Pembroke Public Library

PEMBROKE, MA.

Pembroke has a long history that illustrates its love and respect for reading and learning as a community. The first effort to provide a shared reading experience was the Pembroke Female Reading Society which was organized on April 15, 1811.

The Female Reading Society was founded to provide women an opportunity to read and learn. Many prominent Pembroke names are attached to the Society including the Barker family. Membership was by invitation only. As was common for the time, as women married they abandoned outside activities to focus on caring for their families.  By 1874, the Ladies Reading Society had only one member original to the society and had essentially ceased to exist.