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Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners urges $4M boost to statewide library aid amid spike in book challenges
Summary
At a Gloucester field hearing of the Joint Committee on Ways and Means, the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners outlined a FY26 funding request focused on state aid for local libraries, the state library administrative line and the Massachusetts Center for the Book, and warned of a recent rise in formal challenges to library materials.
The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners told the Joint Committee on Ways and Means in Gloucester that public libraries statewide need additional state investment to keep services open and to respond to a surge in formal challenges to collections and programs.
Maureen Amiat, director of the MBLC, said the agency is asking the Legislature to raise three priority lines in its FY26 request: state aid to public libraries, the MBLC administrative line, and the Massachusetts Center for the Book. She said the total package across all seven MBLC lines is “just over $4,000,000,” with specific asks including a $2,000,000 increase for state aid, roughly $414,000 for agency operations, and about $130,000 for the Center for the Book.
The MBLC said libraries remain…
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