Get to Know Chair Commissioner Debby Conrad

What is your favorite thing about being a commissioner?

My favorite thing about being a commissioner is that after 40 years as a librarian, I can continue to contribute to the Massachusetts library community.  I particularly enjoy visiting libraries across the Commonwealth, talking to staff, and seeing the technologies that libraries have installed.  And of course, I love talking to people about the wonderful libraries we have in Massachusetts.

What do you love about your local library?

I love my local Friends group and I love being an active member.  The Friends have been supporting the Ventress Memorial Library for more than 50 years and since my retirement I have had time to work on their fundraising and membership activities. 

What do you like to do when you’re not being a commissioner?

I walk dogs!  Until recently we had 3 dogs (now down to 2) and they each love to walk.  Living in Marshfield we have the option of walking on the street, the beach, and local bogs.  Everyone in the area knows me – one time someone asked me if I was a professional dog walker.  My husband and I also like to travel to the Southwest and Rocky Mountain areas to hike.  My favorite activity is traveling to Tennessee to visit my son’s family and spend time with my 12-year-old grandson who is a Rubik cube whiz.

What books have inspired you? *or* What book changed your life?  

It is difficult to narrow this down to just a few books because different books have inspired me at different times of my life.  I would have to say now that reading “A People’s History of the United States” by Howard Zinn had the most profound impact on me.  After reading this book, I resolved to look at current events in light of societal trends and prejudices that are built-in to our society and to work to move us beyond into a more diverse and open community.

What are you reading right now?

“We Don’t Know Ourselves” by Fintan O’Toole.  It is a personal history of modern Ireland and I am learning a lot about Ireland since the 1950’s.  After I finish that I am going to move on to some light fiction.

(Left: Chair Commissioner Conrad testifying at the Ways & Means Hearing on March 31, 2023. Right: Chair Commissioner Conrad with at Library Legislative Day, March 15, 2023 with staff from her local library, Ventress Memorial in Marshfield.)

Get to Know Commissioner Jessica Vilas Novas

What is your favorite thing about being a commissioner?

In my short time as Commissioner, I have enjoyed visiting libraries and getting inspired by the creativity and thoughtfulness at play across Massachusetts. I always leave the libraries with the desire to return with my children. I also enjoy being a voice at the table where I can speak up for equity and equality, and being part of important conversations that affect library services for so many.

What do you love about your local library?

Although my family and I recently made our home in Haverhill, my longtime local library in Lawrence is where I enjoyed story times in the children’s room as a child, and where my son got his first library card. It’s also where I had the honor of leading as Director and being a part of growth and change so I love the special connection I have to it. Arts and culture play a large role in the Lawrence community and the library joined in by partnering with a local art organization on a 40-foot mural featuring Lawrence’s past to present with images of mill children to a young girl from the City today. Driving by that mural makes me smile as it helped to serve as a welcome back to many families who had not been engaging who could identify with the familiar images and know that the library was there to serve them. 

The 40-foot mural outside of Lawrence Public Library.

What do you like to do when you’re not being a commissioner?

I enjoy traveling and dining with my family and experiencing shows from theater, concerts, and art exhibits which means we are catching up from the slowdown in 2020! The arts are important in my life and have led me to leading community writing clubs and exposing my son and daughter to different art forms. Little Ava loves to paint, and Jordan is learning to play the drums. Professionally, I’ve been enjoying growing my consultancy this past year where I am focused on providing thought leadership to executive directors and managers, as well as mentorship to their teams. I have the honor of co-producing the Bread and Roses labor festival for a second year in Lawrence through my consulting and look forward to supporting more individuals and organizations. I also lead worship at church and serve as a deacon.

What books have inspired you? *or* What book changed your life?

There are so many to choose from and they change according to the aspect of my life. I will say that one book that changed how I viewed leadership and organizational change is Jim Collin’s Good to Great. I read it while getting my Masters in Education and it has since served as the basis for how I approach my work, becoming the framework I used as a library director and now while coaching individuals. I was also greatly inspired by John Maxwell’s Put Your Dream to the Test which I read when I ventured off to live in LA after college and which motivated me to never stop working towards my goals. Aside from leadership books, I enjoy memoirs as I am deeply interested in who people really are and these vulnerable pieces of work allow us a better glimpse. I also think learning more about what makes someone tick versus only knowing the public version of them allows us to see the whole person, making us more authentic in our leadership and work and being better communicators.

What are you reading right now?

I’m currently reading and studying two cases from Harvard Business School to prepare for a day of learning this week, as part of an executive leadership network I am a part of called LEADS. 

Boston Bruins PJ Drive event in 2019 with Commissioner Mary Ann Cluggish (leftmost) and Commissioner Jessica Vilas Novas (second to the right) when she was library director at Lawrence Public Library.

