Groton Public Library

The Town of Groton has had a long and deep affection for its public library. Groton's library, the 8th public library in the state, was founded the same year as the Boston Public Library, in 1854. Early records show that around 1834 books were available in Groton for the general public. Mr. Caleb Butler kept a selection of books for use for the fee of two or three cents a week. He also required a recommendation from an upstanding citizen using his lending library.

In 1854, the residents of Groton unanimously voted a sum of $500 for the library, matching the sum offered by the Honorable Abbott Lawrence for the same purpose. A committee made up of local gentlemen - George Boutwell, George Farley, Joshua Green, David Fosdick and John Boynton - set about to find an appropriate space to house the new library. A local shopkeeper, Mrs. Margaret Blake, whose business was on the corner of Main and Station Streets, was entrusted to care for the new library for 5 years, and was paid a $50 annual salary. The library holdings grew quickly, and the 1855 Library catalogue showed a collection of between 700 and 800 volumes, the majority of these books categorized as being of "substantial subject matter," rather than novels.

In 1860, the library moved to the Town House (currently known as Town Hall) and was kept in a small room at the right of the front door. It was managed by Mr. Henry Woodcock, who supplemented his library salary by repairing clocks and jewelry in the same space. The library continued to grow, although during some of the years of the Civil War, the library was without funding.

In 1867, the Library was moved to the Liberty Hall building, in the charge of Charles Woolley, and controversy struck. The young people of the town clamored for more works of fiction, prompting the then-chairman of the Library Trustees to remark that if he had his way, there would be no fiction at all. A petition was circulated, and 160 residents agreed that more fiction at the library would be welcome. These citizens called for a town meeting to see if the Library Committee might be instructed by a public vote to purchase more fiction. These citizen efforts caused Mr. Woolley to recognize the value of fiction, and he began his own circulating library that included novels. Patrons of this separate library paid six cents weekly. It was disbanded at the time of the founding of the Westford Library, when the majority of the novels became the basis for their collection. The remaining novels were absorbed into the Groton Public Library's collection.

In 1876 the Library returned to the Town House, with a collection of twenty-five hundred books and a circulation of over forty-five hundred a year. This return to a central location improved usage - in 1877, circulation increased to eight thousand. Miss Jennie H. Thayer ran the Library for sixteen years, until resigning in 1891 to work at Boston Public Library. This change ushered in Groton's longest-serving librarian, Miss Emma F. Blood, who served for fifty-seven years, resigning in 1948.

At the turn of the century, current and former residents of Groton began making bequests to the Library. Donors included Willard Dalrymple, Augustus Fletcher, and Luther Blood. Mrs. Charlotte A. L. Sibley offered to give the town a site for the new library building on Main Street, along with $4,000 towards its construction. The amount of her gift was gradually increased until it reached $12,000, about half the eventual cost. Mrs. Sibley continued to support the Library up until the time of her death in 1914.

The new building, dedicated May 18, 1893, was designed for free by architect Arthur Rotch, a grand-son of Abbott Lawrence, the original grantor of funds for the establishment of the library. Total cost of the land, building and furnishings was $27,500, of which $15,000 was appropriated by the town. At the dedication, the building committee gave the keys to the building to the Library Trustees, plus an honorary set to Charlotte Sibley, publicly marking the Library's new permanent home.

For the 50th anniversary in 1905, former Library trustee Mary Shumway wrote the first history of the Groton Public Library in which she reflects on the Library building, "Its door is near the street, to invite the public to come freely in. The windows of its reading room look out on a lovely landscape of meadow and mountain, and call the mind to restful communion with the wisdom of the wise."

In 1910, the Library received its two largest gifts of books to date that year, eighty-six children's books donated by Miss Helen Tweed and twenty-eight books donated by Miss Jennie Thayer, former Librarian for the town.

In 1915 the West Groton branch of the Library was established in a small room at the Tarbell School. It allowed residents with limited ability or time to travel the opportunity to make use of the Library's materials in a more convenient location. Both branches of the library continued increasing the hours of operation in order to improve service to the residents of the community.

In 150 years, the Library has only been closed three times. In 1919, the Board of Health requested the Library be closed from January 15th until February 3rd, and the West Groton branch from January 19th to February 4th, due to an influenza epidemic. In the winter of 1923, it closed for nine weeks due to a coal shortage. A room at the Colonial Gift Shop was used for a short period of time to circulate books. Fuel shortages in 1943 reduced operations to only 230 days instead of the usual 300. In 1999, the Library closed for 4 weeks in preparation for the March 9th opening of the newly renovated and expanded building.

The 1920s brought more donations to the Library. John H. Tarbell donated a collection of books belonging to his late brother, Professor Frank B. Tarbell. Martha P. Lawrence established the John Lawrence Fund. Mrs. Lawrence, a Trustee for nearly 35 years, additionally furnished the Children's Room when it was created in 1928, and contributed funds for landscaping. The Children's Room opened on January 2, 1929, with Miss Clarissa Coburn appointed Assistant Librarian.

In December 1931, Children's Room use was restricted due to a scarlet fever epidemic, and it was closed during school vacations. The West Groton branch moved from the Tarbell School to a more central location in 1933. The move to Rockwood House, financed by the Certified Dry Mat Corporation, placed the branch in the area of what is now the RiverCourt Residences.

During the Great Depression of the 1930s, people used their public libraries more than they had previously, and Groton was no exception. While its budget was cut by ½ from 5 years prior, forcing a reduction in hours, the Library saw a great increase in the use of library services, circulation of materials, and in the use of the reading rooms.

