For the first 100 years of Holliston’s history, no public library is mentioned. Around 1820, a private social library called the Holliston Lyceum was started, and its books were kept in the homes of a minister, doctor, or lawyer until they found their way to the Light Infantry Room of the old Town House. Citizens contributed $25 each to this library, and members were assessed $3 per year. A member was allowed to take out 4 books at a time, each of which was to be returned the next day the library was open, 3 months later, “before the stroke of 3 o’clock.” The library closed upon the removal of the Town House in 1847, and the books were auctioned.
In 1876, Persis Bullard and Mary Ellen Bishop gave $1000 to the town in memory of their father, Elias Bullard, to establish a free public library. Three years later, Seth Thayer and others offered an additional $1000 on the condition that the town match the funds through the dog licensing tax. The town meeting provided the funds, and the new library opened in town hall from 3 to 6 pm on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Josephine Rockwood was the librarian, a post she would hold until 1909. The annual town reports of this time note two main complaints: that children were not taking proper care of the books and that too many patrons were reading frivolous novels rather than nonfiction. The library grew, and a second room was added in 1890. Unfortunately, the town lockup was located beneath the library, not the best environment in which to read.
In 1900, Elizabeth S. Burnap left land adjoining her home on Washington Street to be given to the library trustees and to be held by them and their successors forever for a library. Three years later, Reverend Nicholas Vander Pyl wrote to steel magnate Andrew Carnegie, asking for help in establishing a library building on this site in Holliston.
The most common floor plan of a Carnegie library called for a main floor with an adult reading area on one side, a children’s area on the other, and the librarian’s desk between the two, of which our library is an example. The front door was located in the middle, opposite the librarian. The high ceilings and the second-level public areas provided spacious interior rooms with good natural lighting and ventilation. Carnegie and Bertram were also fond of classical elements of design like Holliston’s columns. However, it is the stairs to the front entrance that are commonly regarded as the identifying characteristic of a Carnegie library.
In Holliston, the new library, designed by J. Lawrence Berry of Boston, opened on July 5, 1904, having been postponed one day due to an electrical storm. The cost was just under $10,000, including furnishings. Holliston had 2500 citizens. A time capsule containing local documents and newspapers was placed under one of the pillars. Walter Moynihan was the first to get a library card, and he and Paul Brooks were the first to take out books. The library grew and expanded, but by the early ‘60s, it had become overcrowded and inadequate to serve the needs of Holliston. Rather than building an addition, the basement was turned into the children’s room in 1963. In 1976, the Trustees began to develop a new building program, which was rejected twice at the Town Meeting. By 1987, Holliston had a library that was 3 times larger, enhanced by a $1.8 million addition, complete with an elevator, handicapped accessibility, and a meeting room. All areas and systems were renovated and updated. In 1994, the library joined the Minuteman Library Network and automated all library functions with computers.
Today the total circulation at HPL is over 209,000 items. This past year, we circulated over 122,000 print books and 77,000 children’s books, as well as 75,000 non-print items. The library has 66,070 items in its collection, and we processed nearly 60,000 interlibrary loans. We checked out 56,568 eBooks and audiobooks, 8,600 DVDs, and 6,000 CDs. We offered over 1,000 programs, over 600 museum pass reservations, and built a new Library of Things. Over 2/3 of our patrons use the library catalog and databases from home. The library’s website is essential to the lives of thousands of patrons who use it every day.