Get to Know Commissioner Les Ball

Did You Know? 🌠 The MBLC is the oldest state library agency in the country! 📚 Since the MBLC was established in 1890, library commissioners appointed by the governor have been tasked with the responsibility to develop, coordinate and improve library services throughout the Commonwealth. This week we are spotlighting *Commissioner Les Ball* who was appointed in 2018 and ending his term this year.
Commissioner Les Ball giving remarks at the Marlborough Public Library Groundbreaking in 2021.

What is your favorite thing about being a commissioner?

The most fun that a Commissioner has is breaking ground for a new or expanded library. The next is cutting the ribbon for a new library.  At these events you see the positive impacts of our construction program on a community. Everyone at these events are happy and excited for their communities and what the library will do for them. I get to meet wonderful people all of whom give back to their communities in a variety of ways. It is also important for us to recognize that we are the lobbying group that is most responsible for keeping state funds for libraries growing. When I see these budgets increase, I am pleased with the success that we have had.

What do you love about your local library?

My local library, The Scituate Town Library, was rebuilt about 5 years ago with a grant from the MBLC.  I was President of the Scituate Library Foundation that raised nearly $2M for the building. I have a great deal of pride that shows when I walk into the building. Beyond being a building, the library employees are some of the nicest people that you would ever want to meet.  Their presence gives you a feeling of belonging that is extended to everyone. It is the only building in town that welcomes every citizen whether they are a three-year old for a story time, a teenager who needs help with a school project, or an elderly person who just wants to sit by the fire and read today’s newspaper. It’s home.

What do you like to do when you’re not being a commissioner?

(Commissioner Ball is pictured here with his dog, Lucille (Lucy) Ball!)

I am a golfer and live on a golf course. Needless to say, I play lots of golf. I also attend a lot of golfing events where I work with my son who manages the media for these events. Also, I love to travel with trips planned for Florida, California and Europe in the near future.  I spend quite a bit of time playing guitar. After about 15 years of playing, I am not good but enjoy playing for myself. I try to learn a new song each week, mostly Beatles, America, Eagles, and other popular groups. Spending time with my wife and family is a high priority.

What books have inspired you? *or* What book changed your life?  

Certainly, the Bible is the most inspirational book ever written. Books that enhance my faith are high on the list. While working, I read most of the books about leadership that came out. I am inspired by reading biographies about former presidents and other historic figures.

What are you reading right now?

I am reading Kristin Hannah’s “The Great Alone” about a family that moves to Alaska and trials that they go through. I am a member of a couple book club that has been in existence for over 45 years with nearly the same members. We read about 10 books per year. We have just finished reading “The Violin Conspiracy” by Brendan Slocumb. I am looking forward to our discussion about the book that will occur in a few days.  However, one of the best parts  of the group is that we each nominate a new book and explain why we should read it. I get a lot of reading ideas from that discussion. 

Commissioner Les Ball & Karen Traub at Hadley Public Library Grand Opening in 2021.
Scituate Library Ribbon Cutting Ceremony.
Commissioner Les Ball at Cambridge Valente Branch Grand Opening in 2019.

Apply for the Solar Eclipse for Libraries (SEAL) Workshop

The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners will be hosting a Solar Eclipse for Libraries (SEAL) Workshop on April 13, 2023, from 10am-4pm. The workshop will be held in person at the McAulliffe Branch of the Framingham Public Library. Lunch will be provided.
Registration applications will be open until Tuesday March 14.

This workshop is designed to prepare and empower public library staff to facilitate meaningful solar and space science programs for their patrons that build curiosity, knowledge and inspiration. Attendees will receive hands-on training on operating solar telescopes and other methods for direct and indirect solar viewing, best practices for developing and facilitating STEM programs, and how to engage with community partners and library-specific digital resource networks.

Attendees will also be able to sign up for free solar eclipse glasses to distribute to their communities in advance of both eclipses. Star Net facilitators bring many years of experience building the STEM capacity of public library staff.  

The workshop will use materials from specially designed circulation kits that will be provided to the MBLC. Training will highlight best practices in using these kits but the strategies, activities and resources shared during the workshop will be useful to attendees whether they have access to a circulation kit or not. Two kits will have a focus on programming for youth and two will have a focus on working with a multigenerational audience. Every library will be able to borrow these kits after the conclusion of the SEAL training.

The goals of the solar science workshop are to help library staff:

1. Build on the excitement of the 2023 and 2024 solar eclipses and engage their patrons in solar science activities!

2. Safely and effectively facilitate direct (e.g., solar telescope and Sunoculars) and indirect methods of safe solar viewing.

3. Develop and facilitate exciting and interactive STEM programming at their library.

This workshop will include the following elements:

• Advice on engaging with community partners to promote and support solar science programs • Ample opportunities for peer-to-peer networking and group discussions • Direct instruction on setting up and using solar telescopes and sun spotters.
•“Guide on the Side” facilitation strategies for STEM learning • Help navigating STAR Net’s online community, where public library staff can share eclipse-related programming ideas, strategies, and resources.
• Hands-on facilitation of interactive solar science programs designed for library settings.
• Advice on leveraging NASA volunteer networks like the Night Sky Network and Solar System Ambassadors.

