Thetford Library Federation

In 1967, supporters of the Thetford Historical Society and Latham Memorial Library formed a joint committee in order to plan a new combined building that would house both organizations. They were advised by the state librarian in the early 1970s that if Thetford’s many small village libraries formed a “federated system”, this would qualify them for federal funding for the building as well as state funding to support operations for each library. The Thetford Library Federation was duly formed and Articles of Association were adopted in 1972. Membership was open to all entities who provided library services in the area, including non-profit organizations, historical societies, and public and private schools. In addition to Latham and the Historical Society, Thetford Academy, Thetford Elementary School, and George Peabody Library chose to join. The original objectives were “to provide library services to residents of the Town of Thetford and surrounding community through member organizations…and to provide a repository for books, periodicals, manuscripts and other objects of literary or historical interest,” with an additional objective added in 1979, “to promote the cultural life of the community.”Federal aid was granted in 1972, and the building became the town’s bicentennial celebration project. Land and funds were gifted from the Fowle family, additional community funds were raised, and a stately ceremony was held in 1976 to officially open the Thetford Bicentennial Building to the public. Following this successful project, members of the Federation began to ask how the organization might continue to serve the community’s libraries beyond owning and maintaining the building. In 1977, a goal was set to “furnish services to member libraries which one small library might not be able to provide”, including the creation and maintenance of a union catalog of books at each library, making Thetford early adopters of what is now the standard approach to library resource sharing models. Additional items in the proposed “Program of Services” included assistance with the organization of the Historical Society’s public spaces, professional meetings for the librarians to come together, shared collections such as artwork, assistance with funding applications, traveling displays and social events. Funding and time limitations worked against many of these goals, but for many years the public and school libraries rotated the duty of purchasing an updated set of encyclopedias to share.

As library services and the Thetford community have continued to evolve over the years, Thetford library services have continued to adapt as well. The modern Federation is primarily focused on three functions: to own and maintain the Bicentennial Building as a home for Latham and the Thetford Historical Society; to coordinate a unified request for a tax appropriation from the Town of Thetford and to distribute those public funds to Latham and Peabody libraries; and to encourage and facilitate collaboration between member libraries. Despite the best intentions of the founders and efforts of members past and present, current stakeholders generally agree that the Federation struggles to fulfill its multi-point mission. The three main functions vary widely in terms of their relative importance to each member library – some care about the Bicentennial Building, some care about the Town appropriation, and others would like more time spent on collaborative efforts. The board has traditionally met quarterly, presenting additional challenges for accomplishing goals in all areas of focus. In 2024, the Federation commissioned a professional consultancy firm to review its structure and mission alignment. The resulting report confirmed the inherent challenges and suggested some possible short- and long-term changes to help address them. This report was shared with member libraries, and it inspired a cross-organizational interest in a deeper investigation of the community’s library governance structure. A working group was formed with members from the Federation, Latham, and Peabody, who proposed a study of the possibility of restructuring from three boards into a single board. In June 2024, the Federation voted unanimously in support of this investigative effort. For more information about this work, please visit the Unified Board Study.

Read the Federation's articles of association here.