The Trustees of the Haverhill Public Library gratefully acknowledge the donation of $509,555.12 from The Grad Family Trust. The Benjamin and Eva E. Grad Family Trust was established in 1987 by their son Vinson W. Grad and carefully stewarded by the Grad Trustees, including their grandchildren: William Grad, Jeffrey Grad, Richard Traister, and David Traister.
Reaching maturity, it was transferred to the care of the Haverhill Public Library Trustees. The Grad Family Fund will now live on as part of the Haverhill Public Library Trust and will help to fund books and materials so critical to the mission of the Library and for the enjoyment of the citizens of Haverhill.
The Haverhill Public Library was established in 1873 in an agreement between wealthy industrialist E.J.M. Hale and the City of Haverhill. The agreement stipulated that Mr. Hale would donate land for a building site and half the money necessary to build and furnish a library if the people of Haverhill would donate the other half. He further stipulated that the City, in accepting this gift, would establish a self-perpetuating Board of Trustees and assume responsibility for the annual operating expenses of the library. The original library building opened on November 18, 1875.
The Haverhill Public Library is governed by a seven-member self-perpetuating Board of Trustees. The City is responsible for funding the maintenance of library facilities and staff salaries. As the owners in trust of the Library, the Trustees are responsible for ensuring that the City lives up to its part of the agreement, as well as providing an annual appropriation of funds for the purchase of library materials and other services. Ultimately, the library’s Board of Trustees is responsible for the Library, its facilities and services, policies and procedures. Since the Library’s inception, a priority of the Board of Trustees has been the development of a Library Endowment, the interest from which is used to purchase materials and to supplement the City of Haverhill’s budget for the Library. The Grad Family Fund will now be a part of this mission.