Please note, per request of the StarNet Facilitation team who are coming from Boulder, Colorado to offer this training we are only be able to accommodate 35 people due to the hands-on nature of the workshop. Potential participants are requested to fill out a short form stating how they will use the workshop training to further STEM engagement activities in their community. Selection of attendees will be based on the strength of each individual application.

Participants will be notified of their successful registration by email after March 18 . Confirmation of your participation with further details regarding arrangements for lunch will be provided at that time.

Please use the following link to submit your registration:
https://forms.gle/H3zz8ZaSmpk5hEeS7

Massachusetts and the nation wrestle with book bans and challenges, protests, and disruptions in libraries

Below are issue-related *articles. The most recent are listed first.

Massachusetts based news stories:

This was an attempt at censorship and it’s dangerous.
(Community Advocate) As regular visitors to the Westborough Library, we were appalled to witness the actions of one resident, at the town meeting where she voted against funding the library, due to her opinions about book content and demands to have it removed from the children’s section. 
Defund the library because we don’t like a book?
Read full article

Can it happen here? Even in Worcester, books are challenged, if not banned
“Constitutionally, that’s not why we have public education in Massachusetts,” said Novick. “The purpose of a public school system is not just so an individual child learns algebra but making sure they are prepared to participate in democracy.”
Read full article

Protest is one thing, but attempts to disrupt library access can be unlawful
February 8, 2023
(Boston Globe-Opinion) The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts decries the rising tide of intolerance exemplified by assaults on our public libraries (“Librarians are targets in culture war,” Page A1, Feb. 6). Last month, together with our partners at GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders, we addressed parallel efforts by a vocal minority to remove books from school libraries.
Read Full Article

‘It’s now come to our doorstep’: Librarians find themselves at the center of increasingly bitter culture wars
February 6, 2023
(Boston Globe) FALL RIVER — David Mello leads the children’s section of the 19th-century library in the center of the city, a longtime public servant whose ready smile turns rueful when he recalls the ugly protest on its granite steps late last year.
About 20 neo-Nazis shouted at adults and children as they arrived Dec. 10 for Drag Story Hour, a library event in which volunteers who are dressed in drag read books to children. The readers were denounced as pedophiles. Antisemitic slurs were hurled at an adult there wearing a yarmulke. And protesters flashed the Nazi salute.“It’s now come to our doorstep,” Mello said. “In a building where everyone should feel comfortable, it saddens you that people have to be worried violent protesters might be outside.”
Read full article


White supremacists protest Taunton drag queen story time, police say
January 16, 2023
(ABC, News6) Police said over two dozen members of NSC-131, a white nationalist group, gathered outside the library Saturday to protest the event.
The protesters dressed in black masks and khaki pants waved a painted banner that read, “Drag queens are pedophiles.”
This group is also believed to be responsible for the racist flyers that have been dispersed throughout Rhode Island in the recent months.
Full story


Chelmsford Public Library reinstates ‘pastor story hour’ after church claims rights were violated
January 12, 2023
(Boston Globe)The Chelmsford Public Library has reinstated a pastor’s story hour that was planned for Friday morning but abruptly canceled Thursday afternoon after library officials said the church that organized the event misrepresented its plans.
A lawyer for The Shepherd’s Church had claimed the library bowed to public pressure after it became known that the event was planned in response to drag queen story hours.
Read full story


Neo-Nazis disrupted a drag event in Fall River. Organizers said they won’t be discouraged.
December 15, 2022
(The Herald News) FALL RIVER — A group of organized neo-Nazis disrupted a children’s event featuring a drag artist in Fall River this past weekend, with organizers vowing to not be discouraged from putting on future events.
“It was the most unsettling thing I’ve seen with my own eyes in a really long time,” said Sean Connell, President of the Fall River Pride Committee. “I think it’s so imperative to stay out here in the face of hate like this.”
Read full story

Christmas tree dispute at library has pitted ‘neighbor against neighbor,’ Dedham officials say
December 9, 2022
(Boston Globe) “Unfortunately, a recent social media post expressing disagreement with the decision to display a holiday tree at the library has quickly evolved into a polarized environment and has led to the harassment and bullying of town employees,” the town said in a statement Thursday. “We wholeheartedly condemn this behavior as it tears at the fabric of our community and cannot be tolerated.”
Read full article
Book challenges on rise in Mass. amid culture wars
November 27, 2022
(Eagle Tribune)Massachusetts librarians are fielding a dramatic uptick in the number of book “challenges” from parents and outside groups who are upset about what they view as inappropriate content on sexuality and racism for younger readers.
A recent survey conducted by the Massachusetts Library Association found that informal challenges, disruptions and objections “quadrupled” between 2021 and 2022.
More than 100 libraries that responded to the group’s annual survey reported at least 78 book challenges so far this year — up from only 20 last year.
Read more

National news stories:

