Council committee presses Boston Public Library on equitable access, language services and branch safety

BOSTON — Boston Public Library leaders on Friday outlined efforts to ensure residents across the city can access programs and services at neighborhood branches, while flagging renovation timelines and safety needs as the city heads into budget deliberations.

"We are 1 Boston Public Library with 25 branches across the city," David Leonard, president of the Boston Public Library, told the Boston City Council Committee on Human Services. "Branch staff offered over 10,000 programs [in 2025], with an attendance number reported in aggregate of about 150,000 attendees." Leonard said modern branch space and strong staffing are the two primary factors that affect program success.

Councilor Erin Murphy, chair of the committee, opened the hearing on docket 0284 by saying the session was intended to review "equitable access to services and programming throughout the Boston Public Library system" as the city prepares its budget. Murphy said written comments would be accepted and public testimony would be taken at the end of the hearing.

Library staff described how programs are developed and shared across branches. Priscilla Foley, director of neighborhood services, said programming frequently begins locally — "if you've had a successful program at Lower Mills, they'll send out either the adult librarian or the children's librarian" — and can be adopted elsewhere. Staff cited a mocktail program that moved from South Boston to the North End as an example of cross-branch sharing.

Panelists detailed multiple outreach channels: printed branch calendars and flyers, weekly internal updates for managers, branch-level social media, central communications amplification and partnerships with nonprofits for cross-promotion. Leonard said there is a central communications team and "one dedicated person on the central communications team whose only job is to pay attention to central social media as well as support branches."

Language access and immigrant services featured prominently. Foley said the Chinatown branch "provides ESOL classes" and keeps "multiple Cantonese speakers at the branch" to assist patrons; Angela Villazaga, chief of youth and family engagement, described a planned "parent ambassador" pilot to recruit neighborhood patrons who speak local languages to advocate for and connect residents to library services. Leonard added that where bilingual staff are not available the library uses the city's on-demand video interpretation service and is working to increase multilingual collections.

Councilor Flynn asked for an update on the South End branch, which Leonard said is completing final design work after a public-works review and now awaits capital-team approval to release funds for bidding and construction. "We hope to have news as we approach the formal budget planning season," Leonard said.

On safety, Leonard said patron behavior issues have risen since the pandemic and the library "has added social work capacity to our own staff" and expanded the employee security management team by one in last year's budget. Priscilla Foley noted an updated appropriate-use policy and described staff trainings on boundaries and trauma-informed approaches. When asked whether any staff had been assaulted, panelists said incidents had occurred but were "infrequent."

Panelists also described partnerships with city departments including Age Strong, Arts & Culture and 0Waste for programs such as memory cafes and nutrition workshops, and said the library regularly coordinates with schools and community partners to reach residents.

Councilor Mejia asked specifically about services for recent arrivals; Foley said each branch has an "immigration corner" with resources and that staff assist with resume help and use translation tools. Leonard acknowledged the need for more regular coordination across city departments and proposed periodic briefings between management peers to keep partners up to date.

The committee heard no public testimony and adjourned. Library leaders said they expect to press these priorities — branch renovations, staffing, language access and safety supports — during the upcoming budget process.