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About the MBLC

The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) is the state library agency, founded in 1890, with the statutory authority and responsibility to organize, develop, coordinate, and improve library services throughout the Commonwealth.

As a state agency, the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners promotes equitable access, advances innovation, and fosters resilience in libraries across the Commonwealth through funding, guidance, partnerships, and the coordination of statewide services.

Our vision for libraries in the Commonwealth is to see every library in Massachusetts as a thriving community hub, transforming lives through access to knowledge, information, and lifelong learning.

About this Website

The Massachusetts Libraries website provides the public a place to discover and learn about our free public library services. Visitors can get a library card, find library events, do research, learn how to borrow an eBook or audiobook, or which library will lend you a kayak.

The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) runs this website. Though we are not a public library, we work with all 369 Massachusetts public libraries to level the playing field and make sure everyone has access to the library services they want and need.

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MBLC

  • Statewide Online Resources
  • Grants and State Aid
  • Guidance and Advisory
  • Construction Support
  • Summer Reading Support
  • Statewide Coordination

AT YOUR LIBRARY

  • Borrow books, DVDs, CDs
  • Attend a class or program
  • Use a computer
  • Get a Wifi hotspot
  • Use a Makerspace
  • Ask a reference question
Learn more about Massachusetts Libraries

⚠️"The Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has been the subject of federal administration gutting since mid-March. Among the casualties are the bulk of its small staff, the bulk of its budget, and the bulk of its services and purpose."

πŸ”— Read more at the link in bio.

#PublicLibraryFunding #LibraryFunding #PublicLibrariesInMA #MassPublicLibraries #PublicLibrariesOfMassachusetts #MassachusettsPublicLibrary #MassachusettsPublicLibraries #MAPublicLibrary #MassPublicLibrary #LibrariesInMA #MALibraries #MALibrary #ForOurLibraries #RightToRead #FreedomToRead #IMLS #FederalFunding #IMLSFederalFunding #IMLSCuts #FederalCutsToLibraries #FedCutsToLibraries

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Open post by mblclibraries with ID 17941415252888314
⚠️"The Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has been the subject of federal administration gutting since mid-March. Among the casualties are the bulk of its small staff, the bulk of its budget, and the bulk of its services and purpose." πŸ”— Read more at the link in bio. #PublicLibraryFunding #LibraryFunding #PublicLibrariesInMA #MassPublicLibraries #PublicLibrariesOfMassachusetts #MassachusettsPublicLibrary #MassachusettsPublicLibraries #MAPublicLibrary #MassPublicLibrary #LibrariesInMA #MALibraries #MALibrary #ForOurLibraries #RightToRead #FreedomToRead #IMLS #FederalFunding #IMLSFederalFunding #IMLSCuts #FederalCutsToLibraries #FedCutsToLibraries

β˜€οΈπŸ˜ŠHappy #FortifyingFriday! In the latest installment of Fortifying Your Library, MBLC Library Advisory Specialist Al Hayden gets into the details of Public Comment Policy. Does your library have open meetings with public commentary? What about policies to keep public commentary as orderly as possible? Read more at πŸ”—the link in bio!

#FortifyingFridays #PublicLibrariesInMA #MassPublicLibraries #PublicLibrariesOfMassachusetts #MassachusettsPublicLibrary #MassachusettsPublicLibraries #MAPublicLibrary #MassPublicLibrary #LibrariesInMA #MALibraries #MALibrary #LibraryBlog #LibraryPolicy #LibraryPolicies #LibraryLaws #FortifyingYourLibrary

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Open post by mblclibraries with ID 18094685983578725
β˜€οΈπŸ˜ŠHappy #FortifyingFriday! In the latest installment of Fortifying Your Library, MBLC Library Advisory Specialist Al Hayden gets into the details of Public Comment Policy. Does your library have open meetings with public commentary? What about policies to keep public commentary as orderly as possible? Read more at πŸ”—the link in bio! #FortifyingFridays #PublicLibrariesInMA #MassPublicLibraries #PublicLibrariesOfMassachusetts #MassachusettsPublicLibrary #MassachusettsPublicLibraries #MAPublicLibrary #MassPublicLibrary #LibrariesInMA #MALibraries #MALibrary #LibraryBlog #LibraryPolicy #LibraryPolicies #LibraryLaws #FortifyingYourLibrary

‼️ It`s been just over 2 months since President Trump issued an executive order targeting the IMLS and library funding. Librarian Kelly Jensen has put together a comprehensive timeline with updates at πŸ”—the link in bio!

