LAL Honoree and Martha Pott at the May 20 awards ceremony
Massachusetts Center for the Book
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
May 21, 2025
Northampton, Massachusetts—Massachusetts Center for the Book (MCB) was pleased to celebrate a quarter century of its flagship program for young people, Letters About Literature (LAL), at a May 20 awards ceremony at the State House. This statewide personal and reflective writing initiative invites students from Grades 4 to 12 to read a book of their choice, reflect on it, and write a personal letter to the author, explaining the impact this work has had on them.
In welcoming the audience of twenty-five students and their families, legislators, teachers, and members of the library community, MCB Executive Director Courtney Andree praised the 2025 honorees, remarking that their letters represent the top percentage point of submissions received, revealing “a depth of emotional understanding, honesty, and maturity.” In their letters to authors, students addressed a range of issues that they are now facing, including struggles to overcome discrimination, displacement, loneliness, and bullying.
Representative Lindsay Sabadosa (First Hampshire) provided the legislative welcome in the Great Hall, taking up the example of beloved Massachusetts writer Louisa May Alcott. She noted that, “For Alcott, books were familiar friends—they made her feel safe in a world that was full of uncertainty.” Sabadosa congratulated the students “for reading voraciously, for being committed to learning more about the world that surrounds [them], and for sharing [their] experiences.”
This year, a special guest joined students for the festivities—Newbery Honoree and Mass Book Award winner Rajani LaRocca, who spoke about the books that continue to inspire her and how she has learned to balance her dual passions for medicine and writing.
This year’s competition was judged by Diane Costagliola, director of the Sandwich Public Library; Julia Sullivan, youth services librarian from the Chelmsford Public Library; and acclaimed YA author and Concord-Carlisle High School library technician Kip Wilson. They were supported by a team of screeners from the Simmons University School of Library and Information Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst, and Smith College.
About the Massachusetts Center for the Book
Massachusetts Center for the Book (MCB) is a nonprofit dedicated to inspiring a love of reading, honoring the rich literary culture of the Commonwealth, promoting unrestricted access to books and libraries, and fostering literacy and learning. Founded in 2000, MCB is charged with developing, supporting, and promoting cultural programming to advance the cause of books, libraries, and reading in Massachusetts. As the designated Commonwealth affiliate of the Library of Congress, the Center runs youth and family literacy programs, like the Reading Challenge and Letters About Literature; represents Massachusetts at the National Book Festival; operates the Massachusetts Book Awards and Mass Kids Lit Fest; and partners with community organizations on literary initiatives and events, big and small, across the state.
We received news this week that Rhode Island District Court Judge John J. McConnell Jr. issued an injunction to stop the dismantling the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) caused by President Trump’s Executive Order 14238 . The order calls for IMLS employees to be recalled to work and for processing and disbursements of grants to be resumed.
While this is good news, the MBLC continues to proceed with caution. Questions remain about federal compliance with this ruling and the outlook for federal funding for FY2026 is uncertain. As I have mentioned in previous updates, the MBLC is planning for FY2026 with no federal funding. That said, we cannot make up the federal funds via our state budget lines which are currently level funded in the FY26 budgets being debated at the State House.
On Tuesday, May 20, I will use the “State of the State” at the Massachusetts Library Association conference to make an announcement about statewide services that have been impacted by the uncertainty caused by Executive Order 14238. These services include statewide databases, the Commonwealth Catalog, and the statewide Library eBooks and Audiobooks (LEA) program powered by Libby.
After the State of the State, this information will be available at both the MBLC and MLS booths. It will also be emailed to the library community.
I have scheduled information sessions for people who are not able to be at MLA:
I look forward to seeing you at the MLA conference or at one of the zoom information sessions. Please continue to reach out if you have questions anytime.
Sincerely,
Maureen Amyot
Director, Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners
Yesterday, President Trump fired Carla Hayden, the Librarian of Congress who has been a champion of intellectual freedom. Hearing this news early today was both upsetting and infuriating. My colleague Karen Mellor, the Chief of Library Services at the Rhode Island Office of Library and Information Services framed the situation eloquently when she said, “The country is poorer now for the irrational removal of a respected and thoughtful leader of one of our nation’s leading institutions.” Dr. Hayden was the first woman and first African American Librarian of Congress. She was appointed by President Obama and confirmed by Congress in 2016, and served under the Obama, Trump, Biden, and Trump’s current administrations. Her entire career has been focused on equity in library services, patron privacy, outreach, and building diversity within the library workforce.
Dr. Hayden’s abrupt termination is a stark reminder that our freedom, including our freedom to read, is being challenged across the country. Hereat home we need to continue efforts to pass legislation that protects that right — and protects the librarians who work to ensure that all voices are part of library collections.
These are solid wins. In the long game they may move us closer to a return to reliable federal funding for libraries. But right now, the MBLC is facing difficult decisions that are based on what we do know: federal uncertainty persists. We cannot sign contracts or move ahead with services for FY2026 based on what we hope will happen with federal funding.
