Join the Massachusetts Library System (MLS) on October 28 at the Devens Common Center for our Member Annual Meeting. All staff employed by MLS member libraries are invited to attend.

Please note: Due to scheduling considerations, we are holding our meeting one week earlier than usual.

This year’s agenda includes our annual business meeting as well as updates from MLS, the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC), and the Massachusetts Library Association's Legislative Committee.

We plan to share more details – including information about the business meeting packet, activities for attendees, and other invited guests – in the coming weeks.

Please register below and contact MLS Event & Project Manager Sarah Donnelly (sdonnelly@masslibsystem.org) with any questions.

2024 Member Annual Meeting Packet

About our Keynote Speaker

We are thrilled to welcome Megan Piphus, famed puppeteer and ventriloquist, as the keynote speaker at our 2024 Member Annual Meeting! Megan taught herself puppetry and ventriloquism by watching VHS tapes that her mother checked out at the library. She spent her teenage years traveling the nation singing and performing ventriloquism at schools and churches.

Since 2020, Megan has played the role of Gabrielle, a 6-year-old black girl Muppet, on Sesame Street. After training for a year to learn Muppet-style puppetry with the cast of Sesame Street, Megan became the first black female puppeteer to perform on Sesame Street in September of 2021.

Pathways to Inclusion 

As part of our Pathways to Inclusion: Strategies for Diverse Library Workforce Development, CultureAlly has been retained to support MLS in identifying and addressing barriers that underrepresented groups face in accessing and advancing within the library profession.

We are excited to announce that CultureAlly will be joining us at our Annual Meeting on October 28. In the afternoon, they will facilitate an important engagement session. The focus group will aim to collect data on your current experiences with hiring and recruitment practices. This data will be invaluable in helping us better understand how to create a more inclusive and equitable environment for all current and future MLS members.

Accessibility

The Massachusetts Library System (MLS) strives to create inclusive and accessible events. To request a reasonable accommodation to attend this event, please contact Sarah Donnelly (Event & Project Manager) at sdonnelly@masslibsystem.org or 508-357-2121 ext. 301. All reasonable accommodation requests should be made no fewer than two (2) weeks before the event, although we will attempt to fulfill reasonable requests made after that time.