State Library of Massachusetts: The Cross-Reference: A Massachusetts State Library Publication (Published Erratically)

Monday, April 27, 2026

The Cross-Reference: A Massachusetts State Library Publication (Published Erratically)

A candid photograph of State Library staff members found in Ms. Coll. 66, c. 1930. There are six women in the photo, but the inscription on the back only lists five names. It is uncertain whether the names are listed in the order the librarians are shown here. Clarissa Holmes, one of the women pictured, was the editor of The Cross-Reference.

Ms. Collection 66 has felt ever-present in the Special Collections Department reading room this year. This collection documents the inner workings of the State Library throughout its history. It includes correspondence regarding the everyday operations of the Library, Board of Trustees meeting minutes, renovation plans, photographs, past exhibit files, and newspaper clippings about the Library and its staff over the years. It even holds a few artifacts, such as the enormous “Mass Room” stamp currently on display in our 200th anniversary exhibit. While staff prepared for our numerous 200th celebratory events, our interns also worked to rehouse the materials in Ms. Coll. 66. As a result, I came across items from the State Library’s history which made me feel a personal connection to the librarians who came before me in a pretty unexpected way.

During the 1920s, State Library staff published an internal newsletter they titled The Cross-Reference, and I suspect they had a lot of fun doing it. The first issue was published in March 1925 by “Holmes-Clark Publishing Co.,” a reference to librarians C. J. (Clarissa) Holmes and H.E. Clark, who spearheaded the efforts. I thought these witty women should have their writing featured by their fellow librarians here on our blog 100 years later. For the rest of this writeup, I’m going to let them speak for themselves:

Reports on social gatherings (and suspicious behaviors)