By Helen Poirier, Auburn Historical Society

Last month’s article dealt with the early years of the development of what is now the Auburn Free Public Library. This article will start at the turn of the 20th century. It had been over 30 years since William Craig donated $1,000 towards establishing a permanent free library for all town residents, but it still hadn’t been done. In 1900, over 1,435 books were borrowed from the library that was in the basement of Town Hall. In 1906-07, with Abby Shute as librarian, a card catalog was created, and the Dewey Decimal System was installed for better sorting of books. A new branch library was opened in 1908 in the Stoneville School with Mrs. William Barrows as assistant at the branch for 15 years.

In 1910 Leander S. Merriam made a donation of $8,000 for a library building as a memorial to his parents, Ebenezer and Clarissa, and his sister, Lucy. The lot where the cornerstone was laid was formerly the site of the Mellish homestead. The dedication of the Merriam Library Building was held June 17, 1911. After the death of Herbert G. Mellish in 1912, his widow gave $100 for books. In 1912 there were 3,639 books in the library collection.

The 1920s saw the Stoneville branch being opened Thursday 4-5 p.m. for children and 7:30-8:30 p.m. for adults. Children’s Week was being celebrated in both branches. Sizeable donations came from the late George H. Sibley estate, Mrs. Buffam of New York, Mrs. Clare S. Pond, Mrs. Mary D. Stone, Abby’s sister, and Leander Merriam. Lecture programs, club meetings and children’s programming  grew. In 1927 Abby Shute, who had been head librarian for 20 years, retired and Miss Mona Adshead became the head librarian. 

In the 1930s the town yearly reports chronicle the need for more room, changes to the borrowing system, more shelving space and grading of land around the Merriam building to mitigate dampness in the basement. There were increased phone requests for information, the need for reference books, and more library access in the outlining areas of the town. In 1930 the book circulation was 24,114 for the year with the total number of books in the library at 3,239.

The 1938 hurricane damaged the lights so only daylight hours were available. Looking for ways to expand regular delivery of books to the Boyce, Pakachoag, and West Auburn schools, the idea of a bookmobile emerged as a better way to cover the town, but was put aside due to lighting repairs at the main library.

The decade of the 1940s brought a new focus to the town library with the threat of war. New books pertaining to war and civilian defense were added to the collection, requests were made for more hours during the day to accommodate the decrease in the evenings due to the “dim out” rules. There were 988 books collected for the Victory Book Campaign. Improved lighting and more shelving was added in both buildings, but more room was still needed. Librarians did more outreach programs and talks. Mr. Carl Erickson, curator of Conchology at the Museum of Natural History of Worcester, arranged for more natural history exhibits and students visiting during the day with their teachers from Mary D. Stone School.

As the decade ended the circulation of books had increased to 52,020 books, a collection of recordings was added for borrowing. A card catalog was in place, a children’s vacation reading club had been organized, and a book lending plan was started in October 1949 at the Pakachoag School P.T.A. meeting. The library was working to solidify its importance to the town of Auburn with a dedicated and diligent head librarian and supportive Board of Trustees.

Next month is Women’s History month and will feature a look at Abby B. Shute, the first long-term librarian for the town. This article is made possible by the Auburn Historical Society & Museum, 41 South Street. The museum is open Tuesday and Saturday mornings 9:30-12:30 and may be reached at [email protected] or 508-832-6856.