WESTBOROUGH – Maureen Amyot will be stepping down as director of the Westborough Public Library to become the director for the Mass. Board of Library Commissioners.
Amyot made the announcement during the Select Board meeting on Monday, April 22.
Her last day will be July 5.
Amyot said she would remain a resident of Westborough.
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For much of her 10-plus-year tenure, Amyot oversaw an effort to secure funding and support to renovate and expand the library. When Town Meeting rejected the proposal in 2022, the library regrouped and put forth with a repair project.
That project has been approved, and the library is preparing budget and construction documents to be presented at Town Meeting in the spring of 2025. Should that phase be approved, the repair project would begin.
Plans to replace Amyot have yet to be announced.
The new job
“It is with great pleasure that we welcome Maureen to the MBLC,” said MBLC Chair Debby Conrad. “With challenges to intellectual freedom, gaps in equitable service, unfair eBook practices, and library staff on the frontlines, this is a critical time for libraries, one that requires both steady leadership and vision that leads to innovation and meaningful change. We are confident that Maureen embodies these qualities, and we look forward to working closely with her.”
Amyot was selected after a monthslong search yielded 45 applicants and a pool of 16 qualified candidates from Massachusetts and other states. She is the third woman to be named director of the MBLC in the agency’s 134-year history.
“I want to thank the Commissioners and staff for this incredible opportunity to lead the MBLC into the future. I’m honored to be the next director, and will work hard every single day to keep libraries moving forward. I know there are many challenges facing libraries, now and down the road, and I am looking forward to finding solutions together,” said Amyot.
As MBLC director, Amyot will work with the nine-member commission appointed by the governor, staff, library agencies and the library community to improve library services across the commonwealth.
MBLC programs include library construction, local aid for public libraries and a federal direct grant program, as well as support for resource sharing, online access, and the utilization of technology by libraries.
Amyot is currently a member of the Massachusetts Library System Board of Directors, and serves on the Massachusetts Library Association (MLA) Legislative Committee.
She will start her new position on July 8.
