Cutter stands, square shouldered, among the titans that built the foundation upon which rests the American library system. While Librarian of Boston Athenaeum from 1869-1893, Cutter authored numerous works on classification and cataloguing. His efforts are perhaps best represented by his expansive classification scheme (which had a profound influence upon LC) and his Three Figure Author Table, which remains in publication 95 years after his death. Cutter, in conjunction with Dewey and others, helped establish the American Library Association, the organization most responsible for the library's role in American society.

Born and raised in Boston, by the age of ten Cutter was assisting his aunt Charlotte, Librarian of the Cambridge Town Library. Perhaps this early exposure derailed the career his family had chosen for him; after two years service as the school librarian while studying for the clergy at the Harvard Divinity School, Cutter decided to catalog books rather than souls. Here he remained as Assistant Librarian for eight years after graduation, perfecting his craft and experimenting with the school's collection.

Cutter's efforts drew the attention of the board of the Boston Athenaeum, one of the oldest and highly renowned independent libraries in the United States. Cutter would serve as that institution's chief librarian from 1869-1893. During his tenure he published a monumental five volume dictionary catalog of the Athenaeum's holdings. So well executed and easy to use was his catalog that both Cutter and the Athenaeum were thrust into the limelight of the emerging professional library movement.

Though they often clashed, Cutter assisted Dewey and others in the establishment of the American Library Association in 1876. From 1881-1893 Cutter edited the fledgling Library Journal. Editor Cutter attempted(unsuccessfully) to use LJas a platform to promote his decidedly more egalitarian interpretation of the role of the ALA, to stem the tide of Dewey's power gathering. Though Dewey prevailed, both would exit the stage by 1906, Cutter by death, Dewey by bureaucracy.

Cutter's waning years were spent developing the Forbes Library in Northampton, Massachusetts, serving as de facto consultant to Herbert Putnam as LC was launched, and serving on the Catalog Code Revision Committee of the ALA. He died at the age of 66 in New Hampshire.