Book Challenges Nearly Doubled From 2021
The American Library Association (ALA) today released new data documenting* 1,269 demands to censor library books and resources in 2022, the highest number of attempted book bans since ALA began compiling data about censorship in libraries more than 20 years ago. The unparalleled number of reported book challenges in 2022 nearly doubles the 729 challenges reported in 2021.
Read more

The top library books people tried to ban or censor last year
Battles have erupted at schools, school boards and library meetings across the country as parents, lawmakers and advocacy groups are debating books. The American Library Association documented more than 1,200 demands to censor books and resources last year, the highest since it started collecting data 20 years ago. Jeffrey Brown discussed more with the group’s director, Deborah Caldwell-Stone.
More from PBS NewsHour

Judge orders books removed from Texas public libraries due to LGBTQ and racial content must be returned within 24 hours
 (CNN) A federal judge in Texas ruled that at least 12 books removed from public libraries by Llano County officials, many because of their LGBTQ and racial content, must be placed back onto shelves within 24 hours, according to an order filed Thursday.
Seven residents sued county officials in April 2022, claiming their First and 14th Amendment rights were violated when books deemed inappropriate by some people in the community and Republican lawmakers were removed from public libraries or access was restricted.
Read full article

Why Libraries Are in More Danger Than Ever — And What We’d Lose if Censorship Succeeds
Literary icon Judy Blume weighs in on this spirited debate.
(Katie Couric Media) Here’s the thing: Frustrating though they are, book bans often serve little practical purpose beyond elevating the popularity of titles that are pulled from shelves. But the defunding of libraries is actually an extremely effective strategy for censorship and voter suppression.
Read full article

‘Straight out of a dystopian novel’: Missouri Dem blasts state GOP for defunding libraries
(MSNBC) Missouri State Rep. Peter Merideth and Katie Earnhart, the director of the Cape Girardeau Public Library in Missouri, join MSNBC’s Jonathan Capehart to discuss Missouri state house Republicans voting to cut funding for public libraries in retaliation to a lawsuit targeting a law that has led to hundreds of books being banned.
Read/listen to full article

Library director rejects request to remove LGBTQ book
(Fremont Tribune) A request to totally remove the LGBTQ-themed book “This Book is Gay,” by local business owner Sandra Murray has been rejected by Keene Memorial Library Director Laura England-Biggs, who cited the book’s value to youth “questioning their identity” in keeping the tome on library shelves.
Read full article

New Hampshire lawmakers consider bill about obscene materials in schools
February 8, 2023
(WMUR9) CONCORD, N.H. —A bill under consideration in Concord is being touted by supporters as a way to protect children from obscene material, but opponents call it an effort to ban books.The legislation would affect schools in grades K-12, which the bill’s sponsor, state Rep. Glenn Cordelli, R-Tuftonboro, said are currently exempt from state obscenity laws. Opponents said he’s misreading the law.
Read Full Article

Glen Ridge Library won’t ban LGBTQ books as a thousand people show up in opposition
February 8, 2023
(NorthernJersey.com) GLEN RIDGE − The way the throngs streamed into the Ridgewood Avenue Middle School on Tuesday night, jockeying for position to get to a speaker signup sheet in the lobby, you would have thought Beyoncé herself was signing autographs. The event, a meeting of library trustees, sounds far more quotidian. But to the roughly thousand people who packed the auditorium and the many who spoke passionately against a proposed ban on six books for young adults that touch on issues of gender nonconformity, the event held enormous significance. 
Read Full Article

Louisiana: “AG Releases Report on ‘Sexually-Explicit’ Content in Public Libraries”
February 8, 2023
(Library Journal) Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry unveiled a new report — titled the “Protecting Innocence Report” — on Tuesday, which includes a list of books his office considers to be “sexually explicit” or inappropriate for children.
Read Full Article

America’s culture warriors are going after librarians
December 21, 2022
(.coda) It’s a tale playing out in cities and states across the country, as a book-banning fever courses through the country’s body politic. Nationally, attempts to remove books from school and public libraries are shattering previous records. The effort is being driven by a loose collection of local and national conservative parents’ groups and politicians who have found a rewarding culture war battle in children’s books about gender, diversity and sexuality. The majority of these groups were created during the pandemic as part of a broader “parents’ rights” movement that formed in opposition to Covid-related masking and remote learning policies in schools and that has since widened its focus to include challenging library and classroom books about race and LGBTQ issues.
Read full article

Kirk Cameron is denied story-hour slot by public libraries for his new faith-based kids book
December 7, 2021
(Fox News) With a new children’s book out that celebrates family, faith and biblical wisdom, actor-writer-producer Kirk Cameron cannot reach scores of American children or their families in many U.S. cities via the public library system because over 50 public libraries have either outright rejected him or not responded to requests on his behalf.
Read full story
Kirk Cameron declares a ‘win’ over two public libraries that denied him story hours but now have ‘caved’
December 19, 2022
In comments to Fox News Digital over the weekend, actor and writer Kirk Cameron declared that he has “won” against two public libraries in this country that previously denied him the space and opportunity to hold a children’s book story hour program in their facilities — and that now are offering to work with him on room bookings after he challenged their denials and threatened to “assert” his “rights in court.”
Read full story

