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| The Drummers' Studio 15th Anniversary Celebration - June 21 |
On March 14, 2025 President Trump signed Executive Order 14238 eliminating the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) "to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law." IMLS is the single largest source of critical federal funding for libraries. Through IMLS' Grants to States Program, for FY2025 the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) was allocated $3.6 million to support statewide library services and grants to local libraries. In the weeks that followed the executive order, IMLS staff were placed on administrative leave and in the President’s FY2026 budget, IMLS is eliminated (pg. 39 under Small Agency Eliminations).
At the annual Massachusetts Library Association conference, MBLC Director Maureen Amyot addressed the impact of ongoing federal uncertainty caused by the executive order and spoke about the MBLC’s efforts to preserve as many federally funded statewide services as possible. Director Amyot announced the FY2026 plan for statewide research databases, the statewide eBook program, and the Commonwealth Catalog.
"The federal impact cannot be overstated. In Massachusetts, over 1,600 school, public, academic and special libraries from across the state benefit from federal IMLS funding. Millions of people rely on federally funded library services,” she said. "Developing a plan for services in an environment of almost daily federal change has been challenging, but our goal has remained constant: to maintain services that are integral to the functioning of our system and heavily relied on by the people of the Commonwealth."
Starting on July 1, 2025, statewide research database offerings will be significantly reduced. However, the MBLC and the Massachusetts Library System (MLS), which jointly fund databases, will maintain several of the most heavily used. The MBLC spends close to $2.2 million of its federal allocation to fund statewide research databases, an amount that cannot be made up in state funding. For FY2026, the eBook content grant to Networks from MBLC’s state line 9506 will likely be funded at $500,000*, which will allow for $500,000 funding in that line to go towards databases. MLS will increase its support for databases by $18,575 to a total of $670,575. Overall, combined database funding from MBLC and MLS will go from $2.8 million to $1.17 million.
"The President has determined that the Institute of Museum and Library Services is 'unnecessary.' But we know the opposite to be true. We know that welcoming ALL, including diverse voices in our collections, and providing free and equitable access to library services make public libraries the cornerstone of a free democratic society,” said Director Amyot. "Libraries change people’s lives. That’s why these reductions in critical library services hurt. But we’re in this for the long game and in the year ahead we’ll continue to work with local, state and federal partners to stabilize library funding and services."
Databases provide every Massachusetts resident with trustworthy online content covering topics such as science, health, history, biographies and more. Last year, there were over 9 million full text downloads from research databases, an increase of 12% in just one year. Sixty percent of database usage comes from schools. The chart below details which databases will be available as of July 1, 2025.
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| Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners attempts to deal with Federal funding cuts |
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| Little Music School - Weds, May 21 |
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| Maha Juice Bar DJ party - May 24 |
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| Spring Rising Stars performs cabaret style |
"Take a look at this quick recap of some of the smart, strategic moves our schools have made to save taxpayers millions—all while keeping student needs front and center. Proud of the work being done to make every dollar count!"
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| Franklin Public Radio - wfpr.fm Schedule for Wednesday |
Franklin All Access TV - Our Public Access Channel (Comcast 6, Verizon 26) = WEDNESDAY
Franklin Pride TV - Our Educational Channel (Comcast 8, Verizon 28) = WEDNESDAY
Franklin Town Hall TV - Our Government Channel (Comcast 9, Verizon 29) = WEDNESDAY
Get this week's program guide for Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) online http://franklin.tv/programguide.pdf
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| Watch Listen Read all things that matter in Franklin MA |
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| Library & Senior Center events |
Norfolk County Regional Emergency Planning Committee
May 20, 2025, 10:30 AM
https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_05202025-1739
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| What's happening today in Franklin? |
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| 1st Annual Fakes and Forgeries Exhibit opens Saturday, June 7 |
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| Monochromatic Assemblage |
"Franklin senior Izzy Trull has been selected as the HockomockSports.com Player of the Week, presented by Morse Insurance, for May 12 through May 18. Trull is the 35th athlete chosen as Player of the Week for the 2024-25 school year and eighth in the spring season.Trull won all three of her singles matches this week, helping Franklin to a perfect 3-0 week and keeping the Panthers in the mix for the Kelley-Rex division title going into the final week of the regular season. Franklin is just a game behind league-leading Sharon with the teams scheduled to close out the season on Wednesday afternoon.“Izzy was amazing last week going 3-0 in three days,” said Franklin head coach Bob Pingeton. “I thought she played her best match of the year and possibly career on senior night against Taunton, winning a second set in a tiebreaker after losing first set. More impressively she came back after that two hour match and beat Sharon the next day. She is such a great competitor and one of the few players who can adjust their game mid-match to overcome an opponent.”
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| FHS' Trull has been selected as the HockomockSports.com Player of the Week |
"All season, Franklin has been a second half team. The Panthers rallied for league wins at both Sharon and Mansfield when trailing by multiple goals at halftime, so going into the break down three goals in Monday afternoon’s Kelley-Rex showdown at Macktaz Field was not an uncommon situation.Franklin, which entered Monday with a 59-game league win streak and having already clinched a share of a 12th straight Hock title, scored twice and cut the lead to two midway through the third quarter. It felt like the tide had turned to the visitors. The Panthers seemed poised for yet another comeback.King Philip answered the punch and regained control. The Warriors scored a pair of goals before the end of the third quarter, locked down on defense again, closed the game with a 6-1 run, and pulled away for an 11-4 win.It was the first time anyone in the Hock had beaten Franklin since 2018 (59 straight games) and the first win for KP against its rival since April 2014, which was also the last time the two shared the Kelley-Rex crown."
"The Hockomock League keeps lining them up, and Franklin keeps knocking ‘em down.The Panthers completed another undefeated league campaign — their 12th in a row — following a comfortable 13-6 win over King Philip, which entered the game with a chance to earn a share of the title with just one league loss to its name.Franklin’s undefeated league streak will continue into next season, now at 133 straight Hock wins dating back to the 2012 season.Six different Panthers found the back of the net with freshman Clara Blongastainer leading the way with a game-high five goals. "
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| FHS Panther sports results shared via Twitter & subscription to HockomockSports.com |
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| Counting down to the Empty Bowls simple meal |
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| 2025 Massachusetts Poetry Festival - May 30 to June 1 |