#PublicLibraryFunding #LibraryFunding #PublicLibrariesInMA #MassPublicLibraries #PublicLibrariesOfMassachusetts #MassachusettsPublicLibrary #MassachusettsPublicLibraries #MAPublicLibrary #MassPublicLibrary #LibrariesInMA #MALibraries #MALibrary #LibraryLaws #RightToRead #IMLS #FederalFunding #IMLSFederalFunding #IMLSCuts #FederalCutsToLibraries #FedCutsToLibraries #ForOurLibraries

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Open post by mblclibraries with ID 17881112445200612
‼️ It's been just over 2 months since President Trump issued an executive order targeting the IMLS and library funding. Librarian Kelly Jensen has put together a comprehensive timeline with updates at πŸ”—the link in bio! #PublicLibraryFunding #LibraryFunding #PublicLibrariesInMA #MassPublicLibraries #PublicLibrariesOfMassachusetts #MassachusettsPublicLibrary #MassachusettsPublicLibraries #MAPublicLibrary #MassPublicLibrary #LibrariesInMA #MALibraries #MALibrary #LibraryLaws #RightToRead #IMLS #FederalFunding #IMLSFederalFunding #IMLSCuts #FederalCutsToLibraries #FedCutsToLibraries #ForOurLibraries

✨ Hey, it`s a #FortifyingFriday! In the previous post from MBLC Library Advisory Specialist Al Hayden, we looked at meeting room policies and today she`s got an even closer look at *use agreements* for meeting rooms. What`s that all about, you ask? Find out at πŸ”—the link in bio!

#FortifyingFridays #PublicLibrariesInMA #MassPublicLibraries #PublicLibrariesOfMassachusetts #MassachusettsPublicLibrary #MassachusettsPublicLibraries #MAPublicLibrary #MassPublicLibrary #LibrariesInMA #MALibraries #MALibrary #LibraryBlog #LibraryPolicy #LibraryPolicies #LibraryLaws #FortifyingYourLibrary

ALT: Informative graphic for a new blog post on meeting room use policy in libraries. The image shows a stack of books and text, "Fortifying Your Library with Al Hayden, Policy: Meeting Room Use" with a URL to read more.

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Open post by mblclibraries with ID 18033300806345657
✨ Hey, it's a #FortifyingFriday! In the previous post from MBLC Library Advisory Specialist Al Hayden, we looked at meeting room policies and today she's got an even closer look at *use agreements* for meeting rooms. What's that all about, you ask? Find out at πŸ”—the link in bio! #FortifyingFridays #PublicLibrariesInMA #MassPublicLibraries #PublicLibrariesOfMassachusetts #MassachusettsPublicLibrary #MassachusettsPublicLibraries #MAPublicLibrary #MassPublicLibrary #LibrariesInMA #MALibraries #MALibrary #LibraryBlog #LibraryPolicy #LibraryPolicies #LibraryLaws #FortifyingYourLibrary ALT: Informative graphic for a new blog post on meeting room use policy in libraries. The image shows a stack of books and text, "Fortifying Your Library with Al Hayden, Policy: Meeting Room Use" with a URL to read more.

✨ πŸ‘ This week, 25 students and their families, legislators, teachers, and members of the library community gathered at the State House to celebrate the 25 years of the @masscenterforbook Center for the Book (MCB), and 25th Annual Letters About Literature (LAL) Awards! πŸ“ Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa congratulated the students β€œfor reading voraciously, for being committed to learning more about the world that surrounds [them], and for sharing [their] experiences.”

πŸ“œ For more about the awards, the honorees and their letters, please visit the link in bio!