We’ve been asked if there’s a possibility that the flow of federal funding will return for FY2026. There’s always that possibility. And should the funding requirements align with the values we’ve held since our founding in 1890, we’ll gladly accept them and put them to work serving the people of the Commonwealth.
Please continue to reach out with questions. We appreciate your support.
If your library offers space that outside groups are permitted to use (either for free or as a rental), it’s extremely important that you have a solid, actionable meeting room policy and regularly communicate the requirements of that policy, even with the regular users. Though you are under no obligation to do so, welcoming the public to use a space within the library can be a valuable community asset, providing an opportunity that may otherwise be inaccessible to bring people together for a common goal.
The safety of your staff, yourself, your community and your spaces depends upon a policy that sets clear expectations and guidelines that fit within the constraints of the library’s regular responsibilities. There are a few additional benefits to having a solid, actionable meeting room policy that is regularly reviewed including:
Guidance for those unfamiliar with your policy to understand whether or not your meeting space is a good fit for their purposes, or if you will be able to accommodate them at all (ex. expected group size may exceed room capacity)
Familiarity with your own policy minimizes the amount of time spent reviewing the policy if someone contacts you with questions
Policy that explains your requirements clearly will save time for you and those wanting to use the room
When you start to review this particular policy, there are a few items that are somewhat idiosyncratic to this particular type of policy.
Before I begin, a quick disclaimer: many of the recommendations for meeting rooms have been determined through court cases. This information is publicly available should you wish to dig deeper. You can find some starter information here. However, I am not a lawyer. I have no intention of interpreting these cases for you nor should the information I’m passing along be considered legal advice. As I’ve mentioned before, any policy that you consider ratifying through your Board of Trustees should be reviewed by an attorney (counsel for your municipality is usually a good place to start) to ensure that you are compliant with the most current decisions and are protecting yourself and your library.
Limited Public Forum
If your library opens your meeting room to outside groups, it will likely be considered a limited public forum. This means anyone using your room must abide by open meeting laws. If a group is using the room, anyone walking by has the right to sit in on their meetings, which should be open-door at all times. Staff have the right to sit in and ensure policies are being followed. This should be clearly spelled out so that the group understands the possibility, however unlikely, that someone will wander in, sit down and listen in.
Equitable Use
Article VI of the Library Bill of Rights states, “Libraries which make… meeting rooms available to the public they serve should make such facilities available on an equitable basis, regardless of the beliefs or affiliations of individuals or groups requesting their use.” Provided they agree to all of the terms and conditions in your meeting room policy, a group that may be personally disagreeable to you or your staff likely has the right to use the room. For example, they may have said that meetings of a political nature were not permitted in the library’s meeting room, regardless of the alignment of the politics being discussed. This seems neutral on its surface (the library isn’t allowing ANY type of politics in its meeting room, not just politics with views that may be disagreeable or controversial), but the courts have found that the argument doesn’t really hold in practice.
If you are going to limit use of your library’s meeting room, it must be done based on “reasonable content-neutral time, place or manner restrictions” (Pfeifer v. City of West Allis, 91 F. Supp. 2d 1253 [E.D. Wis. 2000]). If you’ve been to one of the webinars that the MBLC, MMA or several other organizations have hosted on this and similar subjects, you’ll have heard this phrase. While this limits the library’s in it’sability to limit users of your public meeting room space, that does not mean that you need to endorse the use.
Endorsement Not Required
If an outside group books a meeting room for any purpose that is permitted by your library policy, that does NOT mean that it is a library program. You are within your rights to have your policy clearly state that use of your meeting room facilities does not imply endorsement by the library. The ALA has the suggested wording: “Libraries do not advocate for or endorse the viewpoints expressed in meetings by meeting room users, just as they do not endorse the viewpoints of works in their collections,” but you can decide the most effective way to express this. You may also want to consider making it clear to anyone wishing to use your meeting room facilities that the library may NOT be listed as anything but a location for that particular meeting. Library staff should NOT be collecting registrations or answering questions for any outside group. You are under no obligation to post an outside program on your public calendar. If your calendar program has a private staff view, you can keep your staff informed to make the appropriate arrangements in the room being used, and you can state very clearly on the event post that this is not a library-affiliated program and the library does not endorse the program in any way. If that’s the case, remember that this disclaimer must be used for every program regardless of whether or not it’s a program that the library may consider booking as a library program at a later time. Be upfront with those viewing your calendar and follow through on your policy which has made promises to the meeting room user for every booking.
