The State Library of Massachusetts has enjoyed a rich and colorful history since its origins, which date all the way back to 1811. One of the Library’s most important early functions was exchanging statutes with other states; from there it evolved into a comprehensive research library with one of the largest collections of national and foreign government documents in the country. In fact, as a participating member of state library interchange agreements, these collections were instrumental in helping other libraries in the United States and around the world—especially those affected by war and disasters—rebuild their own collections. Before the Internet, the best and quickest way to access any type of library material was by having a physical copy onsite. Loss of collections could be devastating to a library, its patrons, and its surrounding community.
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| The State Library’s Reading Room in 1912. |
A Boston Globe article, published in 1956, states that “Massachusetts was a pioneer in the practical ‘good neighbor’ policy. Many State libraries or their equivalent which suffered in the Civil War were helped to rebuild by duplicates from Massachusetts.” Here are some examples of libraries that the State Library has helped through the years:
- The State Library of New York, which lost over 500,000 books and 300,000 manuscripts to a fire on March 29, 1911.
- The Michigan State Library, which lost over 500,000 books and documents to water and falling debris after a 1951 fire.
- The library at the University of the Philippines and the Legislative Library at Manila, which suffered damage and loss to their collections during wartime.
- Duplicate publications in the State Library of Massachusetts, used to replace or complete library collections, have also been sent to the national libraries of Great Britain, Canada and Australia.
In recent decades the Library’s focus has narrowed on collecting Massachusetts-centric historical and government publications and making them available online in our digital repository whenever possible. Because of greater electronic access, as well as related “good neighbor” services such as interlibrary loan, these types of requests are now rare.
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| Example of publications, documented in the Library’s 1880 annual report, that were received from Canada as part of the State Library’s exchange program. |
The State Library’s early annual reports provide lists of books and other materials received through exchange during a given year, as well as how many were sent out to other libraries. You can view the Library’s annual reports from 1849-current by clicking the following link: https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/handle/2452/113271
Article cited:
Bartlett, K. S. “State Preserves Key to Canadian History.” Daily Boston Globe, 5 April 1956, p. 18.
Kaitlin Connolly
Reference Department
