The Charlton Public Library is a public library in Charlton, Massachusetts, United States. It was formed from the merger of two private library associations and has been a free library operated by the town since 1882. It has been located in Dexter Memorial Hall since that building's construction in 1905, and began occupying the complete building after a major renovation in 2007.

History

In 1816, a private association was created in Charlton, Massachusetts called the Female Social Library. There was a one-dollar subscription fee for the women to be able to use it, with books housed at one of the members' homes. In 1860, another library was founded in town called the Charlton Young Men's Library Association or Charlton Agricultural Library Association, which also charged fees for use. The two libraries voted to join forces in 1882 and merge into a single free public library operated by the government of the town. One person voting in favor wrote, "I like very much the idea of a good library free to all citizens of the town and the Young Men’s Library would I think reach a larger number under the proposed plan than the present."

William H. Dexter, a native of the town, donated a building for use as a town hall and library. At its dedication on February 21, 1905, he said:

The library would remain in that single room in the town hall, in size, through 1998. On September 28, 1998, at a special town meeting, the voters of the town chose to transfer control of the entire building over to the library trustees and to begin raising money to perform renovations.

After a significant fundraising campaign that included over $1 million in community contributions in addition to state grant money from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, a groundbreaking ceremony for the building renovation project took place on December 3, 2005. During the renovation project, much of the collection was placed in storage, though about a third of it was moved to a temporary location at 61 North Main Street. There was a ceremonial "250 Hands Move 250 books" event on November 19, 2005, marking the move as well as marking the town's 250's anniversary. A couple years later, on July 23, 2007, the renovated building opened to the public, after a total project cost of $7.1 million. At the official ribbon-cutting ceremony on September 23, 2007, state senator Stephen Brewer said to the fundraising committee, "What a gift you have given to the town of Charlton."

Services

The Charlton Public Library offers many programs and services to people in the community, including public computers, free Wi-Fi access, craft programs, and a summer reading program. They have a kids Lego Club, and operate a library of things for patrons to borrow useful household items. Several meeting and study rooms are also available.

Banning of Eve's Diary

In 1906, while looking through one hundred books that had been recently purchased for use in the library, librarian Hattie L. Carpenter saw the illustrations in Mark Twain's short story Eve's Diary and brought them to the attention of library trustee Frank O. Wakefield saying that she "had her doubts" about them.

Fifty of the pictures included Eve in "Summer costume" (meaning without clothes). The other trustees, Rev. George O. Jenness and Lewis A. McIntyre, agreed with Wakefield on banning the book from being shelved in the library. When asked by The New York Times for comment, Twain replied that "the action of the Charlton library was not of the slightest interest to him."

In December 1906, after Mark Twain testified at a hearing on updating laws relating to copyright, he was asked again for his opinion on the banning of the book. He replied:

The next year in a letter to a Mrs. Whitmore in Hartford, Twain wrote:

Book unbanned

Over one hundred years later in 2008, Richard Whitehead became a library trustee and was doing research on its history when he discovered that the Charlton Public Library had banned the book. He worked to locate a copy of the version that had been banned so that it could be restored to circulation. In 2011 in what Whitehead described as a largely symbolic gesture, the library board of trustees voted unanimously to reverse its ban. The book was displayed prominently as part of a celebration of Banned Books Week.

The move attracted a significant amount of positive press, including an article in The New York Times to follow up on its initial 1906 reporting. The Times said that the illustrations "now seem quite chaste". Library director Cheryl Hansen was pleased with getting some favorable attention on the library, saying, "We're getting positive press for a change. We're usually talking about bad budgets, things like that." An editorial in The Record reported that "Within hours of two paperback copies of the book being shelved at the Charlton Library, one had been checked out," and called it "a fitting start" to Banned Books Week.

Controversy over having police ask for return of overdue items

The Charlton library got some negative press after having a town police officer visit a home on December 27, 2011, to inform the family there about some long-overdue items, including a book-on-tape audiobook that the library valued at $100. The library had sent several overdue notices and invoices but had not received a response. The library had thought that having a police officer just visit would be a more polite step rather than trying to pursue the issue in the courts, which would also have required an officer to deliver a summons to the family. However, the visit greatly upset the 5-year-old girl living there, who feared being arrested. Hansen said about the issue, "I think this is the friendlier, gentler way in my opinion. It's too bad that that is what it takes but it's worked; we've gotten materials back." An editorial in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette defended the library, saying "Our cherished library system is built on order and trust. Public libraries belong to the community, are paid for by residents, and deserve respect and cooperation."

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