Usage
You are well within your rights to :
reserve meeting space for library use first
reschedule, cancel, or change a meeting if you need to use that room for a library program or special event. From a public service standpoint, a library should do its best to accommodate a new option for someone booking the room for a conflicting date, but that doesn’t mean that once a group has booked a room, you are prevented from having your own library event or offering services in that room if it’s necessary for essential library functions.
define how much any one organization or individual may use a room in a 12-month period, and how far in advanced a room may be reserved
This ensures that the room is available for use to your entire community without any groups monopolizing its use. You can look at the meeting room policies in your area and/or libraries that are similar to you in size, staffing, and meeting room usage. I’ve seen several policies that restrict to 1x/month, no more than 12 uses per calendar year, and no bookings more than 3 months in advance. Ultimately, you know how much your community requests the use of your meeting rooms so it will be up to you what limits are reasonable and will not create an undue burden on your facilities and staff.
You are under no obligation to offer use beyond the space itself. For example, if your meeting room has AV equipment or other technology, art installation options, unusual furnishings (beyond what someone might reasonably expect in terms of a table and chairs), you can make it clear in your policy that these amenities are for library use only and outside users are permitted to use the space, not the equipment.
If you decide to offer the use of certain equipment in the meeting space, make sure you’ve fully considered and outlined in your policy what is and is not available. If tech is available, will you require them to use their own cables, or replace any cables, dongles, or attachments that may be unaccounted for after the meeting? Will you request that your custodians or other library staff set up the room to the group’s specifications, or will you require that, if the group needs to arrange the furniture to suit their needs, that they also return the room to its original configuration? As always, you know your patrons and your community best and you can determine the best ways to accommodate them without placing an undue burden on your staff or your facilities.
You are well within your rights to consider these questions, balancing the needs of the community and the needs of the library. Don’t forget that the needs of the community include the members who do not need or choose not to use your meeting room and how they may be affected and, most importantly don’t forget to factor in the needs of your staff. Once you’ve decided, make sure you outline those determinations in your policy so that everyone has clear expectations and knows exactly what will happen when the meeting room is booked for outside use.
Just like there is more than 1 facet to patron rights and responsibilities and collection development policies, meeting room policies are similar in this regard. Next week, I’ll go in the to agreement and accountability side of meeting room policies. I hope you’ll join me!
In the meantime, with FY2026 rapidly approaching, the MBLC continues to navigate and plan for staff and services in a rapidly changing environment. Some states have received IMLS reimbursements (including us—more information below) and there are reports that funds for FY2026 are coming. On the surface these sound like positive developments. However, with little to no staff at IMLS (the majority of IMLS employees were placed on a 90 day leave at the end of March) and what appear to be new requirements to receive funding, questions remain about IMLS as a reliable source of funding.
Some quick background: Prior to President Trump’s Executive Order, IMLS required the MBLC to submit a five-year plan that sets broad strategic direction for the use of federal funds, and after five years there is an evaluation. Plans and evaluations are on the MBLC website.
Now, compliance with other executive orders filed by President Trump may be part of the process to receive IMLS funding. In late April, the MBLC received the email below from IMLS Acting Director Keith Sonderling asking the MBLC for the following information:
From the Sonderling email: Pursuant to 20 USC § 9134 and your obligations under the Grant Award Guidance and Statement of Assurances and Certifications, please provide IMLS with the following information:
Whether and how federal taxpayer dollars provided to you under the Grants to States program have been used, or are still being used, to subsidize programs that conflict with government policy as found below:
Executive Order 14151, Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing, and
Executive Order 14253, Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History, and
Executive Orders 13899 and 14188, Combating Anti-Semitism and Additional Measures To Combat Anti-Semitism, and
Executive Order 14168, Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government, and
Executive Order 14202, Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias, and
Executive Order 14190, Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling, and
How federal taxpayer dollars provided to you under the Grants to States program are being used to facilitate access to resources that cultivate an educated and informed American citizenry, and
How you plan to involve your agencies in the upcoming celebration of the 250th anniversary of the United States of America?
The MBLC is responding with the requested information. That said, the MBLC remains committed to serving everyone—it’s what we have done since 1890 and it’s what we will continue to do.
In terms of reimbursements, as a sort of trial run, the MBLC submitted a small reimbursement to IMLS on April 6. Nearly a month later, we received notice that reimbursement is being processed. Before President Trump’s Executive Order, turnaround time for reimbursements was a few days. This lag time may be indicative of the ongoing challenges of trying to run IMLS with little to no staff.
Both the instability at IMLS and the Sonderling email serve as indicators that at this point, federal funding remains uncertain. This places the MBLC in the position of planning for FY2026 without federal funding. The broad effect of President Trump’s Executive Orders, impacting more than libraries, and creating funding challenges across the state, means that the state budget cannot make up the total loss of the $3.6 million in IMLS funds the MBLC receives.
At yesterday’s MBLC board meeting, I called the situation dire. For example, the state House Ways and Means budget, which level funded all MBLC budget lines, leaves us short in our agency line, 7000-9101. Without the increase of $415,000 to this line as requested in the FY2026 Legislative Agenda, and in spite of cutting absolutely everything possible from that line, the MBLC cannot cover the basic costs for the agency – salaries and the lease on our office space. There isn’t any place else within our budget lines that funding for agency operations can come from.
