Library Funding
State Funding to the MBLC – FY2027 Legislative Agenda
Local Aid to libraries is a lifeline and it's our FY2027 funding priority. The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) is prioritizing a 5% increase to local aid to libraries through the State Aid to Public Libraries Program, line 7000-9501, raising funding from $20 million in FY26 to $21 million for FY27.
State Aid to Public Libraries is critical, local aid for libraries that they use to maintain core services. It has a massive impact across the Commonwealth with 347 out of 351 municipalities certified in the program and receiving state aid funding. More people than ever are turning to public libraries. Last year they checked out more than 65 million items, a record high. State Aid to Public Libraries (7000-9501) helps libraries keep pace with increasing demand for services.
Contact: Maureen Amyot
State Aid to Public Libraries (local aid for libraries)
Libraries certified in the State Aid to Public Libraries Program will receive the largest state aid awards since the program began over 100 years ago. Certified libraries will share over $20 million in funding. Pittsfield, for example, went from $65,674.22 in state aid funding in 2015 to $152,495.55 in 2025. The State Aid to Public Libraries Program is at the core of sharing materials across Massachusetts. It gives residents access to millions of items beyond what any single library owns. This means that residents get more while local communities save money. Learn more about the benefits of the program.
Contact: Cate Merlin, Jen Inglis
Federal Funding to Libraries (MBLC's LSTA grants program)
The MBLC's subgrant program is helping local libraries meet local needs. Using federal Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the MBLC offers grant opportunities for public, school, academic, and special libraries that go beyond what local funding can do.
Find out what your district or municipality received.
Contact: Rob Favini, Lyndsay Forbes
Library Related Legislation
Freedom to Read
During the past several years, attempts to restrict access through book banning have risen across Massachusetts and the nation. In November 2025, the Massachusetts Senate passed S.2726 An Act Regarding Free Expression, a bill that fortifies the freedom to read and the protection of librarians during book and materials challenges.
EBook Pricing
Publishers often charge libraries triple what a consumer pays for the same eBook with more restrictive licenses. These policies have severely limited libraries' ability to purchase electronic content to meet demand. For library users with dyslexia, disabilities, and mobility challenges, eBooks and audiobooks are a necessity. This fall the Massachusetts Senate passed S.2710 An Act Addressing the Challenges Facing Public Libraries and Digital Resource Collections, a bill that addresses the unfair marketplace and contracting restrictions libraries face when purchasing electronic materials.
Learn more about eBook pricing in the MLA eBook Overview Sheet (PDF).
School Libraries
S.428 An Act Relative to School Library Standards requires the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to adopt and implement standards for school library programs based on the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) standards endorsed by the Massachusetts School Library Association (MSLA). The goal of the bill is to create effective library programs with well-rounded collections, certified librarians, and instruction in information literacy and technology. In the fall of 2025, the Joint Committee on Education heard testimony for this bill.
Learn more about S.428 in the MSLA Overview Sheet (PDF).
Contact: Rob Favini
Construction
The Massachusetts Public Library Construction Program (MPLCP)
The Massachusetts Public Library Construction Program (MPLCP) provides funding for major capital projects for public libraries throughout the Commonwealth. The MPLCP has helped over 250 communities plan, build, renovate, and expand their public libraries and serves as a model for other states. MPLCP construction projects are currently underway in Amherst, Deerfield, Fitchburg, Shutesbury, and Westford, with recent openings in Melrose, Sharon, and Swansea. MPLCP planning and design projects are underway for fifteen municipalities across the Commonwealth. Of those, Blandford recently secured local funding for the construction phase, and the remaining eight immediately-funded projects will seek local funding for the construction phase this Spring. The six waitlisted libraries await MPLCP funding for the construction phase to become available within the annual cap.
- The MPLCP's recent $150 million bond authorization will fund grant award recipients for the 2023-2024 grant round.
- The MBLC is requesting that the annual spending cap, currently at $27 million, increase $1 million annually to keep pace with escalation, allowing the program to maintain the level of support to libraries offered throughout its existence.
Contact: Andrea Bono-Bunker, Heather Backman
Digital Access
Libraries, as providers of connectivity, literacy training, and a source of online resources, such as eContent and research databases, play an important role in achieving digital equity.
E-Rate
E-rate helps public libraries and schools connect users to the internet, fast. E-rate is a federally-funded program offering 20-90% discounts on high-speed broadband, and the equipment and support services that make that connectivity work.