World War II had an impact on the Library in unexpected ways. The 1943 fuel shortage contributed to a drop in usage, due to the decrease in operating days, and in 1944, a shortage of tradesmen and certain materials caused many necessary improvements to be postponed. Sibley Hall, then located in the basement of the building, was used by the Red Cross, and the Groton Advisory Committee (GAC) was invited to use the Trustees' Room in 1945 for returning servicemen. A small fund was provided by the Library for the purchase of books and pamphlets concerning the important function served by the GAC.

In 1948, Emma F. Blood resigned as Head Librarian, the same year that the West Groton branch opened a Children's Room. Children's Story Hour was established, and was held once a week except during summer months. The Ladies Aid Society of the Christian Union Church contributed a record player and the beginnings of a music collection, and the West Groton branch was a testing ground for lending phonograph records, a service later adopted at the Main Library.

In 1955, the Library underwent a huge change in the way it operated. In the earliest days of the Library's history, only the Librarian had access to the book shelves, and the books and Librarian were separated from patrons by a barrier. The books were kept in a stack room, which was dark and crowded, with some of the shelves so high that almost half the books were out of sight. The stack room, which had been opened to the public, was renovated by adding windows and lowering the shelves so all the books could be reached.

The Library joined the State Regional Public Library System in 1963, allowing it to borrow materials on a three-to-six month basis from the Fitchburg and Worcester Public Libraries.

Shortly after joining the Public Library System, the library began reorganizing and moving the location of parts of the collection, relocating the Children's Room downstairs and using the newly opened space for an adult reading and study room.

The Friends of the Groton Public Library was established in 1967 by Mrs. John A. Bruner and Mrs. Henry R. Brown. They hosted their first book sale in the spring of 1973 as well as a tea for the teachers of the Groton public schools in the fall. The Friends remains an important part of the running of the library today, funding museum passes, organizing an annual book sale, and volunteering its valuable time for numerous projects.

The West Groton Branch closed on May 31, 1974 after fifty-nine years of service. Rockwood House, where the branch had been located for forty-one years, was sold.

In recognition of the Bicentennial year of 1976, the Library compiled a retrospective booklet covering its previous 122 years, similar to the one written in 1905 for its 50th anniversary. The Library also participated in the Labor Day Bicentennial celebration at the Groton Fair with an exhibit created by The Friends. A special exhibit in the Library was a diorama representing Groton in the 1700s, created, designed, and built by fifth and sixth grade students at the Prescott School.

The Library began honoring library cards from non-resident borrowers throughout the state in September 1979. In 2004, non-resident borrowing accounts for over 15% of the Library's total circulation. Several other passes are funded by the Groton Garden Club, and the John H. Robbins Fund.

In 1981, the Friends of the Groton Public Library made its first donation of museum passes, to the New England Aquarium. The Friends funded passes to 15 museums and other area attractions in 2004.

The Children's Room staff heeded the requests of parents and created a story hour for 3 year-olds in 1988 and one for 2 ½ year-olds in 1990. In 2004, the Children's Room offers Mother Goose Story Time for babies up to two years old, a Story Time for 3, 4, and 5 year-olds, Tales and Tunes for Tots for infants and preschoolers, and Pajama Story Time for children ages 3 - 8.

The Library celebrated the 100th anniversary of the building in 1993, complete with a community celebration and summary history of the previous 139 years. Members of the celebration committee included Trustees, members of the Library staff, and residents of the community. By that year, discussions were already underway to determine the possibility of substantially expanding the Library to serve a growing community's increased demand for services.

A Space Needs Committee was formed in 1994, which began drafting a library building program, researching the possibility of expansion, and starting a grant application for a state library construction grant. The 1990s were marked by large increases in circulation, giving further urgency to the need for expansion. On September 19, 1996, the Groton Public Library was notified that it was successful in its application for a $1.2 million state construction grant to fund 40% of the cost of an addition. The Town voted overwhelmingly to support the project - 426 to 9 at Town Meeting, and 3 to 1 for the override vote.

May 19, 1997 was moving day for the Library, 104 years and one day after its original dedication. The former Davis Library at the old Fort Devens housed a majority of the collection, with a satellite location at Legion Hall as a local community access point. Despite being split between two locations, library usage remained high.

The newly renovated and expanded Groton Public Library opened on March 6, 1999. A Library Web site and an art gallery debuted in October of that year. The additions and renovations would result in a new 17,140 square foot library building, which previously had only 4,000 square feet available for public use. The addition seamlessly complemented the existing design, and façade and much of the woodwork of the original century-old building was retained.

Since then, the Library has continued to grow, with annual circulation climbing to over 200,000. Financial support from the Endowment, the Friends, and various lecture funds have created new opportunities such as book readings and author visits, the formation of several community book groups, new story hours for children and other family programs, and the creation of a Young Adult Summer Reading Program (with a remarkable 284 participants in 2004.) The Children's Summer Reading Program had a record-breaking 882 participants in 2004, a tribute to community recognition of the Library's contribution to our lives and the importance of reading for children of all ages.

The Library has established collections of videos, DVDs, music CDs, CD-ROMs, and audio books on cassette and CD. Technology plays an important part in Library services. The Web site provides online access to the Library catalog, as well as periodical databases, an upcoming events calendar, a museum pass reservation system, and many other resources. Reference questions are answered not only in person or on the telephone, but also via email and instant messaging. The Library has 8 public Internet computers, and has offered numerous computer classes to the public. A wireless network will soon expand Internet access to even more Library users.

The Groton Public Library has been an important part of the community for 150 years. We are fortunate to have a Library committed to remaining on the cutting edge of advancing technology and the acquisition of new and interesting materials, as well as to live in a community that recognizes a good public library is a priceless asset to all. The Groton Public Library continues to uphold the motto inscribed over its doors - "Open to All" - and will remain a center for community activity in the years and decades to come.