Councilors and union highlight 38 vacancies, lengthy hiring times and pay concerns at Boston Public Library

David Leonard, president of the Boston Public Library, told the City Council Committee on Ways and Means that the library currently has 38 active vacancies and is still reducing the vacancy count created during the COVID period.

“The current number of active vacancies, is, 38 that we are trying to actually fill today,” Leonard said. He described a hiring timeline that “on average takes us at least 3 to 6 months to complete a hire,” and noted outliers where positions remained vacant for much longer.

Why it matters: Councilors and library staff said timely hiring and fair wages are essential to sustain services and programming. Several councilors and a union representative said long hiring timelines and limited compensation hurt retention and service delivery.

Union testimony and council response: Alyssa Catalyk, president of ASHME Local 1526, spoke during public testimony about frontline staff. “We are the backbone of the library,” she said. “Not all our staff want to become librarians. ... My lowest paid employees are told no. They’re again the ones they show up every single day.” Catalyk urged the council to examine hiring priorities and to protect and raise wages for lowest‑paid workers.

Leonard and CFO Emily Takarcic said some of the changes councilors see in budget lines reflect an internal reorganization and the breaking out of facility and collections costs into separate budget categories. Leonard said the library had a high of roughly 90 vacancies during the pandemic and has been driving that number down; he said a 30–40 active vacancy level “probably should be around” the system’s target.

Overtime and vacancy risks: Council President Julia Mejia (letter read into the record) asked about overtime: FY24 overtime approached $1,000,000 while the FY26 proposed overtime appropriation is $325,000 and the current fiscal year to date showed an overtime deficit of about $233,000 as of March 31. Leonard and Takarcic said they expect to work with the budget office on mid‑year adjustments if necessary and that increasing permanent staffing would reduce reliance on overtime.

Hiring process concerns: Councilors described procedural steps that can slow hires, including personnel review committee approvals; Leonard acknowledged “some bureaucracy” and said the city’s Office of People Management and Budget has made process improvements but that more work is needed.

What remains unresolved: Union leaders and councilors asked the library to prioritize funding and contract negotiations that raise pay for lowest‑paid workers. Leonard said the library and city officials are engaged in bargaining and other efforts but did not announce specific new commitments at the hearing.

Ending: The library said it will continue to report vacancy and hiring metrics to the council and work with the city and union partners on wage and retention issues.