The Concord Free Public Library Corporation is a Massachusetts charitable corporation created by the Massachusetts Legislature in 1873 for the purpose of forming and maintaining a public library in Concord, which it undertakes to do in collaboration with the Town and its Library Committee. The Corporation consists of a Board of Trustees responsible for overseeing and maintaining the buildings, grounds, special collections, art, and other property of the Library owned by the Corporation.

The Corporation is funded solely through private philanthropy.  Each year, the Library Corporation contributes over $650,000 for buildings and grounds; Special Collections exhibitions, programs, and acquisitions; insurance; security; equipment; books and materials; and scholarships.

The Concord Free Public Library is the community center for information, culture, entertainment, and education.  At intervals over the last century, our buildings have been lovingly renovated to better serve the citizens of Concord.  These renovations made the most of our two beautiful historic buildings, provided important updates of our heating, cooling, plumbing, and electrical systems, and restored treasured spaces within the Main Library and Fowler.  Provisions for safe storage and preservation of our special collections have made possible increased access to priceless materials from Concord’s rich history.

Our Library is thriving, providing exceptional access to literature and information available in our stacks, in our special collections, through our Minuteman Network, and through evolving technology.  Our literary and educational programs for children, young adults, teens, and adults are outstanding in their content, increasingly popular, and often oversubscribed.

At a time when many municipal libraries are struggling for survival, culling collections, or closing their doors, Concord’s doors are wide open to our own townspeople and to readers across the globe.   The energy of our programs and offerings is spilling over the brim.  The most recent Town Services Survey highlighted continued interest in providing additional events and programming; enhanced digital services; unique children’s, tweens, and teens spaces and services; and more interactive and intergenerational spaces.

Please click here to read the most recent Town/Library Agreement.
Pictured below: The Library Corporation Trustees in 2023.

The Library Corporation Board of Trustees

Sherry F. Litwack, President
Richard Briggs, Jr., Treasurer
Pamela M. Gannon, Clerk
Jeffrey Adams
John W. Boynton IV
Theodore F. Hanselman
Yumi Yasutake Suarez
Elise F. Woodward

HOW WE WORK

A productive public-private partnership since 1873 advances the Library’s work. The Town of Concord allocates municipal funding for its operating budget, including staff, utilities, and books and materials. Dependent entirely on private philanthropic support from the community, the nonprofit Concord Free Public Library Corporation owns and oversees the buildings, grounds, and Special Collections and is responsible for their preservation, maintenance, and expansion. The Library Corporation also raises and manages the endowment and the Annual Fund — providing essential funding to augment the operating budget.

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