News Releases
February 02, 2023 - Successful State Aid 2023
At its February Board Meeting, the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) wrapped up the FY2023 State Aid to Public Libraries application process by approving waivers of Municipal Appropriation Requirement (MAR) for eight applicants. FY2023 State Aid program grants total more than $16 million, the largest ...
READ MOREFebruary 02, 2023 - MBLC Announces New Construction Grant Round
The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) is pleased to announce the 2023-2024 grant round for the Massachusetts Public Library Construction Program (MPLCP). The MPLCP provides grants that help pay for major capital improvement projects such as new construction, addition or renovation of an existing libra...
READ MOREJanuary 11, 2023 - Library Renovation Underway in Melrose
On January 11, 2023 Melrose residents gathered with state and local officials to celebrate the groundbreaking of the Melrose Public Library renovation project. “There's no institution more important, and frankly more American, in our community than our Public Library,” said Representative Kate Lip...
READ MOREDecember 01, 2022 - Future-Focused Construction Regulations Approved
At its December meeting the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) approved new regulations for the Massachusetts Public Library Construction Program (MPLCP) which works with local communities to plan, build, renovate and expand their public libraries....
READ MOREDecember 01, 2022 - State Aid is Largest in Program’s History
At its December board meeting the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) approved 186 municipalities that met all requirements for certification in the FY2023 State Aid to Public Libraries Program. These libraries join the 96 that were approved in November. To date more than $6.6 million has been awarded i...
READ MOREOctober 06, 2022 - MBLC Funds Statewide eContent
At its October board meeting, the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) approved $500,000 in grants to Automated Networks to purchase eContent for the Library eBook and Audiobook (LEA) program. LEA gives Massachusetts residents access to eBooks, audiobooks, and more from 380 participating libraries from a...
READ MORESeptember 28, 2022 - Board Votes on FY2024 Legislative Agenda
MBLC Begins creating FY2024 Legislative Agenda...
READ MOREAugust 01, 2022 - Governor Signs Budget with Increases to Library Funding
On July 28, 2022, Governor Charlie Baker signed the FY2023 budget. Included in the bill is increased funding to library line items at or above what was requested in the FY23 Legislative Agenda....
READ MOREJuly 07, 2022 - MBLC Elects New Officers for FY2023
The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) elected new officers to serve for FY2023 at its Board Meeting on July 7, 2022....
READ MOREJuly 07, 2022 - MBLC Awards Federal LSTA Grants
The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) awarded Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) direct grants to public libraries at its July 7, 2022, board meeting. Federal LSTA grants are funded through the Institute of Museum and Library Services....
READ MOREJuly 07, 2022 - Over $50 million in Awarded in Library Construction Grants
At its July 7 board meeting, the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) awarded seven communities Provisional Construction Grants through the state-funded Massachusetts Public Library Construction Program (MPLCP). The grants provide crucial funding to local libraries enabling them to meet the growing deman...
READ MOREJune 09, 2022 - Bloomberg Celebrates Library Honoring His Parents
Medford native, former mayor of New York City and a Democratic candidate for president in the 2020 campaign Michael Bloomberg was joined by family, friends, and local, state, and national figures to celebrate the new Charlotte and William Bloomberg Medford Public Library named in honor of his parents who lived in Medfo...
READ MOREMay 24, 2022 - MBLC and MLS Increase Funding for Reliable Online Content
The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) and the Massachusetts Library System (MLS) recently wrapped up a yearlong process to select statewide databases that provide every Massachusetts resident with trustworthy online content covering topics such as science, health, history, biographies and more. The ag...
READ MOREMay 17, 2022 - Libraries Take on Summer Challenge
Libraries across the Commonwealth are challenging themselves and their residents as part of the Third Annual First Lady of the Commonwealth and Blades Summer Reading Challenge. The challenge began in 2020 as an option for libraries that moved summer reading to fully remote during the pandemic and runs from July 1 to Au...
READ MOREMay 12, 2022 - Librarians trained on Creating Accessible Services for Deaf and Hard of Hearing
The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) recently partnered with the Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (MCDHH) to present the free webinar “Welcoming Patrons Who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, or Late Deafened to Your Library.”...
READ MOREMay 11, 2022 - Youth Mental Health First Aid Trainings a Success
The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) has partnered with Walker Cares to offer Youth Mental Health First Aid to library staff. Since April 2021, there have been 191 attendees in 15 classes on YMHFA funded through federal CARES ACT and ARPA funds....
READ MOREMay 09, 2022 - Library Construction Cap Increased
Included in the recently released Baker-Polito Administration’s FY2023 Capital Investment Plan is an increase in the annual cap for the Massachusetts Board of library Commissioner’s (MBLC) Massachusetts Public Library Construction Program (MPLCP). In the plan the program’s annual cap, which is the amo...
READ MOREMay 06, 2022 - Three Libraries Given Partial Construction Awards
Boston Public Library, Cambridge Public Library, and Grafton Public Library were awarded partial Massachusetts Public Library Construction Program (MPLCP) payments at the May 5, 2022 meeting of the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC). ...
READ MOREApril 27, 2022 - The MBLC and Perkins Increase Library Accessibility
For the 1,700 public, school, and academic libraries across the Commonwealth, giving people equal access to library services is fundamental. But for the more than 780,000 people* with disabilities living in Massachusetts, access to library services is often a challenge. The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissi...
