David Joyce Milne Public Library

WILLIAMSTOWN, MA.

The Williamstown David & Joyce Milne Public Library was established in 1874 mainly through the efforts of Joseph White, a graduate of Williams College, later a trustee and treasurer of the College, and a member of the Massachusetts Board of Education. The foundation of its collection was an agricultural library of about 100 volumes. At first, it occupied two rooms over a hardware store and was open nine hours a week.

Because Williamstown is spread over a wide geographic area, three branch libraries were established in different sections of town, and they served local neighborhoods for many years. One branch became a part of the North Adams Public Library when the section of town in which it was located was annexed by the city of North Adams. Another branch closed in 1965, and low circulation figures caused the last one to close in 1979.

​The main library moved to the Botsford House in 1940 when E. Herbert Botsford purchased the building and presented it to the town as a memorial to his daughter who had been killed in an automobile accident in 1915. The deed stipulated that the ground floor should house the public library and the second floor should serve as a space for the Williamstown House of Local History.