News Release

The Executive Board of the Massachusetts Library System (MLS) is pleased to announce that it has selected Gregory Pronevitz as the first MLS Executive Director. Mr. Pronevitz will assume his new role on July 1, 2010 when the new Massachusetts Library System begins operating as the sole provider of regional library services for the Commonwealth's libraries. These services were previously delivered by six regional library systems but FY2011 state budget reductions necessitated restructuring and consolidation into one system. "Greg brings with him a wealth of experience and we are confident that he will be able to successfully lead the Massachusetts library community through the transition and he and the MLS staff will continue to provide the excellent core services that libraries and patrons enjoyed under the six region system," said Sal Genovese, President of the MLS Executive Board.

As the founding Administrator of the Northeast Massachusetts Regional Library System (NMRLS), Mr. Pronevitz understands the challenges that come with this transition but the needs of the libraries and their patrons are clearly his focus, "I'm excited to work with the Massachusetts Library System Executive Board, staff and membership to get this new member-driven statewide organization off to a great start. Our goal is to provide top-notch customer services and work together to further develop MLS and assist Massachusetts libraries in meeting the future needs of their patrons."

Approaching library issues from a statewide perspective is not new for Mr. Pronevitz. He has been a key leader in many statewide projects that benefit libraries across the Commonwealth such as the Massachusetts Statewide Delivery Committee and its Autosort RFP Task Force, the MassCat shared ILS for smaller libraries, and the Digital Commonwealth, a portal to the digital content of Massachusetts cultural institutions.

Prior to his position at NMRLS, which he held for twelve years, Mr. Pronevitz was director of library technologies at OHIONET, Ohio's OCLC network, where he managed OCLC training and support, a shared ILS for academic libraries, a statewide training program for public libraries, and internal IT services. In addition, he has nine years of professional and management experience in academic and special libraries.

The entire fifteen-member MLS Executive Board selected Mr. Pronevitz after an extensive search, review, and interview process in which, at a final interview, the three leading candidates presented their vision for MLS. These presentations and the questions that followed were streamed live on the web.

Meanwhile, the MLS Hiring Committee, made up of representatives from the six current regions, has been working to fill other positions. They interviewed current regional library system staff who are interested in working at MLS and presented their recommendations to the Executive Board. A formal announcement from the MLS Board will be forthcoming.

For more information, please see Regional Consolidation and the Massachusetts Library System.