READ MOREApril 14, 2022 - Good News for Libraries in Proposed House Budget
On Wednesday, April 13, 2022, the Massachusetts House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee released their proposal for the FY2023 budget. The budget includes increases for all line items that fund library services....
READ MOREApril 07, 2022 - Shutesbury Awarded Small Libraries Construction Grant
At its April 7, board meeting MBLC Commissioners voted to award the Small Library Pilot Project construction grant to the Town of Shutesbury. Over the past decade just two of the thirty-two libraries that were built as part of the Massachusetts Public Library Construction Program (MPLCP), were in communities with popul...
READ MOREMarch 29, 2022 - Governor Appoints Jessica Vilas Novas as MBLC Commissioner
Lawrence native Jessica Vilas Novas has been appointed by Governor Charlie Baker to serve on the nine-member Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC). The MBLC is responsible for library services across the Commonwealth including the Massachusetts Public Library Construction Program, federal Library Services...
READ MOREFebruary 11, 2022 - Mental Health First Aid Training for Librarians
The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) has partnered with Walker Cares to offer Mental Health First Aid for Adults to library staff. “COVID has caused stress and anxiety for so many people and librarians are seeing the mental toll on their communities first-hand,” said Lyndsay Forbes,...
READ MOREFebruary 07, 2022 - 347 Municipalities Certified in State Aid Program
At its February Board Meeting, the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) approved twenty-eight Municipal Appropriation Requirement (MAR) Waiver applications. The MAR is funding from the municipality to support the library. This and other requirements of the State Aid to Public Libraries program help creat...
READ MOREFebruary 04, 2022 - First Lady Lauren Baker and Blades kick off the Boston Bruins PJ Drive at Weymouth Library
First Lady of the Commonwealth Lauren Baker will celebrate the 15th annual Boston Bruins Pajama drive at the Weymouth’s Tufts Library on February 23, 2022, at 10:30am. She will be joined by Bruins mascot Blades for a special story time, craft, and games. Everyone is welcome to wear their PJs to the event and join...
READ MOREJanuary 31, 2022 - Former Commissioner Alice Welch Passes Away
The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) is mourning the loss of former Commissioner Alice M. Welch. “Alice truly made the needs of library patrons her priority,” said current Board Chair Mary Ann Cluggish. “Her work with Friends and Trustees brought people together and impacted library...
READ MOREJanuary 31, 2022 - Governor Gives Slight Increase to Library Technology in FY2023 Budget
On Wednesday, January 26, 2022, Governor Charlie Baker released his proposal for the FY2023 budget. The $48.5 billion budget includes a modest increase in funding for two library line items....
READ MOREJanuary 06, 2022 - MBLC Suspends Open Hours Requirement
In an ongoing effort to support frontline library staff and encourage safe library services, the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) voted unanimously to relax specific State Aid to Public Libraries program requirements. The vote, taken at the board’s January meeting, suspends the Hours Open Requi...
READ MOREDecember 21, 2021 - Grafton Celebrates New Library
On December 17, the Grafton Public Library celebrated the opening of the new library addition and renovation of the 1927 original Georgian building. “A library is what people can do when they pull together,” said Commissioner Karen Traub from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC), which aw...
READ MOREDecember 15, 2021 - MBLC Library Construction Recognized as Leader by Governor
Thanks to the innovative work being done by the Massachusetts Public Library Construction Program (MPLCP) the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners was recently awarded a Leading by Example award. The MBLC was one of eleven Massachusetts state agencies, public higher education institutions, municipalities, and p...
READ MOREDecember 08, 2021 - With MBLC Grants, Small Libraries join Networks
Being a part of one of the nine automated library networks has benefits for both the library and the residents it serves. For residents, it’s access to the eContent and print materials from all over the state. For the library, it includes critical library business functions, like patron registration, inventory co...
READ MORENovember 12, 2021 - New Reuben Hoar Library Opens to the Public
On November 5, 2021, the new Reuben Hoar Library in Littleton opened its doors to the public and celebrated with a ribbon cutting ceremony. The $14.5 million project was supported by a $5.8 million grant from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) Massachusetts Public Library Construction Program (MPLC...
READ MORENovember 09, 2021 - Board Approves First Round of State Aid Grants
At its November Board Meeting, the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) approved 103 municipalities that met all requirements for certification in the FY2022 State Aid to Public Libraries program. State Aid program grants for FY2022 total $13 million, a $1 million increase over the amount given during FY...
READ MORENovember 05, 2021 - Borrow the Internet from Your Local Library
Massachusetts residents conducted 15,000 internet sessions every day in public libraries during 2019. When COVID-19 hit and many libraries closed their doors, patrons were left without the internet access they needed to participate in remote schooling and telework. Libraries stepped up with outdoor library Wi-Fi,...
READ MORENovember 04, 2021 - New Roxbury Branch is Officially Celebrated
On October 23, 2021, Nubian Square in Boston was full of people celebrating the Grand Re-Opening of the newly renovated Roxbury Branch of the Boston Public Library. The $17.2 million project is being funded in part by a $5.6 million grant from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) Massachusetts Public...
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Celeste Bruno, Communications Director
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June Thammasnong, Communications Specialist
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