History
MLA was founded in 1890 as the "Massachusetts Library Club". The gavel that has been passed down from president to president is said to be made from the wood of the USS Constitution. The MLA had a committee called The Art Club that created sets of photographs for travelling art exhibits that would rotate through Massachusetts member and associate libraries as early as 1900.
In 1962 MLA's Intellectual Freedom Committee gave testimony before the Massachusetts Obscene Literature Control Commission opposing the suppression of Henry Miller's book Tropic of Cancer supporting Massachusetts residents' freedom to read.
Read more about this topic: Massachusetts Library Association
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