In terms of MBLC staff, we’re already lean—having gone from a staffing high of 38 in previous years to 23 current staff members. To provide the services required in Massachusetts General Law Chapter 78, we need every single person we currently have on staff. If we cut staff, we will have to cut services, and that would put us out of compliance with state law.
For FY2026, we continue to work on plans and are in constant communication with the Massachusetts Library System (MLS) and vendors as we figure out funding levels that would allow us to continue as many services as possible with the funds we have left.
Our efforts now turn to the Senate which will release its budget proposal this month. It is crucial that progress is made towards the funding requested in the FY2026 Legislative Agenda, especially budget line 7000-9101, Board of Library Commissioners.
Sincerely,
Maureen Amyot
Director, Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners
The regular monthly board meeting of the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners is scheduled for 10AM on Thursday, May 1st, 2025. This meeting is fully remote.
On Wednesday, April 16, 2025, the Massachusetts House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee released their proposal for the FY2026 budget. Except for slight differences in the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners’ (MBLC) agency line (7000-9101) and Technology and Resource Sharing (7000-9506), the House proposal funds all MBLC budget lines at FY2025 levels which aligns with the Governor’s budget released in January. The full budget chart is available on the MBLC website. To read more about FY2026 level funding for libraries in Massachusetts, visit the MBLC website.
On April 15, 2025, Melrose residents were joined by state and local officials to celebrate the grand opening of the new Melrose Public Library. “The construction of any library, no matter the size, affirms the principles and freedoms we stand on,” said Commissioner Jessica Vilas Novas from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC). The project was partially funded with a $8 million grant through the MBLC’s Massachusetts Public Library Construction Program (MPLCP).To read more about Melrose’s new library, visit the MBLC website.
In the wake of President Trump’s Executive Order 14238 that targeted the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and the notice that the entire IMLS staff was put on administrative leave on March 31, the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) announced cuts to library services and grants at its monthly board meeting. To read more about cuts due to federal funding uncertainty, visit the MBLC website.
A grand opening celebration will be held a tthe new Sharon Public Library at 1 School Street at 2PM on Monday, May 19. The event will include a ribbon cutting ceremony, a tour of the new library, mural unveiling in vesituble and the mural artist will speak in the new Community Room. Parking will be available at the library and at the High Street lot. To learn more about the Sharon Public Library project, visit the Town of Sharon’s website.
Connect with literacy coordinators and library staff to exchange ideas, collaborate on projects, and build a supportive community. Whether you’re an experienced educator, a new ESOL coordinator, or a librarian developing services and collections, this roundtable provides a forum to come together for meaningful discussion and resource sharing. Bring your questions, challenges, and successes!
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.
🧊 Libraries as Cooling Centers: Every Library Can Be One! Presented by the Northeast Summit for Climate Adaptation for Library Facilities (Online)
The Northeast Summit on Climate Adaptation for Library Facilities is pleased to announce this last webinar for the 2024-2025 season. The session will begin with a brief overview of what the term cooling center means. You may be surprised to find that your library is one, even if you weren’t using that term! There will also be a keynote speaker, Jared Ulmer, from the Vermont Department of Health and a panel discussion. This event is part of the Northeast Summit on Climate Adaptation for Library Facilities, a collaboration of the State Libraries from Maine to Maryland. This webinar was planned by the Rhode Island Office of Library & Information Services and the Vermont Department of Libraries.
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.
📅 Rapid Response Federal Layoff Information Sessions, Presented by the MassHire Rapid Response Team (Online)
MassHire is hosting a series of Federal Layoff Information Sessions to provide statewide, early intervention re-employment services to employees affected by layoffs and closings. Topics covered will include unemployment insurance eligibility, MassHire Career Center services and more. View or download the flyer to share information about these sessions and to register to attend. The MBLC will partner with MassHire in the near future to bring these sessions in person across the state. More information to come!
️➡️ Get to Know Your Government: The Massachusetts Office on Disability (Online)
Join us for a conversation and Q&A with the Massachusetts Office on Disability (MOD) to learn more about this state agency, the guidance and support it provides to disability-related civil rights and architectural access, and a space to share feedback on how MOD can better serve both library staff and patrons. Registration is required.
Do you want to do more to advocate on behalf of your local public library? Are you considering running to be a Library Trustee? Join us to learn more about what your library does for your community, the role of a Library Trustee, what responsibilities you’ll encounter should you become a successful candidate. This program is a basic primer designed for people who are considering becoming a Library Trustee in their community, though new Trustees may find valuable information and are welcome to attend as well.
As the FY26 budget cycle continues, learn about the process (and paperwork) required to apply for a waiver of the MAR, so you and your municipalities can be prepared.
