached to the existing lightning rod with the help of the Pembroke Fire Department. The bee was written up in an article in Yankee Superlatives, a book by Yankee Magazine. It was the only known bee on a library. The bee was stolen in 1979, but was returned and repaired. The library continued to host spelling bees for 20 years. In 2004, the tradition of the spelling bee was resumed for fun not fundraising! During this time the town was growing fast. The “Center Library” became too small again to meet the needs of Pembroke. Residents formed a building committee in the late 1980s to design a new, truly modern building. The early efforts failed and it took the dedicated group eight years to finally get both town approval and state funding to build the new library. The ribbon was cut in October 1998. The town finally had its first library built to be a library.
Designed in the Greek Revival Style, the new Pembroke Public Library (still called “Center Library” by many) was built behind the old building which became the home of the Council on Aging. The new building was three times the size of the old with 18,000 square feet of space. And how the library has grown! In 1975, the library had 24,000 books and 6000 card holders who borrowed 81,500 times. In 2010, there were 91,145 items (books, magazines, DVDs, cds, etc.) and 13,615 card holders who borrowed 157,007 times! And the numbers keep rising. And that is a good thing.
For 300 years Pembroke has placed a high value on reading and learning and as a community has sought ways to share and inspire. The Pembroke Public Library continues this legacy. The information available to residents through the library has grown to heights never dreamed of even 20 years ago, never mind back in 1878. The more things change, the more the community needs the library to provide the road map to the future and allow access to all residents. That was the dream of the Free Library Association which continues to be is fulfilled every day.
From the book: Pembroke 1712-2012: Ancient Trails to the 21st Century. This beautiful book is available for purchase at the library. Call us at 781-293-6771 to pricing and details.