[1] It was founded in 1889 by an act of the legislature with the stated goal "to promote the efficiency of libraries and to cultivate fellowship among its members.

"[1][2] A group of 49 library trustees and one librarian met for the first time on September 12, 1890, at the American Library Association meeting in the White Mountains.

[3][1] Nathan Hunt, the City Librarian of Manchester, was NHLA's first president, elected in 1891.

[1] NHLA became a state chapter of the American Library Association in 1941.

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