NEWS RELEASE

When municipalities struggle to fund their public libraries, their library's certification in the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners' (MBLC) State Aid to Public Libraries Program is threatened. "Certification in the program is vital to the statewide network of sharing that makes the Massachusetts system one of the best and busiest in the nation," said Maureen Amyot, MBLC Director. The program is powerful and far reaching. Of the 350 municipalities with libraries, 347 are certified in the State Aid to Public Libraries program. The communities that are not state certified typically do not submit program applications and have populations of under 800 people.

Why state certification matters

For residents of a municipality with a state certified library, access to millions of items from libraries across the Commonwealth is guaranteed. Last year, people borrowed seven million items from libraries outside their own communities. "It's a program that not only increases what people have access to but saves money as well, because libraries don't have to purchase every item a patron needs," said Ms. Amyot. Using an average cost of $15 an item, certified libraries saved an estimated $105 million last year alone.

After more than a decade of level funding, state funding to public libraries through the State Aid to Public Libraries program has begun to recover. It has more than doubled since 2019. Libraries rely on it to upgrade technology, purchase materials, or keep the library open. "We use state aid primarily to support emerging technology and professional development. We also use our state aid to support important projects and initiatives including our Homework Center," said one Metrowest librarian.

Cuts that don't solve the underlying budget issues

To remain certified, each year libraries meet a set of requirements that help ensure minimum library standards across the Commonwealth. Municipal funding for the library is one of the state requirements. On average, municipal funding for the library is 1.24% of the overall municipal budget. "We hear from town administrators who are juggling rising health care costs, increased costs to police and fire and school budgets, but municipal funding to libraries is often already so low that drastic cuts or closing libraries cannot make up for budget shortfalls and often result in the loss of state certification for the library," said Cate Merlin, Head of State Aid and Data at the MBLC.

Decertified libraries become "information Islands"

Once state certification is lost, libraries often become "information islands" because most other libraries will not extend lending privileges to residents from decertified communities. "It's understandable. Certification is the equalizer that means that everyone is pulling their weight. Municipalities simply can't take on the burden of funding library services for residents of a town that isn't funding its own library," said Ms. Merlin. Regaining state certification can take up to three years.

The key is to stay certified and the MBLC can help

Built into the State Aid to Public Libraries program are waivers of the financial requirement also known as the Municipal Appropriations Requirement (MAR). The MAR is funding, required in statute and regulation, to be provided by the municipality to support the public library.

When Commissioners vote on certification for libraries that have sustained budget cuts, they often consider any library cut that differs from the municipality's overall cut by more than 5% as a signal that a municipality may not be supporting its library, and that the library's budget has been targeted for unfair cuts.

Commissioners also consider the overall circumstances in a community. When cuts are over 5%, local officials appear before the Board to provide testimony and answer questions that give Commissioners a full understanding of the municipality's budgetary decisions. In the last certification cycle, two communities had budget cuts beyond the 5% threshold: 8.88% and 12.33%. After hearing testimony from town administrators and other local officials, both communities were granted MAR waivers.

In addition to MAR waivers, municipalities may also apply for accommodation of the materials and hours open requirements, if they are unable to fully meet those requirements.

MBLC staff work with library directors and municipal officials throughout the certification process, and if a library loses certifications the MBLC works closely with the community towards recertification.

State Aid 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.