Enter your search terms or select from the drop-down selection boxes and then click on the Search button. If you select more than one field to search by, such as region and organization, the search will find libraries that match BOTH criteria. The terms are "ANDed" together.
Most people will probably want to search by municipality with perhaps a word or two in the library or organization name fields (see below). The more fields that you fill in, the more likely it is that there will be no results returned.
Massachusetts is divided into six regional library systems. If you know that your library is in the western part of the state, select "Western" to help focus your search.
This is the official name of the municipality. There are 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts. Dorchester is part of Boston, not a separate municipality. Florence is part of Northampton. Gay Head is now Aquinnah.
For public libraries, the organization name is the name of the city or town (e.g., Quincy). The library name is the library's formal name (e.g., Thomas Crane Public Library). Often the organization and the library name are quite similar (e.g., Canton, Canton Public Library).
For academic libraries, the distinction is more meaningful. The organization name is the name of the college or university (UMass, Boston); the library name is quite different (Joseph P. Healey Library).
The directory separates libraries into four types: public libraries, school libraries (K-12 public and private), academic libraries (colleges, community colleges, universities), and special libraries, which include corporation libraries, non-profit libraries, medical and legal libraries.
A library branch is a separate physical building. So if you are looking for the Fox branch of the Arlington Public Library, you would enter "Fox" in this field, and perhaps Arlington in the municipality field.
A library department is a separate sub-unit within a larger library building, such as reference, circulation, interlibrary loan, science, children's, etc.
Use these fields to search for a library staff person. Not all staff are included in this directory. Usually, department heads and library directors are available. There may be separate contact information, such as e-mail or phone extensions.
If you want to find out who does interlibrary loan or who is the director at a given library, use this field.