NEWS RELEASE

At its February Board meeting, Commissioners certified the final group of municipalities in the FY2026 State Aid to Public Libraries program. In total, 347 municipalities and their libraries are now certified and will share $20 million in state aid funding. Just four municipalities do not participate in the program either because they do not have public libraries or because they have not applied.

State Aid to Public Libraries funding is critical local aid that helps keep public libraries running. MBLC Commissioners have made increased funding to State Aid to Public Libraries, budget line 7000-9501, the priority of the FY2026 Legislative Agenda. Libraries use the funding to update technology, provide programing and staffing, purchase materials, and maintain open hours.

Certification in the program is the basis for the way libraries share materials across the state and gives people access to millions of items beyond what their local libraries have. On average, people borrow seven million items from libraries outside their own communities each year. With an average cost of $15 per item, this equates to $105 million in cost savings because libraries share rather than purchase items their patrons need.

For FY2026, 338 municipalities and their public libraries met all State Aid to Public Libraries program requirements and 9 municipalities requested waivers of the Municipal Appropriations Requirement (MAR). At its February Board Meeting, the MBLC Commissioners approved MAR waivers for the following communities: Bridgewater, Duxbury, Fairhaven, Mansfield, Orange, Tyringham, and Westford. Waivers with reservation were granted to Stoneham and Norwell because cuts to their library budgets were greater than the 5% threshold used as an indicator that the library budget has been targeted when compared to other municipal departments. Norwell received an 8.88% reduction and Stoneham's budget was cut by 12.33%.

The MAR is funding, required in statute, to be provided by the municipality to support the public library. The five-year average number of MAR waivers is 12, well below the 2011 high of 123 waiver applications.

State Aid to Public Libraries is a voluntary program that has been awarded to municipalities and their libraries since 1890 when The Acts of 1890, chapter 347, 'An Act to Promote the Establishment and Efficiency of Free Public Libraries,' established the Free Public Library Commission of Massachusetts, now known as the MBLC. More information about the State Aid to Public Library Program is available on the MBLC website along with a list of municipalities that are currently certified and those that are not certified in the program.