WESTBOROUGH – The Westborough Public Library has begun a search to replace Director Maureen Amyot, who will become the new director of the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC).
According to Amyot, the job was posted in early May, with a deadline for applications of May 24. The interviews will be conducted during June with a goal of having someone selected toward the end of the month.
Amyot’s last day will be July 5; should more time be needed for the search or contract negotiations, Assistant Director Lynne Soukup will become interim director.
As Amyot prepares to cap her 12-year tenure as library director, she said she was blessed to have such an “amazing staff.”
“As to the Board of Trustees, I was lucky to always have a good board. They really supported me and the library,” she said.
Much of her tenure was taken up with efforts to fund a renovation and expansion of the facility.
When Town Meeting rejected the proposal in 2022, the library regrouped and put forth a repair project.
The first phases of the project have 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.
“The library will be a lot better” once the repair project is done, said Amyot.
MBLC director
When Amyot saw the posting for the MBLC’s director position, “I had to go for it,” she said.
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.
“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.”
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.
“We’re making sure libraries have the resources they need,” said Amyot.
It’s likely that Amyot will be involved in the efforts to expand libraries in Hudson and Southborough.
Amyot is currently a member of the Massachusetts Library System Board of Directors, and she serves on the Massachusetts Library Association (MLA) Legislative Committee.
She will start her new position on July 8, and she said she would remain a resident of Westborough.
“If they let me, I’ll continue to be Mrs. Claus,” she said.
