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The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) is mourning the loss of its former Chair Greg Shesko. “Greg’s knowledge of all facets of libraries, his kindness and his capacity to listen brought people together and benefitted the entire library community. He will be greatly missed,” said current Board Chair Roland Ochsenbein.

Appointed by Governor Deval Patrick in 2009, he served on the Commission until 2018 including a term as Board Chair. “It was an honor to work beside him,” said Vice Chair MaryAnn Cluggish. “Greg’s quiet leadership engendered one of the most active boards in recent history.”

As a member of the MBLC Construction Team, Greg was a strong advocate for funding to support the Massachusetts Public Library Construction Program (MPLCP). During his tenure as MBLC Chair, Everett, South Hadley, and Salisbury opened renovated and expanded libraries with assistance from the MPLCP and Eastham, Framingham, Scituate, Shrewsbury, and Reading broke ground on new construction projects. About the importance of the program, Shesko remarked, "These projects better the lives of every single resident now and in the future."

The State Aid to Public Libraries Program, which affects public libraries and library users across the Commonwealth, was also one of Shesko’s top priorities. He worked alongside other commissioners, librarians, and public library trustees, on the State Aid Review Committee to strengthen this important program and encourage better funding for local libraries. He also served on the Statewide Resource Sharing Committee which made recommendations that led to the first statewide effort to share eBooks across the Commonwealth. This effort was one of the first of its kind in the nation and laid the groundwork for the highly successful Library eBooks and Audiobooks (LEA) collaborative.

A resident of Needham, Mr. Shesko co-chaired the "Renew Our Library" campaign which successfully secured $15.7 million to build Needham's new library. As president of the Friends of Needham Free Public Library, he led two successful override campaigns to increase library funding.

Information about services https://www.eatonfuneralhomes.com/obituary/Gregory-Shesko

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating in his memory to Holy Annunciation Orthodox Church, P.O. Box 604, Maynard, MA, 01754; Mass General Cancer Center, https://giving.massgeneral.org/cancer/donate/; or Friends of the Needham Public Library, http://friendsneedhamlibrary.org/org/donations.php.