Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners urges $4 million boost to statewide programs

Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners Director Maureen Amiat told the Joint Committee on Ways and Means in Gloucester on March 10 that public libraries statewide are seeing rising demand for in‑person and online services and are confronting a spike in formal challenges to materials.

Amiat, the new MBLC director, asked lawmakers to raise multiple budget lines in the FY2026 request, highlighting three priority lines: the agency administrative line (7009-101), state aid to public libraries (7095-01) and the Massachusetts Center for the Book (7095-08). “Massachusetts public libraries are busy. In fact, more than 28,000,000 people visited the Commonwealth's libraries in person last year,” Amiat said. She added, “At 28,000,000, we're more popular than the Magic Kingdom at Disney World.”

Why it matters: MBLC distributes annual local aid, technical assistance and federal pass-through funds and runs programs that serve as a statewide backbone for smaller municipalities and school systems. Lawmakers and the MBLC said increases matter for day‑to‑day services (circulation, ebooks and hotspots), federally supported statewide research databases and capital projects that expand or renovate libraries.

Key details and requests - The MBLC requested roughly $4,000,000 in total increases across seven budget lines, including a $2,000,000 increase for state aid to public libraries and cost‑of‑living or modest increases for administrative and Center for the Book lines. - MBLC said roughly 98% of Massachusetts cities and towns participate in the voluntary state aid program; certified libraries gain reciprocal borrowing and access to construction grants and federal LSTA (Library Services and Technology Act) funds. - The agency asked the committee to support a proposed annual increase in the public library construction program cap so municipalities can complete projects amid rising construction costs.

Questions from committee members focused on what is driving increased usage and the rise in formal challenges to materials. Amiat pointed to circulation of physical items and ebooks, increased public reliance on libraries during economic stress, and a record number of challenges in FY2024 (40 challenges versus an historical average under four per year). She told the committee federal funds support the statewide database program, ebooks and services for patrons with vision loss, and that database usage rose 12% year over year while statewide ebook use rose 19%.

Committee context and next steps - Committee members praised libraries’ role as community hubs and pressed MBLC on training for librarians facing increased challenges; Amiat said the MBLC is publishing guidance and coordinating continuing education, including a “Fortifying Your Library” blog series and partnerships with regional library networks. - MBLC requested increases are itemized by budget line and the agency provided a legislative agenda website with further detail.

Ending: The MBLC framed its request as supporting both core services and the public mission of libraries — to provide access to information, learning and public programs statewide. The committee heard the testimony in Gloucester as part of a series of Ways and Means field hearings on the governor’s budget.