MBLC Celebrates 125 Years

The 96th Annual Report sports some fine graphic design.

TODAY: Technology and resource sharing are funding priorities for the MBLC.
In 1985: According to the year's annual report, FY 1985 was "the first full year of implementing the state's Automated Resource Sharing Plan... Development of automated resource-sharing clusters of libraries was a major activity."

The Old Colony Library Network (OCLN) and the Automated Bristol Library Exchange - five libraries bordering Rhode Island, now part of the SAILS network - received Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA) funds to establish "resource-sharing clusters."

During FY 1985, the Statewide Advisory Council on Libraries (SACL) also recommended funding to enable C/W MARS to "add new members to its existing 28-member network," as well as "funds for the University of Lowell to add another academic and nearly 40 hospital libraries to its emerging health sciences collaborative."

Additionally, the Network Advisory Committee (NAC) first held meetings in FY 1985. The NAC advised the Agency on how to continue "establishing, expanding, and operating local, regional, and interstate cooperative networks of libraries" as a part of the state's plan for "meeting user and library needs through cooperative resource-sharing."¹

What else happened in 1985?

• January 1: The Internet's Domain Name System was created.²
• July 10: Rainbow Warrior, the Greenpeace ship that led a flotilla of protestors against French nuclear testing, was bombed and sunk in Auckland Harbor, New Zealand.²
• October 18: The first Nintendo home video game console was released in the United States.²
• October 30: Treasure hunter Barry Clifford discovered the 1700s pirate ship Whydah off the coast of Cape Cod; he and his team collected millions of dollars in loot and continue to find more artifacts during each new summer dive season.³

References:
1. 96th Annual Report of the Board of Library Commissioners.
2. 1985 - Wikipedia entry [link].
3. www.massmoments.org [link].