Boston Public Library presents largely flat FY2027 budget; leaders warn vacancies and rising collections costs will strain services

Boston Public Library leaders told the Boston City Council Ways and Means Committee on May 19 that the library's proposed FY2027 operating budget of $50,724,000 is largely flat year over year but will rely on vacancy management and modest reductions to preserve branch hours and avoid layoffs.

"We were able to achieve that within the flat budget, largely by holding, trimming here and there, but, holding a a number of vacancies as unfilled going into next year," BPL President David Leonard said during the hearing. He added the approach aims to maintain service hours while limiting layoffs but acknowledged the trade-off: "This is about $1,500,000 below what our maintenance budget would have been as proposed. So this will not be easy."

Why it matters: the library said program dollars often come from external fundraising while staffing and collections are city-funded; councilors and staff repeatedly warned that even a few unfilled positions could reduce the system's capacity to run programs, do outreach and keep pace with digital demand.

CFO Emily Tokarczuk told the panel that state aid rules require the system to spend the equivalent of 12% of its city operating dollars on collections — roughly $6 million — and that digital formats are sharply raising costs. "A physical book itself, the average cost is around $20," Tokarczuk said. "For us to receive a digital format ... is around $70 per item, and those are actually only valid for 2 years." She cited a recent title where the system holds 417 copies and more than 4,600 patrons are on the waiting list, producing multi-month waits.

Capital and projects: Leonard said the five-year capital plan totals about $231,000,000 in proposed renovations. Fields Corner is nearing completion and Chinatown is underway as part of a "housing with public assets" program; the South End project has funding released and is moving toward prequalification and bidding, although one outstanding alley/service design choice requires community input and could add three to six months before construction begins. Other projects, including Eggleston Square, remain in later years of the plan pending cash availability.

Language access and services: Priscilla Foley, director of neighborhood services, said branch staff are largely multilingual, that the library uses on-site interpreters and partners to reach Cantonese- and Mandarin-speaking residents, and that the Chinatown collection at the temporary site will be roughly half Chinese-language materials.

Public testimony and staff concerns: two Boston Public Library staff leaders gave public testimony urging more funding. "This budget seems designed to break rather than build the library," said Bryce Kieran Healy, a cataloging supervisor and chief steward of the Boston Public Library Professional Staff Association. Allison ("Miss Ali") Hahn, president of the same staff association and a children's librarian in Brighton, said staff are "dedicated" but that modest-sounding cuts can have outsized impacts on programming and collections.

Library responses and external support: staff told the council most program funding comes from external sources (the Boston Public Library Fund and other donors) and cited prior annual external funds of $3.4 million in FY24 and $3.8 million in FY25. Leonard and his team said they will continue to work with city budget colleagues to avoid vacancy levels that would reduce core services.

Next steps: The hearing was informational and included public testimony; councilors did not take a vote. Chair Ben Weber invited residents to additional public testimony opportunities, including a May 26 listening session at 6 p.m., and adjourned the hearing.