Opinion: The school library used to be a sanctuary. Now it’s a battleground
October 31, 2022
(CNN) In September 2021, protesters ambushed the board meeting of the New Jersey school district where I have worked as a high school librarian since 2005. The protesters railed against “Gender Queer,” a memoir in graphic novel form by Maia Kobabe, and “Lawn Boy,” a coming-of-age novel by Jonathan Evison. They spewed selected sentences from the Evison book, while brandishing isolated images from Kobabe’s.
But the real sucker punch came when one protester branded me a pedophile, pornographer and groomer of children. After a successful career, with retirement on the horizon, to be cast as a villain was heartbreaking.
Read more

After Her Book Displays Drew Criticism, Librarian Elissa Malespina Lost Her Job. She’s Here to Say “I’m Not OK with This.”
October 13, 2022
(School Library Journal) Elissa Malespina was shelving books in the library at her new school. She started with the biography section, arranging titles to make the shelves more appealing to students at Union (NJ) High School, where she is the new school library media specialist.
Barack Obama. Rosa Parks.
She paused and debated which book to select next.“I better go with Colin Powell,” she thought. “Because then it’s a more conservative approach.”
That decision was not wrong, says Malespina, but the creeping doubt is new.
Read more
Links provided to external (non-MBLC) news stories are done so as a convenience and for informational purposes only; they do not constitute an endorsement or an approval by the MBLC. MBLC bears no responsibility for the accuracy, legality, or content of the external site or for that of subsequent links. Contact the external site for answers to questions regarding its content.

*Links provided to external (non-MBLC) news stories are done so as a convenience and for informational purposes only; they do not constitute an endorsement or an approval by the MBLC. MBLC bears no responsibility for the accuracy, legality, or content of the external site or for that of subsequent links. Contact the external site for answers to questions regarding its content.

Massachusetts and the nation wrestle with book bans, challenges, and protests in libraries

According to the American Library Association (ALA) Library staff in every state are facing an unprecedented number of attempts to ban books. ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom tracked 729 challenges to library, school, and university materials and services in 2021, resulting in more than 1,597 individual book challenges or removals. Most targeted books were by or about Black or LGBTQIA+ persons. Recently, ALA submitted comments about the impact to the House Oversight Committee.
Massachusetts has also seen a dramatic surge in book challenges and disturbances. Combined formal and informal challenges, objections, disruptions have nearly quadrupled since 2021, going from combined total of 20 in 2021 to 78 in 2022.

Below are issue-related *articles. The most recent are listed first.

Massachusetts based news stories:

Groups urge schools to resist book bans
January 24, 2023
(The Salem News)  BOSTON — Civil liberties groups are urging state and local education officials to push back against “coordinated” efforts to ban books, warning that pulling any controversial titles from libraries could run afoul of anti-discrimination laws.
In a letter to the state’s public school districts, the Massachusetts chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union and GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders cited a recent uptick in library book challenges from parents and conservative groups targeting titles related to LGBTQ issues, communities of color, and other marginalized groups.
Read Full Story

White supremacists protest Taunton drag queen story time, police say
January 16, 2023
(ABC, News6) Police said over two dozen members of NSC-131, a white nationalist group, gathered outside the library Saturday to protest the event.
The protesters dressed in black masks and khaki pants waved a painted banner that read, “Drag queens are pedophiles.”
This group is also believed to be responsible for the racist flyers that have been dispersed throughout Rhode Island in the recent months.
Full story

Chelmsford Public Library reinstates ‘pastor story hour’ after church claims rights were violated
January 12, 2023
(Boston Globe) The Chelmsford Public Library has reinstated a pastor’s story hour that was planned for Friday morning but abruptly canceled Thursday afternoon after library officials said the church that organized the event misrepresented its plans.
A lawyer for The Shepherd’s Church had claimed the library bowed to public pressure after it became known that the event was planned in response to drag queen story hours.
Read full story

Neo-Nazis disrupted a drag event in Fall River. Organizers said they won’t be discouraged.
December 15, 2022
(The Herald News) FALL RIVER — A group of organized neo-Nazis disrupted a children’s event featuring a drag artist in Fall River this past weekend, with organizers vowing to not be discouraged from putting on future events.
“It was the most unsettling thing I’ve seen with my own eyes in a really long time,” said Sean Connell, President of the Fall River Pride Committee. “I think it’s so imperative to stay out here in the face of hate like this.”
Read full story

Christmas tree dispute at library has pitted ‘neighbor against neighbor,’ Dedham officials say
December 9, 2022(Boston Globe) “Unfortunately, a recent social media post expressing disagreement with the decision to display a holiday tree at the library has quickly evolved into a polarized environment and has led to the harassment and bullying of town employees,” the town said in a statement Thursday. “We wholeheartedly condemn this behavior as it tears at the fabric of our community and cannot be tolerated.”
Read full story

