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MBLC Celebrates 125 Years

1956

The Leominster Public Library celebrated its centennial. In the photograph below, Mr. Laurie J. Cormier, mayor of Leominster and Mrs. Charles J. Laserte, chairman of the library's board of trustees, are shown holding the early handwritten records of the town library committee dating from May 1856.1

Leominster Public Library centennial, reading of library committee records

Leominster Public Library centennial, 19561


The Report of State Aid to Public Libraries, commonly known as the Buck Report, was presented to the legislature after Governor Herter's commission completed its work. One of the recommendations made by the Buck Report was that "a grant-in-aid be made to each public library meeting minimum standards of service."2

27,535,242 books circulated from Massachusetts libraries in 1956.3 Direct circulation to users has been at least double that figure every year since 2008.

What else happened in 1956?

  • General Electric-Telechron marked a snooze alarm clock for the first time.4
  • Elvis Presley entered the U.S. music charts for the first time with "Heartbreak Hotel."5
  • March 12: The Dow Jones closed above 500 for the first time.6
  • November 6: President Dwight D. Eisenhower defeated challenger Adlai E. Stevenson in a rematch of their contest 4 years earlier.6

References:
1. Bay State Librarian (Bulletin of the Massachusetts Library Association), Summer 1956.
2. MBLC website [link].
3. Division of Library Extension newsletter, December 1957.
4. www.clockhistory.com [link].
5. www.songfacts.com [link].
6. www.historyorb.com [link].