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.