Book challenges on rise in Mass. amid culture wars
November 27, 2022
(Eagle Tribune)Massachusetts librarians are fielding a dramatic uptick in the number of book “challenges” from parents and outside groups who are upset about what they view as inappropriate content on sexuality and racism for younger readers.
A recent survey conducted by the Massachusetts Library Association found that informal challenges, disruptions and objections “quadrupled” between 2021 and 2022.
More than 100 libraries that responded to the group’s annual survey reported at least 78 book challenges so far this year — up from only 20 last year.
Read full story

National news stories:

America’s culture warriors are going after librarians
December 21, 2022
(.coda) It’s a tale playing out in cities and states across the country, as a book-banning fever courses through the country’s body politic. Nationally, attempts to remove books from school and public libraries are shattering previous records. The effort is being driven by a loose collection of local and national conservative parents’ groups and politicians who have found a rewarding culture war battle in children’s books about gender, diversity and sexuality. The majority of these groups were created during the pandemic as part of a broader “parents’ rights” movement that formed in opposition to Covid-related masking and remote learning policies in schools and that has since widened its focus to include challenging library and classroom books about race and LGBTQ issues.
Read full article

Kirk Cameron declares a ‘win’ over two public libraries that denied him story hours but now have ‘caved’
December 19, 2022
In comments to Fox News Digital over the weekend, actor and writer Kirk Cameron declared that he has “won” against two public libraries in this country that previously denied him the space and opportunity to hold a children’s book story hour program in their facilities — and that now are offering to work with him on room bookings after he challenged their denials and threatened to “assert” his “rights in court.”
Read full story

Kirk Cameron is denied story-hour slot by public libraries for his new faith-based kids book
December 7, 2021
(Fox News) With a new children’s book out that celebrates family, faith and biblical wisdom, actor-writer-producer Kirk Cameron cannot reach scores of American children or their families in many U.S. cities via the public library system because over 50 public libraries have either outright rejected him or not responded to requests on his behalf.
Read full story

A Fast Growing Network of Conservative Groups Is Fueling a Surge in Book Bans
December 12, 2022
(New York Times) Some groups are new, some are longstanding. Some are local, others national. Over the past two years they have become vastly more organized, well funded, effective–and criticized.
Read full story

Opinion: The school library used to be a sanctuary. Now it’s a battleground
October 31, 2022
(CNN) In September 2021, protesters ambushed the board meeting of the New Jersey school district where I have worked as a high school librarian since 2005. The protesters railed against “Gender Queer,” a memoir in graphic novel form by Maia Kobabe, and “Lawn Boy,” a coming-of-age novel by Jonathan Evison. They spewed selected sentences from the Evison book, while brandishing isolated images from Kobabe’s.But the real sucker punch came when one protester branded me a pedophile, pornographer and groomer of children. After a successful career, with retirement on the horizon, to be cast as a villain was heartbreaking.
Read full story

After Her Book Displays Drew Criticism, Librarian Elissa Malespina Lost Her Job. She’s Here to Say “I’m Not OK with This.”
October 13, 2022
(School Library Journal) Elissa Malespina was shelving books in the library at her new school. She started with the biography section, arranging titles to make the shelves more appealing to students at Union (NJ) High School, where she is the new school library media specialist.
Barack Obama. Rosa Parks.
She paused and debated which book to select next.“I better go with Colin Powell,” she thought. “Because then it’s a more conservative approach.”
That decision was not wrong, says Malespina, but the creeping doubt is new.
Read full story

Links provided to external (non-MBLC) news stories are done so as a convenience and for informational purposes only; they do not constitute an endorsement or an approval by the MBLC. MBLC bears no responsibility for the accuracy, legality, or content of the external site or for that of subsequent links. Contact the external site for answers to questions regarding its content.


Book challenges up Nationwide and in Massachusetts Libraries

According to American Library Association (ALA), there have been a record number of book challenges across the nation. In 2021 ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom tracked 729 challenges to library, school, and university materials and services, resulting in more than 1,597 individual book challenges or removals. Between January 1 and August 31, 2022, ALA documented 681 attempts to ban or restrict library resources, and 1,651 unique titles were targeted.

The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC), the Massachusetts Library Association (MLA), and the Massachusetts Library System (MLS), and the Massachusetts School Library Association (MSLA) are working together to understand how local libraries are affected, support libraries, and respond in a united way. In September a short survey was emailed to librarians to get a better understanding of the formal book challenges and informal objections or disruptions happening in Massachusetts libraries.

The survey asked:
Has your library experienced a formal book challenge (in 2021 and in 2022)? Which titles?
Has your library received informal objections from patrons or experienced disruptions related to books, displays, or programs (in 2021 and in 2022)?

The response:
103 libraries responded; Combined formal and informal challenges, objections, disruptions have nearly quadrupled since 2021, going from combined total of 20 in 2021 to 78 in 2022.