Photo Credit: Mass Center for the Book. Pictured: Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa addressing the audience at the 25th annual LAL awards


#lettersAboutLiterature #WriteLettersToTheAuthor #WriteTheAuthor #StudentWriting #MAStudentWriting #WritingAwards #MAAuthor #MassCenterForTheBook #MassachusettsCenterForTheBook

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Open post by mblclibraries with ID 18309014854235630
✨ πŸ‘ This week, 25 students and their families, legislators, teachers, and members of the library community gathered at the State House to celebrate the 25 years of the @masscenterforbook Center for the Book (MCB), and 25th Annual Letters About Literature (LAL) Awards! πŸ“ Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa congratulated the students β€œfor reading voraciously, for being committed to learning more about the world that surrounds [them], and for sharing [their] experiences.” πŸ“œ For more about the awards, the honorees and their letters, please visit the link in bio! Photo Credit: Mass Center for the Book. Pictured: Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa addressing the audience at the 25th annual LAL awards #lettersAboutLiterature #WriteLettersToTheAuthor #WriteTheAuthor #StudentWriting #MAStudentWriting #WritingAwards #MAAuthor #MassCenterForTheBook #MassachusettsCenterForTheBook

Did you know that there`s a long history of dogs and #libraries in Massachusetts? In 1869, the dog tax became a funding source option for public libraries. Our very own Preservation Specialist at the MBLC, Jessica Branco Colati, puts the dog tax from 150 years ago into perspective in this piece from New England Public Media.

πŸ”— You can read more at the link in bio!

#PublicLibraryFunding #LibraryFunding #PublicLibrariesInMA #MassPublicLibraries #PublicLibrariesOfMassachusetts #MassachusettsPublicLibrary #MassachusettsPublicLibraries #MAPublicLibrary #MassPublicLibrary #LibrariesInMA #MALibraries #MALibrary #LibraryLaws #RightToRead #IMLS #FederalFunding #IMLSFederalFunding #IMLSCuts #FederalCutsToLibraries #FedCutsToLibraries #ForOurLibraries

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Open post by mblclibraries with ID 18053957375037481
Did you know that there's a long history of dogs and #libraries in Massachusetts? In 1869, the dog tax became a funding source option for public libraries. Our very own Preservation Specialist at the MBLC, Jessica Branco Colati, puts the dog tax from 150 years ago into perspective in this piece from New England Public Media. πŸ”— You can read more at the link in bio! #PublicLibraryFunding #LibraryFunding #PublicLibrariesInMA #MassPublicLibraries #PublicLibrariesOfMassachusetts #MassachusettsPublicLibrary #MassachusettsPublicLibraries #MAPublicLibrary #MassPublicLibrary #LibrariesInMA #MALibraries #MALibrary #LibraryLaws #RightToRead #IMLS #FederalFunding #IMLSFederalFunding #IMLSCuts #FederalCutsToLibraries #FedCutsToLibraries #ForOurLibraries

"Every employee at the library plays an invaluable part," said 14th Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden in a recently recorded video honoring the crucial and important work performed by the Library of Congress staff for Public Service Recognition Week. "The staff will continue to serve the United States Congress, the American public, and users across the world as the caretakers of our nation’s treasures and our collective history."

πŸ“Ί You watch Dr. Carla Hayden`s entire message at πŸ”— the link in bio.

#LoC #LibraryOfCongress #Librarians #LibraryExperts #libraryForEveryone #ForOurLibraries #Libraries #RightToRead #LibraryEmployees #LibraryStaff

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Open post by mblclibraries with ID 18030632699401015
"Every employee at the library plays an invaluable part," said 14th Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden in a recently recorded video honoring the crucial and important work performed by the Library of Congress staff for Public Service Recognition Week. "The staff will continue to serve the United States Congress, the American public, and users across the world as the caretakers of our nation’s treasures and our collective history." πŸ“Ί You watch Dr. Carla Hayden's entire message at πŸ”— the link in bio. #LoC #LibraryOfCongress #Librarians #LibraryExperts #libraryForEveryone #ForOurLibraries #Libraries #RightToRead #LibraryEmployees #LibraryStaff