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 – Data on a Deadline (Online)
In this session we will explore census.gov and learn where to find and how to use a variety of data access tools that can quickly provide a snapshot of your community or state. Through short live demos you will gain insights about tools and resources such as QuickFacts, data.census.gov, Narrative Profiles, OnTheMap, Interactive Maps and more. Attendance at the previous two sessions is not required to join this session. All registrants will receive a Zoom link for the webinar the day before the event.
Tuesday, May 13 at 2PM – More Information & Zoom Link
B&T Connect is the data analysis and visualization counterpoint to B&T Collect. This training will walk you through the basics of creating and viewing data and charts using years of your library data (and data from all MA libraries), so you can better advocate for your libraries and communities.
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.
MBLC has partnered with the Department of Mental Health to help libraries serve their communities with the Massachusetts Behavioral Health Helpline, a statewide service that connects individuals directly to clinical help, when and where it is needed.
Free, confidential, and no health insurance is required.
Real-time interpretation in 200+ languages.
Deaf or hard of hearing? Contact MassRelay at 711 or use your video relay or caption provider of choice.
📆 Save the Date! *June 18* Introduction to the Statewide Patron Portal (Online)
Join us on June 18th for an introduction to the Statewide Patron Portal at libraries.state.ma.us! This walkthrough and information session will introduce our revamped site, including the Library of Things search and the statewide events calendar. We’ll also discuss tagging events and updating your library’s information. Register for the 11 am morning session or the 2 pm afternoon session.
Reading the Revolution is a collaborative, statewide reading list to celebrate the 250th anniversary of American Independence. The Massachusetts Center of the Book and the MBLC invite you to share your suggestions for book titles, articles and online resources of untold and unsung histories in Massachusetts from the past 250 years. This is in partnership with Massachusetts250, a two-year campaign organized by the Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution.
The regular monthly board meeting of the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners is scheduled for 10AM on Thursday, June 5th, 2025, at the MBLC Office, 90 Canal Street, Boston.
If you read the past blog entries on patron rights and responsibilities and the associated rights and responsibilities for employees, especially if you have experience as a children’s or youth librarian, they may have left you wondering “but what about children in the library?” As someone who spent years of her career as a children’s librarian, I felt that children’s behavior and safety warranted its very own blog post. My philosophy on this takes several prongs, but focuses, much like collection development, on the responsibility of the adult that accompanies or is otherwise responsible for the child(ren). Let me walk you through what I mean.
Children’s Inclusion in Patron Rights and Responsibilities
Every patron who walks into the library should be subject to your Patron Rights and Responsibilities (or whatever you choose to name that particular behavior policy). This should be regardless of age. Some may argue that very young children are not cognitively equipped to understand the requirements placed upon them when they are in the library. This is where the responsible person accompanying the child needs to assert those responsibilities. Presumably, someone who is capable enough to accompany a younger patron into the library should also be capable of understanding the rules that surround the use of the library and either explaining them to the child or ensuring that the child acts accordingly.
In addition, aside from perhaps the littlest of our patrons, children are out there in the world and understand and mimic a lot in their worlds. So, if the grownups are behaving appropriately, the kiddos are likely to follow suit. You can also help guide the younger patrons to understanding appropriate behavior with a sign explaining the most important rules with simple, direct phrasing and accompanying graphics or icons to illustrate what you expect. For example:
In this library, we:
Use our walking feet
Use our indoor voices
Clean up after ourselves
Ask for help when we need it
Using icons that illustrate the rules can help children who aren’t reading yet to still understand the rules. Plus, children who go to pre-k or elementary schools will likely be familiar with similar signs in their classrooms.
Speaking of signage, it can also be helpful to the adults who bring children into the library’s space to have clear signage clarifying their role and the role of library staff. You will know the best way to present this information to your community but something to the effect of “Please remember that the library is a public space. We do our best to keep all of our patrons safe, but library staff members are not a substitute for childcare and cannot supervise children,” could be helpful in keeping expectations clear and preventing some confrontations between patrons and staff.
Child Safety Policy
If you have a space that’s dedicated to children’s usage, you probably want to have a policy dedicated to this, or, at the very least, a section in your patron behavior policy that addresses children who are unattended. Some things to consider when you’re crafting a policy around child safety include:
Will you be able to indemnify the library from responsibility for children left in the library unattended?
How will you communicate the role of the caregiver in determining their child’s ability to use the library with or without supervision?
How will you define an “unattended child”?
What situations will prompt you/your staff to act in the best interest of the library and the child to resolve a problematic situation.
Once you have those situations outlined and defined, the next step you may want to consider is outlining what will happen if you become concerned about an unattended child. This may seem to cross the line into procedure, so this is entirely up to you whether to get into this level of detail. However, it may be helpful for your staff to have precisely what to do enshrined in policy. That way, if there are any challenges or questions as to how the situation was handled, your staff are enabled to say, “here is a copy of our policy; this child met the circumstances defining an unattended child and we acted as our policy outlined.”