In 2022:
10 libraries reported 16 formal challenges
55 libraries reported 62 informal objections/disruptions (estimated count from included comments)

In 2021:
1 library reported 1 formal challenge
12 libraries reported 19 informal objections/disruptions (estimated count from included comments)

Challenged titles include:

  • It Feels Good to Be Yourself
  • Jay’s Gay Agenda
  • Camp
  • Gender Queer
  • Lawn Boy
  • People Love Dead Jews: Reports from a Haunted Present [Comment included with this title: (the person challenging it completely misunderstood what the book is about)]
  • Girls of Fate and Fury
  • My Heart Is On the Ground
  • Razzmatazz
  • Hot Dog Taste Test
  • Not My Idea

MBLC, MLA, MLS, and MSLA continue to meet regularly to discuss ways to support libraries including training, support during a challenge, and potential statewide activities.

Construction Program Update and Proposed Changes

by Lauren Stara, Library Building Specialist

This is a very busy time for me and Andrea Bono-Bunker, the two Library Building Specialists for the Massachusetts Public Library Construction Program (MPLCP). The MBLC offered seven new provisional grants in July, and we are working with those communities on the process to secure local funding and start the contract process. In addition, we are working with three projects in the design process, three projects currently under construction, and eight projects that are completed but still working on final reporting and/or LEED certification.

With so many projects in their final stages and our waiting list down to only seven projects, we are planning for our next round of grants. We have been working hard on some changes to our program, which are intended to reduce the very long waiting list we had in the current round, and with the goal of making our grants more predictable and regular.

How the program will be different

  • There will no longer be separate application processes for planning & design and construction. Instead, a town or city will apply once, and we will take them through a planning & design phase and a construction phase. We estimate that this will eliminate about 2 years from the timeline of our projects, reducing escalation and eliminating the need for redesign caused by changes in library services.
  • The financial outlay for municipalities will be much less prior to receiving funding from the MPLCP. No design work will be done before receiving a grant.
  • Municipal officials must participate in the application process.
  • Applications will be evaluated based on three major factors:
    • Community need, with an emphasis on equity and inclusion
    • The current library building’s ability to meet the needs of the community.
    • The capacity of the municipality and the library to undertake a major capital project, including financial capacity and staffing capacity.
  • Applications will be reviewed by independent reviewers based on three tiers or categories – Large Library (30,000+ sf), Medium Library (15,000-29,999 sf), or Small Library (6,000-14,999 sf). A Library Building Program is required for application, and the square footage is determined by that document.
  • A concurrent grant round will be conducted for Small Population Libraries (in towns under 2,500 municipal census population). This new project type is informed by our Small Library Pilot Project, now underway in Shutesbury. Early planning documents, such as the creation of the library building program and conditions assessment, will be part of the planning and design phase.
  • The grant round will be competitive; only as many projects as can be funded within our projected annual cap for a limited number of years will be awarded or placed on a very short waiting list. Applicants not accepted are welcome to apply in subsequent grant rounds.

How the program will be the same

  • The MPLCP’s goal is to improve library services through improvements to library facilities
  • The Library Building Program, developed with extensive community engagement, is the basis for all design decisions and determines the size of the building.
  • Grants are calculated based on eligible costs and a funding formula, with smaller projects receiving a higher percentage of eligible costs.
  • Applications are reviewed by independent review teams; Designs for grantee libraries are also reviewed by independent review teams prior to securing local funding for construction; reviewers are chosen for specific types of expertise and objectivity.
  • Library Building Specialists are available to help at any time in the process.

We are tentatively planning to announce the grant round in the first quarter of 2023, with an application due date about a year later.

Where we are now

The first step in making these changes official is to amend our regulations. We are holding regulatory hearings in early November. For more information and a copy of the revised regulation, please see our regulations page (https://mblc.state.ma.us/programs-and-support/construction/background.php), or contact Lauren at lauren.stara@mass.gov or Andrea at andrea.bunker@mass.gov.

The MBLC Celebrates Digital Inclusion Week

This year marks the sixth annual Digital Inclusion Week, a national event taking place this year from October 3-7 that highlights digital equity work happening throughout the country.

Digital inclusion efforts address three main areas: affordable internet, access to appropriate devices, and digital skills training – basic necessities that millions of Americans are living without.

In Massachusetts, the MBLC and libraries are working to close the digital divide. This has become especially important since the COVID-19 pandemic brought to light the lack of reliable internet connections throughout the Commonwealth.

The MBLC responded by creating the outdoor WiFi map which shows which libraries in the state have connections that can be used both during and after hours outside of the building. Libraries, including the Somerville Public Library, created spaces for internet users to sit comfortably to use the WiFi access when the building is closed. Outdoor WiFi has been especially popular in the western part of the state where broadband is not as readily available. The MBLC sponsored an introductory Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP)  webinar by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to highlight how libraries can help underserved residents obtain low cost or even free internet access and a discounted tablet, Chromebook or laptop for the household.  Applying for ACP is hard; libraries will play a critical role in raising awareness, referring unconnected users to community helpers, or “navigators”, or even stepping up to directly as ACP navigators themselves.