Contact: Kate Butler
Telecommunications for Resource Sharing Program
The Telecommunications for Resource Sharing program offsets the annual operating costs for library connections to the internet and to the centralized services provided by their automated library network, including core library business transactions, such as searching, circulation, cataloging, and patron registration. Telecommunications for Resource Sharing also provides funding for those public libraries which are not members of any network to reach the internet.
Contact: Kate Butler
Education
School eContent
The Commonwealth eBook Collection, the Massachusetts Library System's (MLS) OverDrive Sora Shared Collection offers an ever-growing robust collection of rich and diverse titles to help support the school libraries that participate in this program. The shared K-12 collection ranks #1 in New England, #2 in the United States, and #2 in the world for total checkouts. In FY2025, 67 new schools joined the program, bringing the total number of participating schools to 669, a new all-time high, with 2,841,499 titles circulated. In calendar year 2025, the program set a new milestone of over 3 million checkouts, the highest checkout total for a year in the program's history. View what's being checked out in Massachusetts in real time.
Contact: Jack Martin (MLS)
Databases
The statewide database program provides critical access to research databases that no community or school system could afford to purchase on its own. On average 60% of database usage comes from schools. Last year, there were over 9 million full text downloads from these databases, an increase of 12% in just one year.
Contact: Jaccavrie McNeely
Summer Reading and MassArt at the Library
The MBLC's Summer Library Programs play a significant role in keeping kids and teens connected to educational resources proven to help kids and teens maintain academic skills when school is out. On average, over 200,000 children, teens, and adults participate in summer reading programs. Through the "When You Read, You Score!" program with the Boston Bruins, Bruins' mascot Blades travels across the Commonwealth to visit public libraries of all sizes and encourage kids and teens to keep reading during summer months. MassArt at the Library connects students of all ages and artistic abilties with free, creative workshops led by MassArt faculty and students.
Contact: Celeste Bruno, Rachel Masse, June Thammasnong
Preservation
Disaster Preparedness & Mitigating Catastrophic Loss
MBLC is a founding partner of COSTEP MA (Coordinated Statewide Emergency Preparedness for Cultural Heritage in Massachusetts). Libraries can minimize the impacts from disasters large and small through risk assessment and mitigation planning. The MBLC provides training resources, special access to relevant software, events and workshops connecting libraries and the emergency management community with high quality, current information to mitigate or recover from disasters.
Contact: Jess Colati
Technology and Sharing Resources
Network Membership
Membership in one of the nine automated library networks saves libraries money by providing the library catalog, circulation services, patron registration, public internet access and more. Libraries pay a membership fee to join a network and MBLC offers support that keeps membership fees affordable and helps new public libraries join.
Contact: Kate Butler, Jaccavrie McNeely
Sharing Resources
Network membership also gives residents access to millions of items from libraries across the state via the Commonwealth Catalog, and access to millions of eBooks and audiobooks through the statewide Library eBooks and Audiobooks (LEA) program. This saves money because libraries don't have to purchase each item residents need. The MBLC also provides funding to purchase statewide eContent.
Contact: Kate Butler, Jaccavrie McNeely
Trustees
The MBLC provides advice to Massachusetts library trustees and assists them with interpreting laws and regulations, understanding their responsibilities, and supporting library administration.
Contact: Al Hayden
- MBLC Trustees Resource Guide
Helpful links, guidance, and information about upcoming workshops. - Trusty Trustee Pocket Guide (PDF)
This short guide is adapted from the above handbook. Please contact MBLC to request printed copies of the Pocket Guide.
Library Services for Special Populations
The MBLC provides guidance, grant funding, professional discussion forums, and connections to statewide partners to facilitate the growth and development of accessible and equitable library services to marginalized and vulnerable community members. Collaborative partnerships with agencies such as the Department of Mental Health, Department of Public Health, the Department of Corrections librarians, and Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing enable MBLC to offer workshops, roundtable discussions, and resource sharing on literacy instruction and citizenship, services for people with disabilities, trauma-engaged librarianship, and outreach services in carceral settings.In 2026, the Core Connections: Building Community Supports & Allyship at Your Library series will be presented over the course of the year and showcases the value of library strategic partnerships and meaningful allyship in our work environments to provide supports to vulnerable and marginalized individuals.
Contact: Ally Dowds