Here are some questions you may want to consider when deciding what you will do if you find that a child meets your definition of unattended and is in a situation that you have defined as warranting action:
At what point(s) do you attempt to contact the child’s caregiver and how many times will you make those attempts?
What will you do if the child is unattended, and it is close to closing time?
What will you do if you are unable to reach a caregiver?
Will you consider contacting the police? At what point should that action be taken?
What are the limitations on your staff?
ex: staff will never transport a child to their home or lead a child outside the building
What do you do in the event of a medical emergency?
What steps will you take after the situation has been resolved (I’m a big fan of incident reports and may do a future post with that focus)
Role of the Caregiver
By and large when you see a caregiver at the library, they are already aware of and enacting their full responsibilities on behalf of their child(ren). Here are some questions you may want to consider if you choose to craft a section that creates clear expectations about the responsibilities of the caregiver:
If a caregiver chooses to drop off their child(ren), when is the latest they must pick up their child(ren)? —-> Relatedly, will the caregiver need a reminder that library hours vary, and it is the caregiver who must know when the library closes?
How will you express the boundaries a caregiver should set with their child(ren) about what they see, read, hear and borrow from your library?
Some additional considerations:
Will you mention or include an ALA statement about the right for all to have equal opportunity to access anything in the library?
Does your library have filtering software on any of its technology and what are those limitations (or not)?
Do you want to address the privacy rights of a child who may have their own library card?
The Role of Library Staff
I have spent most of this post focusing on the responsibility of the person accompanying any children into the library, but the needs and responsibilities of staff members should be addressed as well. Staff members have job duties they need to attend to, and their responsibility lies in taking care of their job duties, which does not involve childcare. However, library employees still have the responsibility to maintain a safe, accessible space for as many patrons as possible. They need to be trained and prepared to intervene when the occasion calls for it. If you’ve hired a staff member to work in a children’s or youth department, you’ve likely done so with the trust in their temperament and ability to handle your youngest patrons with care and respect.
They are also out there in your community, communicating with your patrons and likely have a very good sense of how to approach patrons and keep their departments as safe as possible. That doesn’t mean they won’t occasionally need backup or training but having a policy that reiterates the responsibility of the person who is there with the child as paramount can go a long way to helping your staff feel more confident when they do need to say to a child “where is your grownup?” or “doing that isn’t safe; please stop.” It also empowers them to find that grownup and explain the policies in a way that not only can help the caregiver understand them, but also that the caregiver is the one who needs to take the reigns in the situation.
Like so many policies, whether or not you address these specific issues and, if you do, whether or not it becomes its own policy or is embedded in other policies is largely dependent upon your unique library situation. You know your library community best and whether or not these situations apply to your library. You know what is practical for your staff and makes the most sense in the context of your library. I hope these points give you the option to consider what will work best within your library’s structure and your community’s expectations.
In a previous post, I stressed the importance of laying out requirements for Requests for Reconsideration (RfRs). RfRs take extensive time and effort which end up costing the library in time, effort and taxpayer dollars that are taken away from doing another part of library work for your community. Let’s explore this in a bit more detail. I’ve discussed how professional librarians are tasked with being good stewards of taxpayer dollars. This is because libraries are, by and large, municipal departments. The largest portion of funds from municipal budgets generally go towards staff salaries. Remaining municipal funds, plus funds from state aid, and donations from Friends groups or Foundations are often applied towards programs that move the library’s community forward in areas such as (but definitely not limited to):
digital literacy and bridging the digital divide
helping skilled workers enter the job pipeline
aiding budding entrepreneurs
guiding new Americans to become valuable citizens in our society
offering early literacy guidance to families
preparing children for kindergarten readiness
supporting K-12 students by partnering with schools
These are the types of regular duties that professional and paraprofessional library staff are spending their time on, in addition to the more visible services of ensuring access to information, including your library holds. Libraries are offering essential services to their communities at no cost to individual patrons, making the most of every penny a municipality invests in them. * Any time spent by staff members at any level that are outside the regular duties I’ve described can put a strain on already limited time and budgets. **
️🔢 Let’s compile some numbers
When a book, program, display or other library service is challenged, much of what I described above gets put on hold to address the concern(s) brought to the library. The cost of these challenges is not often discussed, so finding data points such as the average cost of a single challenge, or how much a state spends on book challenges over the course of a year are difficult to find and even more difficult to standardize. Many don’t realize that book (or display, or program) challenges are a very real strain on taxpayer funds. Costs vary between states and municipalities based on staff salaries and more. Much of the data gathered about the cost of book challenges is from schools and indicates that schools across the US have spent more than $3 billion each year on investigating book challenges. There is less data on how much public library challenges cost. However, the MBLC collects data that all certified public libraries report annuallythrough ARIS and in recent years we’ve included statistics on formal RfRs or intellectual freedom challenges.***
For our current purposes, we can calculate the cost of book challenges for fiscal year 2023 in Massachusetts’s public libraries based on the data we already routinely collect:
The average hourly wage of a professional (i.e. MLIS holding) librarian in MA is $33.56/hr.
