LSTA & Cares Act in Massachusetts | Statewide | Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners

2023 Statewide Services and Initiatives

Summer Reading

On average, each summer more than 350,000 kids, teens, and adults participate in statewide summer reading programs which help kids maintain academic skills and close the literacy gap, a critical predictor of academic success. MBLC uses LSTA funds to ensure that library participation in the statewide program is free. The Summer Success site(opens in new tab) gives people the opportunity to share their story what they did at the library during the summer.

Databases (LSTA)

All people living, working, or attending school in Massachusetts have access to 32 periodical, biographical, e-reference, and news databases containing millions of articles on a variety of subjects including general and scholarly interest, science, history, literature, K-12 interests, and newspapers including The New York Times archive and The Boston Globe archive Over 1600 school, public, academic and special libraries from across the state benefit from these resources. If libraries subscribed to these databases individually, the expense would be millions of dollars more than the statewide collaborative. These resources are not available to consumers on the Internet without a paid subscription.

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Hotspot lending program

The MBLC dispersed 3,000 hotspots to more than 200 public libraries, narrowing the digital divide and increasing access to job information, telehealth, e-government, and schoolwork. The MBLC’s hotspot map

helps users find a library near them where they can borrow one. The program was a success with 78% of participating libraries reporting that the hotspots were popular with patrons. The program ended in September 2022, but the majority of participants continue lend hotspots.

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Library eBooks and Audiobooks (LEA)

LEA allows Massachusetts library users to access eBooks, audiobooks, and more from 380 participating libraries from across the Commonwealth. This statewide system shares eContent in a similar way to physical materials, opening up access that was previously unavailable for eBooks and audiobooks. Statewide eContent through LEA continues to be supported with $500,000 in LSTA funding*.

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Mass.gov/libraries

Capitalizing on the fact that more than 80% of people coming to the site are new users, the MBLC is redesigning the site to feature services that are appeal to this population like how to get a library card and how to access eBooks and audiobooks, streaming media, and databases. The new site will answer many questions new users may have about using library services and make it easier for users to find in-person local library offerings like citizenship and English Language Learning (ELL) classes as well as libraries that lend unique items through Libraries of Things. The site will also be available in languages other than English, so people coming to the site will be able to choose the language with which they are most comfortable.

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The Commonwealth Catalog/ComCat (LSTA)

The Commonwealth Catalog/ComCat gives residents access to millions of items that their own library network doesn’t have. Residents simply request items through ComCat and they’re delivered to right to the residents’ local library for pick-up, usually within a few days. This helps local libraries save money because they don’t have to purchase every item a resident needs. While ComCat paused during the pandemic, usage is on track to climb back up to pre-pandemic levels of more than 100,000 items.