SHUTESBURY — Gov. Charlie Baker has appointed Karen Traub, a lifelong library enthusiast and Shutesbury resident, to serve on the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.
“It’s sort of a dream come true,” said Traub, who learned of her appointment Sept. 13. “When I found out, I was jumping for joy.”
“I’ve loved libraries since I was a 5-year-old kid who checked out ‘Make Way for Ducklings’ with my very first library card,” Traub said.
In the years since, Traub’s fondness for libraries has not faded. She started volunteering as a library trustee in Wendell in 1997, where she served for three years. From 2002 to 2012, she volunteered on the library board of trustees in Shutesbury, where she helped advance the library’s bylaws, trust fund, mission statement, and computer policies.
Additionally, she served on the MBLC’s State Advisory Council of Libraries between 2014 and 2020, where she looked over grant applications and made funding recommendations for the organization.
Traub was sworn in at Amherst Town Hall on Sept. 30 and her first meeting with the entire nine-member board of library commissioners will be held this Thursday.
“In the beginning, I will be doing a lot of listening,” she said, as she hopes to learn from the board’s expertise. As a commissioner, Traub said she hopes “to build advocacy and support” and “to share the enthusiasm for libraries.”
Traub also stressed the importance of hitting the streets for in-person visits to libraries around the state. She said her goal is to “visit as many of the 369 public libraries in Massachusetts as possible” during her time on the state board.
She visited Truro Public Library during a trip to Cape Cod just last month and recalled the staff being excited to “show off all the great programs and artwork,” she said. Traub explained that such visits are practical because they give library staff a chance to share both their pride and concerns surrounding their building.
In the past, Traub herself spearheaded an effort to create a new library in Shutesbury, as the town’s current M.N. Spear Memorial Library has no running water and is too crowded for community events, which Traub said are at the heart of public libraries.
To support this project, she helped Shutesbury secure a planning and design grant totaling $40,000 in 2007, as well as a provisional construction grant worth over $2 million in 2011. Traub also chaired a committee that brought in $100,000 worth of pledges to support a new Shutesbury library.
“People like me are willing to do everything we can (to support libraries),” Traub said. She highlighted that libraries are an excellent place for children to learn, grow, and participate in educational programs. “When I was a kid, I loved the summer reading program,” she said.
Traub said she’s “proud to live in Massachusetts where the country’s first library commission was established.” She spoke of Elizabeth Sohier, a Boston woman who helped establish the library commission, as her personal hero.
“I will do my best to serve our libraries,” she said.