Former library director to speak at Historical Society annual meeting

Louise Brown, former director of the Wayland Public Library, will speak about the history of the library at the Wayland Historical Society’s Annual Meeting on Tuesday, May 12 at 7:30pm at the Grout Heard House. Founded in 1848, the Wayland Public Library is the first public library in Massachusetts and the second oldest in the nation. Its origins stem from the robust early private library societies in our town, from the $500 gift from Rev. Francis Wayland and from a precendent setting law introduced to the General Court by the Rev. John Burt Wright, Wayland’s state representative in 1851. Brown began working at the Library in 1966. Eleven years later, she was named director, a post she held for 26 years. Although officially retired, she still finds time to volunteer her talents on local library projects. Her other volunteer activities include serving as president of her class from Simmons College, being a tour guide at DeCordova Museum, and heading the library at her synagogue. The talk will follow a brief business meeting where annual reports will be heard and officers for the coming year will be elected. An exhibit of our local library documents is planned. Refreshments will be served. The public is invited.