Director, Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners

Posted January 9, 2024

The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners is seeking a Director with the vision and
practical expertise to build on current success and keep the agency moving forward as a leader
in innovative library services and programs.

Established in 1890, the MBLC has the statutory authority and responsibility to organize,
develop, coordinate, and improve library services across the Commonwealth. The MBLC strives
to support libraries and librarians, both with providing traditional services as well as their
expanding roles as centers for learning, engagement, and community.

MBLC supports one of the most successful eBook programs in the world, has helped fund three
new public libraries in the past eight months (over 250 new or renovated libraries since the
Massachusetts Public Library Construction Program was established in 1987), provides
groundbreaking digitization and preservation projects, and offers an exemplary Library Services
and Technology Act (LSTA) direct grant program. The MBLC strives to make excellent library
services available to all residents including traditionally underserved populations such as recent
immigrants, the incarcerated, those with vision loss or physical disabilities, and other
marginalized groups.

The Massachusetts Center for the Book, the Massachusetts Library System, the Library for the
Commonwealth at the Boston Public Library, the Worcester Talking Book Library, and the
nationally-recognized Perkins Braille and Talking Book Library are among our affiliates.

As Director, you will enjoy working with a motivated nine-member, Governor-appointed
Commission and an award-winning staff in a creative environment that focuses on improving
and developing library services in all library types for all residents in the Commonwealth. You
will bring together political leaders, library organizations, the library community, and others
around important library issues and will be responsible for planning, initiating, promoting, and
evaluating statewide library service programs.

Responsibilities
A comprehensive statement of responsibilities can be found here. The most immediate include:

Understanding the full scope of the MBLC’s programs, services, and funding.
Designing and implementing a new strategic plan.
Working with the Public Library Construction Team to award provisional grants to
successful applicants from our 2023-2024 grant round.
Cultivating and maintaining relationships with members of the Board of Library Commissioners, our agency affiliates, the nine library network directors, the chief
officers of state library agencies, the Governor’s office, legislators, professional and
cultural partners, and the Massachusetts library community.
Overseeing a current annual budget of over $47.3 million in state funds, over $3.6
million in federal funds, and approximately $25 million in capital public library
construction funds.
Leading a staff of 22.

About Massachusetts

Massachusetts is consistently ranked one of the best-educated states in the country. At
the MBLC, we like to think that our amazing libraries have a lot to do with that.
Massachusetts has 369 public libraries, and hundreds of private, school, college, and
university libraries.

Massachusetts is home to about 7 million people, with 351 cities and towns that run the
gamut from Boston, a major hub for world-class higher education, health care, and
innovation to small, rural towns with engaged communities. The state’s population is
approximately 70% white, 13% Hispanic, 10% Black and 8% Asian, with the highest
concentrations of people of color and recent immigrants in Boston and the 26 Gateway
Cities. About 18% of the state’s population is foreign-born, and nearly 10% of
Massachusetts students are English Language Learners.

When people are not visiting their library, they are able to enjoy the rich history that
abounds in Massachusetts. The first settlements in Massachusetts are over 400 years
old and our streets are filled with history that helped shape our nation.

Massachusetts has over 1500 miles of ocean coastline, as well as mountains, charming
mill cities reinvented as thriving cultural destinations, and vibrant and diverse urban
neighborhoods. The Commonwealth boasts a flourishing arts and culture sector,
championship major sports teams, and our progressive state was the first in the nation
to approve marriage equality in 2004.

How to Apply

For the complete posting, visit the job posting at:
https://massanf.taleo.net/careersection/ex/jobdetail.ftl?job=2400004H&tz=GMT-05%3A00&tzname=America%2FNew_York
Review of applicants begins on February 9, 2024. Please submit a letter of application and
résumé via MassCareers.

Please note: application (including résumé and cover letter) must be submitted via MassCareers
at the above link as we are obligated to use MassCareers and cannot accept applications via any
other mechanism.
The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity
Employer