We’ve Moved!! New address: 90 Canal Street, Suite 500 Boston, MA 02114 (across from TD Garden, a short walk from our old address) Phone numbers have stayed the same

MBLC Service Update December 9, 2020

Construction-The Massachusetts Public Library Construction Program (MPLCP) Contact: Lauren Stara Andrea Bunker

Library Space Planning Document Zoom Meeting A Zoom session will be held on December 10, 2020 from 1pm to 2pm to explain the new Library Space: A Planning Resource for Librarians. MBLC Construction Specialists Lauren Stara and Andrea Bunker will be joined by Yan Ling Ip from Sasaki to discuss the resource and answer questions.

The links to download the resource and for the Zoom session are available here: https://mblc.state.ma.us/libraryspace.

MBLC Special Board Meeting Contact: Rachel Masse A special strategic plan meeting of the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners is scheduled for 1:00 P.M. on Thursday, December 17, 2020 by Zoom Teleconference. https://mblc.libcal.com/event/7331751

Resource Sharing Contact: Paul Kissman

Sharing Visions: 2020 New England Resource Sharing Conference The videos and session handouts from the November 18, Sharing Visions: 2020 New England Resource Sharing Conference are now available on the conference website: https://olis-ri.libguides.com/rswg/sharing-visions

Friends of Libraries Contact: Maura Deedy

Friends Sharing with Friends Join us for the final Friends Sharing with Friends of 2020 on Thursday, December 10, 2020 from 6:00pm - 7:00pm. Sign up here: https://mblc.libcal.com/event/6917185

Bring your coffee and snack to spend time with Friends across the state. Come to share ideas, recap the year, and goals for 2021.

Can’t make it? We’ll send out follow up notes following the call. It will not be recorded.

Preservation and Disaster Recovery Contact: Evan Knight

MBLC/MLS Special Collections Management in Smaller Libraries Series Webinar, Monday December 14th, 1p-2:30p: State and Federal Resources You Should Know About This July’s first “Special Collections Management in Smaller Libraries” event focused on big picture issues, such as: ‘What’s the contemporary value of local history, community archives, and special collections?,’ and ‘How to better manage these types of collections, especially archives?’ View a recording of the symposium here if you missed it: https://vimeo.com/441103615.

A second installment is scheduled for December 14th at 1p and will focus on resources that are specifically designed to support your work to preserve and provide access to your ‘special collections’ of local history, community memory, and archives. This webinar will be an opportunity to directly hear from and connect with administrators of programs that can meaningfully support your capacity to organize, preserve, manage, and share physical and digital special collections. The event is targeted to library workers, librarians, archivists, and collection volunteers in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, but all who may benefit from the event are welcome to join. For a full list of speakers and to REGISTER TODAY!: https://calendar.masslibsystem.org/event/7296897.

Scheduled to speak are representatives from the Massachusetts State Historical Records Advisory Board (MA SHRAB) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), Division of Preservation & Access, who will share background about their respective grant programs, including useful information such as the criteria to help you consider whether you might be a good fit to apply; what to expect in their processes; and timelines for applications. Another panelist from Boston Public Library (BPL) Digital Services will outline Digital Commonwealth (DC) infrastructure and its good strategic position as your long-term digital partner for selected portions of your collections, and their capacity to handle multiple formats. (This presentation on Digital Commonwealth will NOT duplicate much from the recent wonderful, but more broadly themed, MLS webinar “What Can BPL do for you?”: https://vimeo.com/468962730.)

MBLC Preservation Assessment ‘Mini-Grant’ deadline announced: January 14th, 2021 This Mini-Grant is an accessible program intended to be a ‘first step’ towards better understanding your special collections. Working with a qualified preservation assessor can help define threats to collection preservation and access, prioritize collection needs, and inform future collection planning. Learn more and prepare for the January 14th deadline: https://mblc.state.ma.us/programs-and-support/lsta-grants/mini-preservation- assessment.php.

Mental Health Resources for Library Patrons Contact: Shelley Quezada (MBLC) Michelle Eberle (MLS) The Department of Mental Health recently launched a parent lead resource for children that may be beneficial for librarians. More information to come, but in the meantime, the resource is called Hand Held – here is the link: https://handholdma.org/