I will also use this wage ($33.56) the professional librarian salary for library Administration but please keep in mind:
Library Administration (Directors and Assistant Directors) earn higher salaries than the average professional librarian, but the difference between administrative and professional salaries varies widely across municipalities.
Not every library has an Assistant Director (or equivalent)
This makes any result from these calculations VERY conservative.
There were 40 unique challenges to materials, services or programs in MA in FY24.
🔎 What really goes into a Request for Reconsideration?
How long does a reconsideration process take once a formal request for reconsideration (RfR) has been activated? This will vary by library, but using the guidelines outlined in my previous blog post and figures based on request for reconsideration procedures already in place at some public libraries, here is an approximation of the time investment for each step of the process:
Steps of the RfR Process
Approximate time invested
A Library Director, upon receiving a challenge, will usually spend some time researching the material being challenged, the reviews of the material and the library’s collection development policy
1 HOUR
Provided the library has a large enough staff, the Director will assemble a review committee of about 3 professional librarians who will research the material in question and its reviews along with the challenger’s complaint, and discuss a course of action based on the collection development policy
3 staff members, each investing about 3 hours = 9 HOURS
The Director will inform the staff member who ordered the book about the challenge. The Director will also inform the Chair of the Board of Library Trustees, ensuring the Board is aware that the issue is being handled according to policy. This also ensures Board has some background information should the complainant wish to appeal the library’s decision to the Trustees.
1 HOUR
The review committee will meet with the Library Director and inform the Director of their decision, including reasoning
1HOUR
The Director will compose a response based on the committee findings, informing the person who put forth the request of the library’s decision
1 HOUR
This totals approximately 13 hours of senior/administrative staff time.
Multiplying the total staff time spent (13 hours) by the average hourly wage ($33.56) , the cost to the challenge 1 book in Massachusetts is $436.28, at a minimum. (13 x $33.56 = $436.28)
For the 40 challenges MA libraries received in FY2024, the cost was more than $17,415 in taxpayer dollars and more than 520 hours of senior/administrative staff time devoted to book challenges. The process is very similar for a challenge to a program or service. ****
One more note about the factors in the above calculations. They only take into account senior staff and admin time, but the time, energy, and efforts for reconsideration taken on by professional staff not directly involved in a challenge (ex. the staff member who ordered the challenged item) or paraprofessional staff who are often the ones at the front desk fielding the initial complaint should not be underestimated. They are not included in these calculations because the costs are very difficult to standardize in terms of both wages and time spent with someone submitting a complaint. But never forget that it is generally the staff on the frontlines that are getting the unfiltered initial complaints that are often emotionally charged.
Which leads me to one, final note about the costs of requests for reconsideration. There is an incalculable emotional cost at every level of these challenges. Even under the best of circumstances, if someone is moved enough to go through the process to formally challenge something in the library, they feel very strongly about their position. How members of the public express their concern varies widely, but no matter how much experience a staff member has in libraries, or how many years they have been working at public service points, the underlying emotional tension associated with a challenge is high. It is most important for everyone to keep in mind that library workers – at all levels – are people first; they are more than the items they order or the programs they put on or the desks that they work. They are professionals and paraprofessionals who feel strongly about doing the best for their community. It will vary widely from person to person, but when the public calls into question the dedication of library workers to the library’s mission, the emotional cost is immeasurable.
** In Massachusetts’s fiscal year 2024, the total percentage of the state’s general fund that was invested into libraries totalled 1.09%. To find out what percent of its budget your municipality invests in libraries, and to see how that percentage compares to the state’s investment, take a look at your municipal pie.
*** We also collect data on informal challenges (complaints, turning books spine-in, relocating a book without staff knowledge, etc. but without taking the step of filing an RfR) which are also a strain on time and budgets, but those are much more difficult to calibrate.
**** While the above description applies to the procedures when a program is challenged, there is often an extensive increase in security, sometimes with the use of both municipal police and private security. This also incurs costs paid for by taxpayer dollars.
PRESS RELEASE from the American Library Association | April 7, 2025
CHICAGO — Maria McCauley, Director of Libraries, Cambridge Public Library, Cambridge, Massachusetts, has been elected 2025-2026 president-elect of the American Library Association (ALA).
McCauley received 5,483 votes, while her opponent, Lindsay Cronk, Dean of Libraries, Tulane University, New Orleans, received 2,665 votes.
Upon learning the outcome of the election, McCauley said, “I am honored to be elected President of the American Library Association for 2026-27 and grateful to everyone who voted. I look forward to working with library workers and advocates across every type of library in the United States and internationally.
