A historic library in Northampton, Ma was opened in 1894. The library was built at the initiative of Judge Charles E. Forbes. Forbes wanted to have a public library for the community of Northampton. The building is a three-story building and listed as a historic structure by the National Register. It was designed to be completely fire proof and is constructed with all steel framing, stone and slate. The first librarian of Forbes, was Charles Ammi Cutter, created the Cutter Classification System. He was originally the librarian at the Boston Atheneum, and had created the system there. The system is a series of subdivided versions, which begins with the simplest and smallest library and moves up from there. The system is subject based, with the Children’s section being the Sixth Classification, and the History section being the Seventh. It is quite different from other classification systems and is another original attribute of the Forbes Library. The librarian, Cutter, was born in Boston, March 1837. He was raised by his aunts, in West Cambridge, Ma. He attended Harvard College and was influenced heavily by his aunt who was a librarian. He was around books from the earliest age, and developed a love of them from there on. He was appointed the librarian of the Boston Atheneum, in 1868 at 31. At this young age, he worked for the largest system in the United States, and he stayed there for 25 years. He also wrote Rules for a Dictionary Catalog in 1876. The book established his knowledge in the library systems. He developed loan cards, an interlibrary loan program, and home deliveries to housebound community members. Many of his developments are still in use today.
Cutter became the librarian at the Forbes Library, in 1894. He envisioned the library to be “a new type of public library which, speaking broadly, will lend everything to anybody in any desired quantity for any desired time.” He did not want to implement stuffy rules and he wanted all children to be welcome. The patrons were able to browse the stacks, rather than have to request the books at the front desk. He spent nine years at Forbes, and he worked on establishing branch libraries, as well as instituting a traveling library system. The program of a traveling library system, was the first of the modern day bookmobile. He brought art work to students at the local schools. He and staff worked with the local schools to allow local teachers to use library books for the classroom. Cutter died of pneumonia in 1903 at age 66. His work at the Forbes library made it a unique place across the state. Forbes also institutes a working relationship with area colleges. They also have a great amount of programs and services that are in use today for all ages of patrons. Forbes even offers an outreach program to the poor communities of Western Massachusetts. The program delivers materials to nursing homes, and the homebound, just as Cutter would have wanted.