Mason Square Branch Library

SPRINGFIELD, MA.

The Springfield Library and Museums Association operated all branches of the library system until February 2003 when the Library became a City Department. The building had been sold to the Urban League of Springfield in 2001 and the Community Room held the library, while the remainder of the building became the Urban League headquarters. The Library continued to serve residents, albeit on a much more limited basis. Still, the Mason Square Branch has been a vital part of this neighborhood since its inception. Residents have supported and steadfastly defended it, most recently working and planning while the eminent domain process played out. The City recovered ownership of 765 State Street allowing the library to again provide services in the entire building. The Springfield Library Foundation, guardians of the Annie G. Curran Endowment, allocated $1.5 million in the fall of 2010 to renovate and refurbish the building, and the “new” Mason Square Branch Library celebrated its grand reopening in April of 2011, fittingly during National Library Week.