The Nebraska Public Library Commission was established by an act of the Legislature on March 27, 1901, and the office of the Commission was opened in the State Capitol on November 11 of that year. The Commission was charged to "encourage the establishment of libraries where none existed and the improvement of those already established." In 1933, due to economic hardships, the Legislature passed a bill abolishing the Library Commission and establishing in its place the Nebraska Public Library. It was relocated to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where the University Librarian served as Public Library Commissioner. The Nebraska Public Library Commission was re-established by law in 1935 and moved to an office in the new Capitol Building. In 1952 the Commission was designated by the Library of Congress as the official distribution center for the Books for the Blind program. In 1972 the Nebraska Public Library Commission assumed its present identity as the Nebraska Library Commission.