The MBLC used federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds administered by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to lend out WiFi hotspots through public libraries and other local organizations  . Nearly 3000 hotspots were distributed to 220 public libraries for loan to library users.

Libraries across the Commonwealth, sometimes partnering with other community-based organizations, provide devices and offer digital literacy throughout the year.  For instance, the Westhampton Public Library partners with the Council on Aging to provide twice-monthly trainings. The MBLC statewide calendar of virtual events shows similar training opportunities across the state.

The MBLC is joined by organizations across Massachusetts, including the ,  and the country in celebrating Digital Inclusion Week which is organized by the National Digital Inclusion Alliance ( ).

“As we see federal law turn into actual funding for digital inclusion, it’s our time to start ‘Turning Our Moment into Movement,’ which is our theme for Digital Inclusion Week 2022,” said Angela Siefer, executive director of NDIA. “We invite advocates, policymakers, community leaders, educators, researchers, and others to come together this week – and all year long – to advance digital equity nationwide.”

The observance of Digital Inclusion Week seeks to increase public knowledge of the importance of digital equity and encourage digital inclusion efforts across our city to improve broadband access, foster adoption, and promote digital literacy.

#MaDigitalEquity

Massachusetts Center for the Book Celebrates the 22nd Annual Letters About Literature Awards

The Massachusetts Center for the Book has announced the winners of the annual Letters About Literature (LAL) program, a reading and writing initiative that invites students from Grades 4 to 12 to write letters to authors about the books that have had profound effects on them. The student honorees were celebrated in a virtual awards event on May 25.

As one of the most robust LAL programs in the country, the Center receives thousands of letters from all corners of the Commonwealth each year. The fifteen Top Honor and Honors students collectively represent the top 1.5% of this year’s submissions to the 22nd annual program in Massachusetts.

Representative Natalie M. Higgins welcomed the honored students, families and teachers in attendance. “Congratulations to the 2022 Letters About Literature honorees for showing us how books moved and delighted them, expanding their personal and world views,” Higgins stated. “Let’s all celebrate our love of books and reading!”

Sharon Shaloo, Executive Director of Mass Center for the Book, underscored Representative Higgins’ tribute, noting the remarkable personal letters submitted to the 2022 program. “This event celebrates one of the first programs we established when we were founded in 2000,” Shaloo noted. “In addition to the strength of the writing it always prompts, the students’ reflections reassure us that the young people in our commonwealth will be articulate and thoughtful contributors to life in Massachusetts and beyond.”

Commonwealth judges in the 2022 program were Patrick Borezo, Director of Hadley Public Library; Meena Jain, Director of Ashland Public Library and Chair of Programming for Massachusetts Library Association; and Martha Pott, Distinguished Senior Lecturer, Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study and Human Development at Tufts University and member of the Board of Directors of Massachusetts Center for the Book.

The Top Honors and Honors writers in Massachusetts Letters About Literature 2021

Level 1 (Grades 4-6):

Picture of Top Honors winner Asma Al Ashabi
Top Honors winner Asma Al Ashabi

Top Honor: Asma Al Ashabi of Hopkinton, a 6th grader at Al-Hamra Academy of Shrewsbury, for her letter to Pam Muñoz Ryan about Esperanza Rising

 

Honors: Aliasgar Mufaddal Bhagat of Reading (A.W. Coolidge Middle School); Annabelle Butler of Arlington (Lexington Montessori School); Jasiri Cash of Hyde Park (Wellesley Middle School); Sasha Gardella of Marblehead (Village School)

 

Level 2 (Grades 7 and 8):

Top Honor: Daniel Ng of Arlington, an 8th grader at Lesley Ellis School, for his letter to Gene Luen Yang about American Born Chinese

Honors: Anna Grace Goodman of Newton (Newton Country Day School); Eliana Gunn of Wilbraham (Wilbraham Middle School); Jojo Jané-Leonardis of Watertown (Newton Country Day School); Karolina Robles-Maurer of Wilbraham (Wilbraham Middle School)

Level 3 (Grades 9-12):

Picture of Top Honors winner Felicity Zhang
Top Honors winner Felicity Zhang

Top Honor: Felicity Zhang of Concord, a 9th grader at Concord-Carlisle High School, for her letter to Gene Luen Yang about American Born Chinese

Honors: Dilara Bahadir of Lexington; Kasey Corra of West Roxbury (Montrose School); Zaynab Khemmich of Attleboro (Al-Noor Academy); Jemella Pierson-Freedman of Berlin

 

 

The Massachusetts Center for the Book, chartered as the Commonwealth Affiliate of the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, is a public-private partnership charged with developing, supporting and promoting cultural programming that advances the cause of books and reading and enhances the outreach potential of Massachusetts public libraries.

For more information, contact info@massbook.org or call 617-872-3718.