MBLC

The FCC is considering major changes to the E-Rate program that helps schools and libraries afford internet access and telecommunications services. Library Journal details the possibility of scaling back or ending E-Rate entirely at https://www.libraryjournal.com/story/calling-on-advocates-to-respond-to-fccs-proposed-throttling-of-e-rate

The FCC is accepting public comment about E-Rate until October 13. To learn more, visit: https://mblc.state.ma.us/federal-funding/e-rate-at-risk.php

It's Fall! Cozy up inside with one of the winners of the 2026 Massachusetts Book Awards! Find them all in our online catalog: https://bit.ly/4y7PUB2

Just in case you haven't heard the exciting news: "The Librarians" won an Emmy for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking! The film tells the stories of librarians on the front lines of censorship and book bans across the country.

Watch "The Librarians" acceptance speech at the 78th Emmy Awards: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzFMlh5bDto

Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking: 78th Emmy Awards The team from The Librarians accepts the Emmy for Exceptional Merit...

Congratulations to Springfield City Library for their amazing work supporting teen mental health! Springfield's Young Adult Health and Wellness Project was recognized as exemplary for its impact under the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) Grants to States Program. To learn more about Springfield's project, visit the MBLC website at: https://mblc.state.ma.us/news/news-releases/2026/nr260918.php

Image: The teen mental health special collection of books and resources at Springfield City Library.

Springfield City Library

Are you on the Cape or in the North Shore? Interested in learning about community archiving? You can join Mass Memories at a Participatory Archiving Workshop near you next week! For more info and to sign up for a workshop in Provincetown (9/23), Falmouth (9/24), Lawrence (9/28) and Gloucester (9/29), visit the UMass Boston University Archives Blog at: https://blogs.umb.edu/archives/2026/09/08/participatory-archiving-workshops-community-archives-digital-curation-and-public-history-project-management/

Image: Mass Memories on the road in Provincetown. Photo Credit: Nora Katz

Healey Library at UMass Boston Mass. Memories Road Show

Congratulations to Franklin Public Library for the incredible work behind their Citizenship Corners and English Language Learning (ELL) Project! Franklin's project was recognized as exemplary for its impact under the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) Grants to States Program.

To learn more about Franklin's Citizenship and ELL work, visit the MBLC website at: https://mblc.state.ma.us/news/news-releases/2026/nr260916.php

Image: Some of the material used in Franklin Public Library's Citizenship Corner and ELL project. Photo Credit: Franklin Public Library Franklin Public Library Official Site

Have you heard? Bookmobiles are back on the road! Read more about the bookmobiles in Massachusetts in this piece by GBH at: https://www.wgbh.org/news/local/2026-09-14/its-like-an-ice-cream-truck-but-with-books-mobile-libraries-deliver-books-across-mass

Image: Chicopee librarians Brigitte Lyman and Beth Oliveira with the Chicopee Bookmobile at Cabot Manor Youth Center. Photo Credit: Trajan Warran/GBH News

The MBLC is pleased to be working with Healey Library at UMass Boston to bring its successful Mass Memories program to libraries across the Commonwealth to capture local history that invites community members to help document their own stories and history. For more on Mass Memories' efforts to help preserve local history, and to join a workshop, visit the MBLC website at https://mblc.state.ma.us/news/news-releases/2026/nr260914.php

Image: Lisa Lee with contributions at the "Show 'Em Whatcha Got" Mass Memories Road Show: The Hip Hop Edition, 2018. Photo Credit: Nora Katz

Mass. Memories Road Show

*Today is the last day to sign up* for Disaster Planning with dPlan|ArtsReady on Monday, Sept. 21 at 11am, a 1 hour webinar for Massachusetts Libraries on how to approach disaster planning with limited time and resources. Attendees can apply for a free 1 year subscription to dPlan|ArtsReady's comprehensive online tool for disaster preparedness and response designed with libraries in mind.

Sign up online at the NEDCC's website at https://www.nedcc.org/event-template/?eventtemplate=98-disaster-planning-with-dplanartsready

Photo Credit: Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC)

Thank you, Massachusetts College of Art and Design students, and MassArt faculty LJ Baptiste, Jennifer Varekamp and Marjee-Anne Levine for another wonderful summer of creativity and connection!

For a third summer this year, MassArt at the Library brought hands-on art workshops led by world- class MassArt faculty to young artists ages 7+! Last year, 78% of participants said that without these workshops, they wouldn't have had access to summer art classes.

For more of the fun captured at the MassArt workshops, visit the MBLC's flickr page at https://www.flickr.com/photos/mblclibraries/collections/72157725560664001/

Image 1: A young artist proudly displays his finished cast aluminum piece from the workshop at Watertown Free Public Library.
Image 2: Participants and instructors gather outdoors for the aluminum pour workshop in Watertown. Watertown Free Public Library
Image 3: LJ Baptiste leads a discussion at the Comics Art Workshop in Gloucester.
Image 4: Teens learn how to use a sewing machine at the Sustainable Fashion workshop in Woburn.
Image 5: Instructor LJ Baptiste guiding young artists through the Comic Arts Workshop at Sawyer Free Library in Gloucester.
Image 6: Teens show off their finished tote bag projects made from repurposed sails at Woburn Public Library