We can support, inspire, and learn from each other as we seek to improve the excellent library services that we provide for our communities. We will also continue to advocate for and celebrate the power of libraries to transform lives. I thank the Nominating Committee, supporters, and volunteers, as well as running mate, Lindsay Cronk, and former running mate, Dr. Andrea Jamison, for inspiring me along the way.”
McCauley, who was a Spectrum Scholar, is a current member of Core: Leadership, Infrastructure, Futures; the Public Library Association; and the Association of College and Research Libraries. She is also a current member of the Rainbow Round Table, Sustainability Round Table, Intellectual Freedom Round Table, and the International Relations Round Table. She is also a member of the Asian Pacific American Librarians Association, Chinese American Librarians Association, Black Caucus of ALA, REFORMA: The National Association to Promote Library & Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-speaking, and the American Indian Library Association, and the Freedom to Read Foundation. She is also a member of the Massachusetts Library Association and the New England Library Association.
She has held several leadership positions, including At-Large Councilor, ALA Council, Executive Board member, and Fiscal and Audit Committee. She also was PLA president (2022-23) and a PLA board member.
McCauley holds a Doctor of Philosophy, Managerial Leadership in the Information Professions, Simmons University; an MLIS from University of Pittsburgh; a BA in Theater from Ohio Wesleyan University; Leadership Certificate Program, Northeastern University; Library Leadership for New Managers Program, Association of Research Libraries (ARL).
About the American Library Association
The American Library Association (ALA) is the only non-partisan, nonprofit organization dedicated entirely to America’s libraries and library professionals. For almost 150 years, ALA has provided resources to inspire library and information professionals to transform their communities through essential programs and services. The ALA serves academic, public, school, government, and special libraries, advocating for the profession and the library’s role in enhancing learning and ensuring access to information for all. For more information, visit www.ala.org.
Dear Members of the Massachusetts Congressional Delegation:
On behalf of mayors and city officials across Massachusetts, we thank you for your leadership in representing the needs of our communities. We are writing to express our deep concern over an executive order signed March 14, 2025 that would target federal funding to libraries and museums through the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). IMLS is the single largest source of critical federal funding for libraries, however it only accounts for 0.003% of the federal budget.
In Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) received $3.6 million from IMLS’ Grants to States Programs. This money funds several statewide services for everyone, including the full and partial salaries for MBLC staff, statewide research databases, Summer Reading, the Statewide eBook Program, statewide trainings for librarians to increase access for people with vision loss, early literacy development and grade level reading programs, and Interlibrary Loan. It is also critical to note that IMLS funding also supports museums in our communities.
Libraries offer the opportunity for members of the public to access materials at no cost or low cost to them. For individuals with visual impairments or other disabilities, it can be difficult to sustain a need or desire for reading materials that are usable for their needs. Most importantly, Interlibrary Loan offers the chance for library patrons to obtain materials that are not a part of their home library’s collection. In towns that have smaller collections, Interlibrary Loan offers a gateway to materials throughout the Commonwealth.
As elected officials on the front lines, we know that libraries are more than spaces to hold reading materials. Libraries also serve as spaces that offer connections to social services and resources, support for small business owners and entrepreneurs, and they can serve as a space for community. Since their creation, American libraries have served to keep and circulate knowledge; they have remained dedicated to promoting intellectual freedom in our democracy. We urge the Massachusetts Congressional Delegation to work together and across party lines to protect IMLS funding from harmful cuts and policy changes. As local leaders, we are directly accountable to the residents we serve. Thank you for your continued leadership and commitment to protecting the well-being of all residents.
Sincerely,
Joseph M. Petty, Mayor of Worcester Cathleen DeSimone, Mayor of Attleboro Dori A. Vecchio, Interim Town Manager of Auburn Robert Pontbriand, Town Manager of Ayer Margaret “Peg” Stone, Select Board Chair of Berlin Robert F. Sullivan, Mayor of Brockton E. Denise Simmons, Mayor of Cambridge Charles Seelig, Town Administrator of East Bridgewater Samantha Squailia, Mayor of Fitchburg Charles Sisitsky, Mayor of Framingham Michael J. Nicholson, Mayor of Gardner Greg Verga, Mayor of Gloucester Virginia “Ginny” Desorgher, Mayor of Greenfield Melinda Barrett, Mayor of Haverhill Brian A. DePeña, Mayor of Lawrence Caesar Nuzzolo, Select Board Chair of Lunenburg Jared C. Nicholson, Mayor of Lynn David P. Beauregard, Jr., Mayor of Methuen Ruthanne Fuller, Mayor of Newton Gina-Louise Sciarra, Mayor of Northampton Ted Bettencourt, Mayor of Peabody Sherry Patch, Town Administrator of Princeton Leah Whiteman, Select Board Chair of Rutland Austin J. Cyganiewicz, Town Administrator of Rutland Dominick Pangalo, Mayor of Salem Domenic J. Sarno, Mayor of Springfield
