State Aid Awards and Certification 

Municipalities and their libraries are certified to receive State Aid to Public Libraries after compliance with statutory and regulatory minimum standards of free public library service is verified on the annual ARIS and State Aid forms sent to the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners. A list of the current awards to certified municipalities (MS Word format) is available after each Board Meeting in November, December, January, and February. A list of communities not certified for State Aid each year is available after the January Board Meeting and updated at the end of the grant round. In addition, at the end of the grant round, final lists of certified municipalities (MS Word format)and awards to certified municipalities (MS Word format) are available after the Board has completed its review and approved all qualifying municipalities. An historical overview of certification (MS Word format) and an historical overview of Municipal Appropriation Requirement (MAR) waivers (MS Word format) granted in the State Aid program are also available in PDF format.

At their June 7, 2007 meeting, the Board of Library Commissioners voted to confirm the decertification of the Town of Saugus in the State Aid to Public Libraries Program based on the closure of the Saugus Public Library as of May 29, 2007.

FY2008 STATE AID TO PUBLIC LIBRARIES

State Aid to Public Libraries is awarded annually and consists of the Library Incentive Grant, the Municipal Equalization Grant and the Nonresident Circulation Offset. The purpose of State Aid to Public Libraries is:

• to encourage municipalities to support and improve public library service,
• to compensate for disparities among municipal funding capacities,
• to offset the cost of circulating public library materials to Massachusetts nonresidents from certified municipalities.

Certification Requirements

To receive State Aid to Public Libraries a municipality and its library must be annually certified by the Board of Library Commissioners as meeting a municipal appropriation requirement for the current fiscal year and as having met certain minimum standards of public library service in the previous fiscal year, as detailed in M.G.L., Ch. 78, s.19A and 19B, amended by current budget language.

Funding

State Aid to Public Libraries funding is appropriated annually by the legislature. The FY2008 appropriation for State Aid to Public Libraries is $9,489,844 (Ch. 61, Acts of 2007). This is an increase of $200,000 from FY2007, and will be reflected in increased Library Incentive Grant, Municipal Equalization Grant and Nonresident Circulation Offset awards.

State Aid to Public Libraries Components

Library Incentive Grant (LIG)
LIG awards are distributed to all certified municipalities based on population. For municipalities with populations under 2,500 the LIG is "a sum equivalent to the amount appropriated by [the municipality] for free public library service during the preceding year, but in no event more than $1,250" (M.G.L Ch. 78, s.19A(1)). Municipalities with populations of 2,500 and over receive a LIG award based on a $.50 per capita rate. An additional $1.5 million in state aid over and above the statutory per capita was appropriated for the Library Incentive Grant beginning in FY2000, resulting in a $0.75 per capita rate and a threshold of $1,875 for municipalities with populations under 2,500. The FY2008 appropriation set the LIG per capita at $0.7145, and the threshold for municipalities with populations under 2,500 at $1,786.25.

Municipal Equalization Grant (MEG)
MEG awards are distributed to all certified municipalities using a calculation based on the state lottery formula. An additional $1.5 million in state aid was appropriated for the MEG beginning in FY2000. The FY2008 appropriation reduction of 4.734% from FY2000 will result in proportionally reduced awards based on the MEG formula.

Nonresident Circulation Offset (NRC)
NRC Offset awards are distributed to municipalities whose libraries report circulation to patrons from other certified Massachusetts municipalities. Beginning in FY1994, an annual appropriation of $1,239,025 has been used to reimburse municipalities based on the number of nonresident transactions their libraries report. The FY2008 appropriation fully funds the NRC. The resulting reimbursement amount per transaction is 12 cents.

Disbursement of State Aid to Public Libraries Monies

After a municipality is certified to receive State Aid to Public Libraries, the agency authorizes disbursement of monies which are normally combined in one payment. Any additional available funds will be distributed by the end of the fourth quarter of FY2008.

The usual statutes and regulations implemented by the Department of Revenue concerning municipal finances apply to State Aid to Public Libraries awards. Annual state budget language also requires that "any payment made under this item shall be deposited with the treasurer of the city or town and held as a separate account and shall be expended by the public library of such city or town without appropriation" (Ch. 45, Acts of 2005).

Contact the State Aid and Data Coordination Unit for further information.