Springfield City Library To Mark Centennial

One of the largest resource libraries in western Massachusetts is marking its first century with an appeal for public help.

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Credit WAMC

A bust of Andrew Carnegie in the rotunda of the Springfield Central Library. The city's library system was started 100 years ago with an endowment from the industrialist

The Springfield City Library is holding an anniversary gala the evening of April 20th in the rotunda of the central library. Proceeds will go to the non profit, Friends of the City Library. The organization’s president Mary Ann Maloney says the group has raised $300,000 in recent years to augment shrinking library budgets

City budget cuts have reduced the library’s hours of operation and even forced a temporary closure  of some neighborhood branch libraries last summer.  More than 225 thousand items were checked out of the Springfield central library last year.