Dedham Public Library

[3] The library was opened to the public on February 1, 1855, in a house next to the insurance building where Judge Ezra Wilkinson formerly had an office.

[3] By the payment of $5, a person became a shareholder and member of the Association and was obliged to pay a varying sum annually toward its support.

[3] For some time previous to 1870, a strong desire had been felt by many members of the association and others interested in the usefulness of the library that free privileges should be granted to the people of the town.

[3] A successful fair was held by the ladies of the Association soon after this in which people of all parts of the town were actively interested and which resulted in raising $4,000 as a fund for the new library.

[3] Several persons had petitioned the Massachusetts General Court for an act of incorporation, which was passed March 24, 1871 and accepted April 27, 1871.

[3] This act incorporated Waldo Colburn, Thomas L. Wakefield, Edward Stimson, Edmund Quincy, William Chickering, Erastus Worthington, Alfred Hewins, Henry 0.

[6] It also gave them power to hold in trust real and personal estate in value not exceeding $100,000 exclusive of books, papers, and works of art.

[7] At a meeting of the trustees held in November, it was voted to open a free public library and reading room at the earliest practicable date.

[7] The running expenses of the library were paid from the town appropriation and books and periodicals were bought from the annual income of the funds which amounted to about $550.

[12][4][8][11][10] In April 1886, a lot of 19,101 square feet in size was purchased for $2,000 on the corner of Church and Norfolk Streets; the ground was broken on October 13.

[4] This building was constructed in the French Romanesque style of Dedham pink granite laid up with random ashlar work in quarry facings and trimmings of red sandstone.

[4] The first ever use of a metal stack system was probably Van Brunt design of the Statehouse Library in Topeka, Kansas in 1883.

[4] Opposite the main entrance into this room was an open hooded fireplace, above which was a marble plane for an inscription.

[15] The woodwork of the interior of the building was brown ash and the plaster surfaces were treated with color and border lines.

[10] For the 100th anniversary in 1972, the Library hosted a number of lectures and readings, including those by Howard Mumford Jones, William Alfred, and Anne Sexton.

[10] The annual circulation of the library was about 28,000 volumes in 1899, nearly one third of which went through the delivery stations in the upper grades of the grammar schools in charge of the teachers.

[17] This effort to connect the library more intimately with the work of the Dedham Public Schools widened its service and made it a stronger factor in the education of the children.

[17] A list of books was prepared by the superintendent and a committee of the teachers and typewritten copies having the shelf numbers were placed in the various schools.

[10] The success of the reading room in East Dedham prompted the trustees to establish a full circulating branch in the neighborhood, complete with a reference section.

[10] By 1970, the rented spaces in Oakdale and East Dedham were in "deplorable" condition and, because they were leased to the Town, they could not be expanded.

"[25][26] Problems at the main library included a lack of parking, not enough room for books, and the need to improve services.

[25] The first was to combine the Oakdale and East Dedham branch libraries and move them to a renovated garage at the Endicott Estate.

[27] The Finance Committee's recommendation to Town Meeting was to appropriate $61,000 to convert the nine car garage[29][30] into a library.

[31][32][e] The Finance Committee argued that it was a prudent move to consolidate the other branches, and that a library would serve all age groups within the town.

[27] At the 1972 Annual Town Meeting, the Library Trustees made a new pitch for two of the Estate's 26 acres, including the garage.

[28][35] Trustee chairman Sophia S. Johnson cut a ceremonial ribbon to open the library on February 11, 1973.

[35] A group of Campfire Girls provided refreshments and a clarinet quartet from the High School played music.

[35] On April 1, 1889, by act of the General Court, the trustees transferred the entire property of the library to the town.