A Treasured Reference Book in the State Library

As with all State Houses across the country, the Massachusetts State House constantly “buzzes” with political activity. The State Library is right in the center of all of that exciting work and the reference desk is constantly visited by those wanting to learn about their government.

Visitors to the library, in person or via e-mail, want information about members of the Massachusetts General Court (the legislature).  The Massachusetts Political Almanac is a source reference staff consult constantly to answer these inquiries.  This volume gives biographical backgrounds.  It includes information about the members’ districts.  Election results, organization membership and committee assignments are noted.  A section on key votes by a legislator includes explanations of the issues which have been catalysts for the votes.

The library has received renditions of this source for nearly forty years and a section or volume on the Executive Branch was added with the 1985/1986 session.  In early years, the Political Almanac was known as the Massachusetts Research Center’s Massachusetts State Officials, “an almanac.”

The 2014 edition has more information than ever.  It contains a special pull-out map of the House and Senate districts, a feature added in 2013.  Sections of note in the current volume include:

• photographs and biographies of all of the members 
• Information and staff listings for Executive agencies with photographs
• Constitutional Officer profiles: (Governor, Lt. Governor, State Auditor, Attorney-General, Secretary of the Commonwealth and State Treasurer)
• The Supreme Judicial Court profiles
• Directory of the Appeals Court
• The Congressional Delegation
• Legislators listed by city/town

The current publisher, Craig Sandler, from the State House News Service, (a private newsgroup located in the State House), has included a section on State House News Service Top Ten Stories from 2013 and a section addressing Racial Change in the Bay State.  Another is entitled: Massachusetts Statewide Demographic Data.  There is even a section on Legislative House Values.

One other key section which helps with overall questions about the state is entitled Milestones in the History of Massachusetts.  It is a fascinating compendium.

In numerous ways, the political almanacs are what one might term “a reference librarian’s dream source.”  The current volume is out in the reference area.  Copies of many year’s volumes are kept in a separate area near the library’s main floor.  The arrival of a  new edition is a welcome “event” for staff.

Please visit us here in the State House to view the almanacs and our many holdings about state government.


Pamela W. Schofield
Legislative Reference Librarian

A new exhibit on the Beginnings of the Textile Industry in Massachusetts

 

Doubling frame in a large woolen mill, Lawrence, Mass.
Keystone View Company, early 1900s. Stereoview.


The State Library invites you to our newest exhibit, The Beginnings of the Textile Industry in Massachusetts.

The exhibit concentrates on the flourishing textile industry in early 19th-century Massachusetts: the machinery of the Industrial Revolution, water rights, modern business practices, and the early labor force of educated farmers’ daughters. The display features holdings from the State Library Collections.

The exhibit runs from September 10 through December 31, 2013 and can be viewed outside of the Library, Room 341 of the State House. Library hours are Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm.

A special thanks to Mary Salzman, a former Reference/Exhibitions intern, who researched the topic, scanned many of the documents, wrote the panel text, and designed the exhibit layout.

Brown Bag on City Year with emphasis on City Year Boston

Join us for a Brown Bag Lunch

on Thursday March 28th, 2013
Room 442, State House

12 until 1:30 PM

Bring your lunch and join us to hear City Year Boston’s Recruitment Manager, Jamaal Williams, speak of this national/international program. You’ve seen the red jackets and Timberland boot-wearing young adults all over the city, but do you know the impact that they’re having on urban education? Learn about City Year’s mission to address the high school dropout crisis and find out how they inspire the next generation of leaders and scholars in the Boston area and across the world.

Mr. Williams will share the history of City Year; he will provide some perspective regarding City Year’s growth, both locally and nationally; and he will talk about his journey into the national service movement and his passion for youth work.

To register, please go to http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/R79T6QK

You may also register by calling the Reference Department at 617-727-2590 or by e-mailing to Reference.Department@state.ma.us

Seasons Greetings from the State Library of Massachusetts

As you curl up next to your computer with hot cocoa (or another wonderfully warm beverage), please enjoy some vintage postcards depicting wintery scenes of the Massachusetts State House.  Visit our Flickr account to view additional selected images from our State House post card collection (also known as Souvenir no. 68.

We at the State Library of Massachusetts wish you a wonderful holiday season and a Happy New Year!

A Photographic Mystery: An Anonymous Picture of a Woman in the 1869 Senate Album

Sometimes a little mystery makes a project all the more interesting! In a recent blog entry, I reported on our newly digitized legislative photograph collection and some of the characteristics I observed. Since then, I have been working ardently on creating and fixing metadata that will be attached to each photograph. Although the project is moving along pretty smoothly, some snags are to be expected—namely trying to identify unidentified legislators, officers of the court, and other images included within the collection. I’ve been largely successful with the bound Senate albums, relying greatly on the relationship between the order of the pictures in the album and the senators’ seating arrangements found in the Manuals of the General Court, but I am finding that the loose photographs are incredibly difficult to identify.

One image in particular pleasantly surprised me: our Senate album for the year 1869 concludes with a final picture of an anonymous woman. Keep in mind, the first female Massachusetts legislator did not serve until 1923 (also see our updated list of women in the Mass. Legislature), so this is a bit of a head-scratcher. Who was she? Was she the widow of an important Massachusetts legislator? Women’s suffrage continued to be an active cause during this time period—could she have been making waves in the legislature? Was she an officer for the Senate? Her picture comes at the end of the album where the officers were typically located. Nevertheless, officers and appointees of the General Court in the 19th century were, like legislators, exclusively men; it wasn’t until the early 20th century that we begin to see women appointed to positions such as cashiers and stenographers. Unfortunately, the 1869 Manual of the General Court, as well as the Journal of the Senate for that year, provide no helpful information on who she was and the role she played.

If you recognize the woman in this picture, or have strong suspicions that you might know who she is, please contact the State Library at reference.department@state.ma.us.

Kaitlin Connolly
Reference Department