The Joseph H. Plumb Memorial Library held a week of festivities to celebrate its 50th anniversary. Events ranged from playing with bubbles on Tuesday, August 18, with Mr. Vinny the Bubble Guy, to playing with antique cars on Thursday, August 20, with auto expert and resident Richard Cutler. A special ceremony took place on Saturday, August 22.
Forty-two people attended the Saturday event. Seventy people came for Mr. Vinny’s Bubbles, and 15 attended a Car Show and Tell, according to Library Director Kristen Cardoso.
“The anniversary has special meaning to me both as the current director who loves this library and as a librarian who is proud to be in the field and in a state with a vibrant and long history of public library service,” Cardoso said. “I started planning for it back in 2025 because I wanted to make it as big and memorable as possible.”
Cardoso noted that the library launched special, limited-edition library cards featuring a pen drawing of Plumb Library in April. In April 1976, Dorothy Plumb’s gift of the library and the land it would be built on was accepted at Town Meeting. Cardoso began posting stories and photos from the Plumb archives in April, posting one every Thursday until this week of festivities.
“I did this to generate excitement for the big celebration and to highlight all the amazing people who have made Plumb Library the thriving community center that it has been over the years and still is today,” she said. “We also chose August 22 because it honors both the dedication of the Joseph H. Plumb Memorial Library on August 18, 1976, and the dedication of the Rochester Free Public Library on August 19, 1876.”
The Saturday, August 22, event included citations and congratulations from a host of dignitaries, as well as a plaque dedication presented by Connie Eshbach on behalf of the Rochester Historic Commission.
Joseph H. Plumb, an avid reader and published author, dreamed of opening a free public library in Rochester. After he passed, his wife Dorothy donated money for a new library, which had been housed in a small office at the town hall.
With over 19,000 books, DVDs, other resources, and items on display, the library “may be small but there’s so much to love,” Cardoso said.
Debby Conrad from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners said that libraries are used more now than in the past because they offer digital and modern services that make information easily accessible. As Andrew Carnegie said, “A library outranks any other one thing a community can do to benefit its people.”
Conrad praised Rochester for having residents who understand this truth and have worked to establish and expand library services for their town.
State Senator Michael Rodrigues said the library is the “heart and soul of every community.” He has helped support the library by creating a new space for a Teen Room.
State Representative Mark Sylvia stated the library is an “important piece of fabric for the town, and like the COA, it has the same good vibe.”
Town Administrator Cameron Duran shared how much he adores working with the library, as it is a very special place because of the people who make it up.
“Only three people with limited resources make magic happen every day,” Duran said.
Those three, besides the director, are Jen Frasier, who wears many hats, including circulation and technical services librarian, catalog, desk, and book club, and Fuchsia Haskell, youth services librarian.
“That’s one of the things I love about the library: how it brings people of all ages together to learn from each other,” said Cardoso. “I feel that, overall, our 50th anniversary celebrations were a resounding success, and I can’t wait to see what the community comes together to do at the library in the next 50 years.”
By Ann Marie Dunn