🕙 MBLC Monthly Board Meeting on July 10th (Hybrid)
Contact: Rachel Masse
The regular monthly board meeting of the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners is scheduled for 10AM on Thursday, July 10th, 2025, at the MBLC Office.
📰 Governor Healey Appoints Kemarah Sika as MBLC Commissioner
Contact: June Thammasnong
Boston native Kemarah Sika has been appointed by Governor Maura Healey to serve as a Commissioner for the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC). The MBLC is a nine-member board responsible for organizing, developing and improving library services across the Commonwealth. To read more about Commissioner Sika, visit the MBLC website.
📰 2025 Bruins Summer Reading Prizes to be Awarded to Libraries
Contact: June Thammasnong
Summer Library Programs play a significant role in keeping kids and teens connected to educational resources over the summer. Through the “When You Read, You Score!” Statewide Summer Library Program, the Boston Bruins encourage kids and teens to continue reading by awarding special prizes to participating public libraries across the Commonwealth. To read more about this year’s prize winners, visit the MBLC Website.
📅 Supporting Library Patrons with Re-Employment Needs—An Overview by MassHire (Online)
Contact: Ally Dowds
Thursday, June 26 at 10AM – Registration & More Information
Join this informative session designed to equip library staff with tools, resources, and knowledge to support patrons navigating unemployment, layoffs, and re-employment opportunities. There are over 25 MassHire Career Centers across that state and a Rapid Response Team that provides early intervention re-employment services to employees affected by layoffs and closings.
🗓️ARIS Opens on Tuesday, July 1st!
Contact: Cate Merlin, Jen Inglis
State Aid ARIS & Financial Report season are upon us! The FY26 ARIS survey will open on July 1st and close on Friday, August 15th, and the FY26 Financial Report will open on August 4th and close on Friday, October 3rd. We are offering one more ARIS trainings this month, and Financial Report trainings will begin in August. Keep an eye out for information about ARIS-specific office hours and sign up for the State Aid Listserv for updates and information. Don’t hesitate to reach out to the State Aid team if you have any questions or concerns. More information and dates can be found at at the MBLC website.
🗓️ARIS Workshop (Online)
Contact: Cate Merlin, Jen Inglis
Wednesday, July 9 at 10AM – More Information & Zoom Link
‘Tis the season for ARIS (Annual Report Information & Statistics) trainings! Review the Annual Survey and learn about the new questions that will appear. Workshop information (meeting ID, etc.) will be emailed to registered participants as the date of the session approaches. Registration is required.
🗨️ Local History, Archives, and Preservation Office Hours (Online)
Contact: Jess Colati
Tuesday, July 1 at 10AM – More Info & Zoom Link
Tuesday, July 29 at 10AM – More Info & Zoom Link
Open to all interested in ensuring safe and stable storage and improving collection management for your library or organization’s preservation projects. Connect with the MBLC’s Preservation Specialist, Jess Colati and colleagues around the Commonwealth that work to advance the protection of cultural collections during monthly office hours. Sessions and chats are not recorded or saved.
💬 State Aid Office Hours (Online)
Contact: Cate Merlin
Wednesday, July 9 at 9AM – More Information & Zoom Link
Wednesday, July 23 at 2PM – More Information & Zoom Link
Join Cate Merlin, Head of State Programs, and your fellow Library Directors, Trustees, and others seeking advice and answers as we embark upon the FY2026 budget season. Make sure your next budget, materials spending, and hours open fully meet State Aid requirements, and share ideas for budget strategies with others- registration is not required, and session and chats will not be recorded or saved.
🤝 Fortifying Your Library: Protecting Your Library and Staff Through Policy (Online)
Contact: Al Hayden
Wednesday, July 9 at 2PM – More Information & Registration
Libraries are in need of updated policies now more than ever. Strong policy is one of the best ways to protect library staff, prevent issues, and keep unpreventable issues from escalating too far. Join Al Hayden for this webinar, which will offer practical advice for revising your library’s policies with:
- Essential policies every library should keep updated
- Tools to evaluate the strength of the policies you have now
- Guidelines to consider when revising your policies
- Suggestions for training staff on your updates
- Communicating policy to patrons
Attendees should leave with actionable ideas to strengthen, revise, and evaluate library policy manuals.
Signup link: http://nicheacademy.com/fortifying-your-library-protecting-your-library-and-staff-through-policy
💻 Introduction to Web Accessibility (Online)
Contact: Jaccavrie McNeely, Kate Butler
Thursday, July 10 at 2PM – More Information & Registration Registration is full, but a waiting list is available.
Join us for the first webinar in a new series discussing digital accessibility topics and building tech skills to support your website’s accessibility. We’ll discuss the Department of Justice ADA Title II ruling and how it affects libraries as well as some accessibility basics to get you started.
Have specific questions? Accessibility office hours will be starting this summer, schedule TBA!
🤝Library Advisory Office Hours (Online)
Contact: Al Hayden
Monday, July 14 at 9AM – More Information & Zoom Link
Monday, July 28 at 2PM – More Information & Zoom Link
Open to all Directors, Trustees, Library Friends, and Foundation Members. They are designed to be an open-ended, safe space for questions and interaction among participants. Sessions will NOT be recorded, and chats will NOT be saved. Registration is not required; stop by anytime during the hour!
📊Census Data for Libraries: A Deeper Dive into Your Community ((Online)
Contact: Al Hayden
Tuesday, July 15 at 10AM – More Information & Registration
In this workshop you will learn how to find population and demographic data for various geographies, using data.census.gov, the Census Bureau’s premiere online data platform. Understanding community characteristics can help inform and prioritize the need for library services, funding, and programs.
🚧 Refreshed Construction Webpages
Contact: Andrea Bono-Bunker
Check out the new content and organization of the Massachusetts Public Library Construction Program’s (MPLCP) webpages. In addition to updated pages for grantees, stakeholders interested in the construction program and project information will find pages on technical assistance, space planning (including a new inquiry form), pre-planning, active and past projects, funding available from other entities, and MPLCP publications, LibGuides, and podcast episodes.
🏳️🌈 Welcome Poster for PRIDE and Beyond!
Contact: June Thammasnong
In celebration of PRIDE, we’re delighted to share a bright new poster for your library to welcome everyone into libraries—everyday. The poster displays “Welcome to the Library” in 12 different languages (in order of appearance: Spanish, Arabic, Portuguese, Chinese (Simplified), Dutch, French, Greek, Italian, Russian, Korean and Czech).
The poster is 11×17″ but may printed on 8.5×11″, and there are two versions available to download and print from the MBLC Awarehouse:
· Welcome to the Library Poster with space in the center for your library’s logo
· Welcome to the Library Poster (2025) MBLC logo only (pictured to the right)
The QR code takes visitors to libraries.state.ma.us, the statewide portal for Massachusetts libraries that features information how to get a library card, the statewide calendar of events, and a statewide search for library of things.
📝 Update on Bruins Summer Materials
Contact: June Thammasnong
There’s been an unexpected delay on this year’s Bruins Summer Reading Materials due to an issue with our printers that we’re working to fix. We’ll share an update when materials are shipped. Thank you for your patience!
🕙 MBLC Monthly Board Meeting on August 7th (Hybrid)
Contact: Rachel Masse
The regular monthly board meeting of the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners is scheduled for 10AM on Thursday, August 7th, 2025, at the Marlborough Public Library.