NEWS RELEASE

The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) recently supported eBook sharing across Massachusetts public higher education institutions with a $100,000 grant to the Higher Education Libraries of Massachusetts (HELM) for the HELM Shared eBooks Purchasing Project. Libraries in the HELM network are taking a collaborative approach to select, purchase, and manage access to eBooks together to more effectively share them and to reduce individual library costs.

"The funding from MBLC is truly transformative for the 66,000+ students enrolled at HELM member libraries," said Matt Bejune Executive Director of the Library at Worcester State University. "We could not have done this without the assistance from MBLC. We are thoroughly grateful for the grant support."

The HELM network was founded with two main goals: to create and maintain a shared integrated library system to encourage discovery and resource sharing among member libraries, and to develop cooperative initiatives to purchase resources. In 2018 with assistance from the Fenway Library Organization, HELM created a shared Koha integrated library system. Users routinely discovered eBooks from HELM member libraries, however prior license agreements did not allow the sharing of the titles across HELM. HELM has used funding from MBLC to purchase eBooks with unlimited user licenses for all HELM users.

Better access and more resources for students comes at a time when enrollments are increasing in part due to free community college initiatives launched by the state. "Our users, who predominantly live and work in the Commonwealth, are already benefiting from the new titles," said Bejune.

"Research has become more reliant on eBooks and electronic resources and many HELM schools are also seeing increases in online course offerings and enrollments. In this changing environment, it's important for libraries to offer innovative research solutions to the students and faculty that may never set foot on their physical campuses," said Kate Butler, Library Information Systems Specialist at the MBLC. "HELM has been at the forefront of innovative library collaborations for many years, and this project helps libraries keep pace with demand."

The HELM Shared eBooks Purchasing Project was first funded as a pilot project with a $100,000 grant from MBLC in June 2025. Eight librarians volunteered to serve on the HELM eBooks Selectors Committee and focused selections in shared curricular areas including Allied Health, Business, Criminal Justice, Education, Nursing, and STEM. HELM plans to purchase additional titles in four common curricular areas including Psychology, Artificial Intelligence, Human Services, and Spanish and Portuguese Language.

Public higher education institutions that benefit from the HELM project are listed below. They collectively serve over 66,000 students.

• Berkshire Community College
• Bristol Community College
• Holyoke Community College
• Massachusetts Bay Community College
• Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts
• Massachusetts Maritime Academy
• Massasoit Community College
• Middlesex Community College
• North Shore Community College
• Northern Essex Community College
• Quinsigamond Community College
• Roxbury Community College
• Springfield Technical Community College
• Worcester State University

Funding to support the initial HELM pilot project came from state funding to the MBLC that supports library resource sharing across the Commonwealth. The most recent grant to HELM is made possible through federal funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to the MBLC.