Executive Director, Massachusetts Library System (MLS), Marlborough, MA
Posted January 4, 2019
The Massachusetts Library System (MLS) seeks an experienced leader, strategic thinker, creative problem solver, and enthusiastic library advocate to guide the development and implementation of statewide services to more than 1,600 multi-type libraries throughout Massachusetts. This vacancy was created by the retirement of the founding Executive Director.
The Massachusetts Library System operates out of two offices, in Marlborough and Northampton, MA.
Massachusetts libraries are champions in resource sharing with a long history of strong collaboration. The MLS is a key player among the stakeholders who advocate for and strive to develop libraries and library services in the Commonwealth. The Executive Director will lead a talented team and work closely with the Executive Board and member libraries to nurture a statewide library community.
MLS seeks a leader with a strong teamwork orientation and a commitment to customer service and collaboration. Other skills important to this position include consortium library experience, understanding of libraries and their work, developing staff, fiscal and budget management, advocacy, developing and nurturing partnerships, vendor and partner contract negotiation, and excellent communications skills.
This position will remain open until filled with preference given to applications received by February 1st. Please provide a letter of application, resume, salary expectations, and the names and contact information of three professional references. We will notify candidates prior to contacting references. Send applications to [email protected]. Please state “Executive Director Application” in your subject line. All applications will be acknowledged by return email.
About the Massachusetts Library System (MLS)
Our mission states: “The Massachusetts Library System, a state-supported collaborative, fosters cooperation, communication, innovation, and sharing among member libraries of all types. The MLS promotes equitable access to excellent library services and resources for all who live, work, or study in Massachusetts.” The MLS Team is committed to providing services that benefit and contribute to the library profession’s core values: diversity, inclusion, equity of access to information, free expression, privacy, and social justice.
Our organization was formed by the merger of six regional library systems in 2010. We were one of many groups of regional library systems that merged at that time as a result of that economic downturn. MLS is a member-driven not-for-profit corporation governed by a 15-member Executive Board, which is elected by the membership. MLS is funded chiefly by state appropriations through the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners and that funding has been slowly increasing since 2010 and exceeds
$7.3 million per year. Current staffing stands at 24.5 FTE.
MLS has two offices; in Marlborough and in Northampton. Our Marlborough office is located 30 miles west of Boston (a thriving, rich cultural and historic city) and 18 miles east of Worcester (an emerging city with a growing cultural and business scene) in a suburban office park with easy highway access from I-495 and I-90 and outside the major rush hour traffic issues of the Boston area. Our Northampton office is located 20 miles north of Springfield in a thriving, lively city, in a bedroom community to UMASS/Amherst, and close to a major highway. Both locations offer a comfortable office with support, a meeting room, and modern training facilities.
About Massachusetts
CNBC ranked Massachusetts the smartest state* in the country. We like to think that our libraries have a lot to do with that. More people visit Massachusetts libraries in a year than attend the Boston Red Sox, New England Patriots, Boston Bruins and Boston Celtics games combined!
When people are not visiting their libraries, they are able to enjoy the rich history that abounds in Massachusetts. The first settlements in Massachusetts are nearly 400 years old and our streets are filled with history that helped shape our nation.
Massachusetts’ educational system continues to be among the best in the nation and the world. Massachusetts students recently scored top among world leaders on reading, science, and math tests. World class educational institutions include Harvard, MIT, Wellesley, Smith, Amherst, Tufts, and a hundred more.
Massachusetts is also home to Cape Cod, surrounded on nearly all sides by beaches, and the Berkshire Mountains with great hiking and camping. The Commonwealth boasts a vibrant arts and culture community, championship major sports teams and our progressive state was the first in the nation to approve marriage equality in 2004.