Billerica Library Board Adopts Tightened Local History Room Policy with New Loan Provision

BILLERICA — October 6, 2025 — Billerica Library Board approves new Local History Room policy and elects officers to fix bylaw lapse. The Board of Trustees voted unanimously Monday to adopt a revised Local History Room use policy developed by staff member Claire Gordy, who conducted a full inventory of the room and proposed separating the collection into an open-access reference tier and a protected rare-materials tier requiring ID logging, staff-assisted scanning, and patron hand-washing after handling older bindings that may contain lead. The board amended the policy on the spot to add a loan provision — at the discretion of the library director — after learning that a donated wedding dress had been found on display at the Billerica Historical Society without the library's formal knowledge. "The whole point is to make it accessible — but by the same token you want to protect it," one trustee said. The board also voted a full officer slate — Michelle as vice chair, Joanne Fraser as secretary — to bring elections into compliance with bylaws that require the vote at the October meeting.