Previous Commissioners

In 1890, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts became the first state in the nation to form an agency dedicated to the development of public library service.

The Free Public Library Commission was specifically authorized to "provide towns maintaining free public libraries one hundred dollars-worth of books selected and purchased by the Commissioners." Librarians and trustees were invited to ask the Board of Library Commissioners for advice regarding the selection of books, the cataloguing of books, and any other matters pertaining to the maintenance or administration of the library.

We honor all who have served the Commonwealth and its libraries as members of the Board, generously giving their time and talents to the pursuit of excellence in library service for the people of Massachusetts.

Commissioner Years of Service
Samuel Swett Green 1890 1909
Henry Nourse 1890 1903
Elizabeth P. Sohier 1890 1926
Anna E. Ticknor 1890 1896
C.B. Tillinghast 1890 1909
Anna Amory Weld 1896 1900
Mabel Simpkins Agassiz 1900 1910
Deloraine P. Corey 1903 1910
Charles Belden 1909 1931
Hiller Wellman 1909 1939
Anna M. Bancroft 1910 1936
Frank H. Howes 1910 1920
Edward H. Redstone 1920 1936
Mrs. Axel A. Packard 1928 1932
John A. Butler 1931 1946
Mrs. Augustus L. Thorndike 1932 1936
Dennis A. Dooley 1936 1939
Mrs. Golda R. Walters 1936  1941
William T. O'Rourke 1936  1941
Stacy B. Southworth 1939 1956
Mrs. Edward P. Furber 1939 1949
Mildred H. McAfee Horton 1941 1949
Richard J. Sullivan 1942 1969
Hugh F. Blunt 1946 1953
John D. Kelley 1949 1964
John J. Mahoney 1949 1956
Charles D. Driscoll 1953 1955
Channing L. Bete 1955 1963
John A. Humphry 1956 1964
Mrs. George R. Wallace 1956 1963
John N. Fulham, Jr. 1963 1965
George D. Blackwood 1963 1966
Mrs. Lawrence K. Miller 1964 1974
Mrs. H. Shippen Goodhue 1964 1974
James F. Francis 1965 1973
Forrest W. Seymour 1966 1971
Walter W. Curley 1969 1970
Bennett C. Wilson 1970 1978
James W. Ryan 1971 1972
Lamont L. Thompson 1973 1976
M. Virginia Biggy 1973 1977
Mrs. William Van Voris 1974 1976
Garth Hite 1974 1976
Solomon Rosenbaum 1976 1981
Rev. John R. Aherne 1976 1983
Mrs. Veniette O'Connor 1976 1978
Irene E. Podger 1978 1984
Robert C. Hayden 1978 1982
Joan Rosner 1978 1989
James Ryder 1978 1983
Samuel Sass 1978 1988
Adelaide Gulliver 1978 1978
Alan R. Stanzler 1978 1980
Margaret F. Mullin 1978 1984
Martha G. Edmondson 1981 1989
Richard J. McCarthy 1981 1985
Donald Cronin 1983 1984
William O'Neil 1984 1989
Timothy Mantalos 1984 1989
Kevin Moloney 1984 1993
Solomon Rosenbaum 1984 1987
Ann Murphy 1985 1993
Dorothy Dunn 1985 1990
William Johnson 1988 1992
B. Donald Cook 1989 1993
Carol B. Dane 1989 1993
Mary Long 1989 1995
Robert D. Stueart 1989 1994
S. Andrew Efstathiou 1990 1998
Marilyn Chunglo 1991 1993
Elizabeth Eddison 1991 1991
Robert D. Hall, Jr 1992 2001
Walter L. Cameron, Jr. 1993 2004
Jurgen Thomas 1993 1998
Michael J. Keating 1993 1999
Irene Probstein 1993 1998
John Arnold 1994 2006
Elia Marnik 1994 2006
Edward Bertorelli 1995 2007
Joseph Hopkins 1998 2007
Robert F. Mooney 1998 2005
John Henderson 1999 2003
Deborah Hill Bornheimer 1999 2005
Dr. Em Claire Knowles 2001 2011
Michelle Mann 2004 2005
Emily Salaun 2005 2008
George T. Comeau 2004 2012
Katherine K. Dibble 2005 2013
Richard Dunbar 2005 2009
Vicki L. Kaufman 2006 2011
Irving Zangwill 2006 2010
Francis R. (Frank) Murphy 2007 2018
Carol B. Caro 2008 2018
Mary Rose Quinn 2007 2014
Gregory J. Shesko 2009 2019
Alice Welch 2010 2019
Mary Ann Cluggish 2011 2024
Mary Kronholm 2011 2021
N. Janeen Resnick 2012 2022
George T. Comeau 2013 2018
Roland A. Ochsenbein 2015 2020
Deborah Abraham 2018 2023
Leslie Ball 2018 2023
Gina Perille 2018 2021
Phillip Madell 2019 2020
Stacy DeBole 2019 2024
Vicky Biancolo 2020
Debby Conrad 2020
George T. Comeau 2021
Karen Traub 2021
Jessica V. Vilas Novas 2022
Joyce Linehan 2023
Barbara Barros 2023 2024
Kate Chang 2024
Timothy Cherubini 2024

Upcoming Meetings

Board Meetings begin promptly at 10 am unless otherwise noted.

For More Information

Rachel Masse, Assistant to the Director
617-725-1860 x218
857-488-6953 (Mobile)
rachel.masse@mass.gov