MBLC Celebrates 125 Years

Henry Woods Memorial Library building, Barre
(Image from Digital Commonwealth collections)

The Board of Library Commissioners approved the Eastern Regional Public Library System's implementation of daily delivery service for books, media equipment, and information to libraries within specifically designated sub-regional areas.¹

The 1972 theme for summer reading, set again by the Children's Book Council, was "...whole great big fun thing." Due to the ALA's financial limitations, all posters, certificates, membership cards, and bookmarks designed by Tomi Ungerer were first come first serve.¹

Children's Book Week Kits were available for $3.75. They included a poster drawn by William Steig (in English or Spanish), three streamers, 50 bookmarks, 50 book folders, one song, and a book about the history of Children's Book Week.¹

What else happened in 1972?

• September 5: Eleven Israeli athletes at the Olympic Games in Munich, Germany were killed after eight members of an Arab terrorist group invaded the Olympic Village; five guerrillas and one policeman were also killed.²
• Five men were apprehended by police in an attempt to bug the Democratic National Committee's headquarters in Washington, D.C.'s Watergate complex; it was the start of the Watergate scandal.²
• The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty was unconstitutional.²
• The Boston Bruins were once again the Stanley Cup Champions; they defeated the New York Rangers.²
• Atari introduced the arcade version of Pong, the first video game. The home version would come out in 1974.²

References:
1. MBLC newsletters, 1972.
2. www.infoplease.com [link].