News Releases 2026
March 05, 2026 - The MBLC Awards $29 Million in Library Construction
At its March 5, 2026 board meeting, the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) awarded provisional construction grants totaling $29,111,051 to municipalities participating in the Massachusetts Public Library Construction Program (MPLCP). Clinton was awarded $11,316,281 for the Clinton Public Library Projec...
February 23, 2026 - Rob Favini Announces Retirement
The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners' (MBLC) Head of Library Advisory and Government Liaison Rob Favini announced his retirement after eight years of service. Mr. Favini joined the MBLC in 2018 and has since played an important role in supporting statewide library programs and services that benefit communit...
February 09, 2026 - 347 Municipalities Receive $20 Million in State Aid
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 eit...
February 04, 2026 - MBLC Supports Higher Ed through HELM
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 col...
February 03, 2026 - MBLC Data Collection now through Counting Opinions
The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) is pleased to announce that it will be working with Counting Opinions as its new data collection vendor. The extensive public library data collected by the MBLC is key to strategic decision making and identifying library and patron needs. Along with data from othe...
January 29, 2026 - Governor Increases Library Funding Across the Board
On Wednesday, January 28, 2026, Governor Maura Healey released her proposal for the FY2027 budget. The $62.8 billion budget includes a 2% increase for all Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) budget lines. The full MBLC budget chart has detailed information about the increases....
January 26, 2026 - MBLC to Restore Research Databases
After uncertainty surrounding federal funding and the fallout from Executive Order 14238 caused significant cuts to statewide research databases in May of 2025, the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) has started a phased process to restore some databases starting in July of 2026....
January 23, 2026 - Explore Grants Awarded as Part of Federal Rebuild
The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) is pleased to announce that 12 libraries have received a combined $58,500 as the FY2026 recipients of Explore Grants. These grants were initially awarded in FY2025, but had to be cancelled due to federal funding cuts to the Institute of Museum and Library Services...
January 08, 2026 - $10 Million Awarded So Far in State Aid to Public Libraries
At its January Board Meeting, the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) certified the remaining municipalities meeting all of the FY2026 requirements for the State Aid to Public Libraries Program. Public libraries in 338 certified communities have been awarded approximately $10 million in state funding. L...