Lynnfield Residents Urged To Save Town Library, April 29 Town Meeting first step to prevent LPL from losing certification (April 17, 2025).
Advocates and community leaders are sounding the alarm in Lynnfield, where residents are at risk of seeing the Lynnfield Public Library (LPL) stripped of critical programming, staff, and hours, while losing access to the entire Massachusetts network of library materials and resources.
At an upcoming Town Meeting on April 29, the Select Board will present a proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year that will require a $4.65 million override in order to level fund critical resources, including library services, the Lynnfield Public Schools, and the Lynnfield Senior Center. Without the override, widespread cuts in all three departments will force important programs and positions to be eliminated. For the LPL, the loss of funding - which would total over $300,000 – would be catastrophic.
“Each day, nearly 400 residents walk through our doors at the Lynnfield Public Library knowing that we are there to help and provide all Lynnfield residents with equal access to educational, informational, cultural, and recreational opportunities and services.” said Patricia Kelly, who has worked at LPL for nearly three decades and is currently serving as LPL’s Head of Reference and the President of the Massachusetts Library Staff Association. “Whether it be through creating community spaces to bring people together, connecting residents with outside cultures and histories, or helping people navigate critical services through our ever-expanding digital world, we’ve worked hard to ensure the library serves as a cornerstone of the Lynnfield community.”
As outlined in their Strategic Plan, which was crafted with significant input from Lynnfield residents and community leaders, LPL staff work to provide opportunities for town departments, schools, community groups, businesses, and residents to connect with the library and each other to support the ongoing needs of the community.
The LPL provides programs for all ages, story-times and promotion of literacy, print and electronic materials, research assistance, technology help, book groups, as well as a place for locals to connect and engage with their community. Last year, the library hosted nearly 400 programs with over 7,460 participants.
Without the override, over 60 percent of the LPL staff would be eliminated – from 24 full-and-part-time staff members to 9. With diminished funding and staff, the Library would be forced to eliminate programming and greatly reduce the hours it’s open to the public. The residents of Lynnfield would not only see a cut in services, staff, and materials, the impact would cause a ripple effect throughout the department, bringing the percentage of municipal investment down below the required level for the library to remain accredited through the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC).
Without certification, LPL would lose access to state funding, further crippling the system. In the current fiscal year, LPL received over $30,000 in state funding through the MBLC to support technology upgrades, new materials and amenities, and more.
Lack of certification would also end the community’s ability to access the state’s inter-library loan system, which allowed Lynnfield residents to borrow 16,377 items from other libraries across the Commonwealth last year alone.
Lynnfield 2040, the visioning plan unanimously approved by the Lynnfield Planning Board in 2024, highlights the strong support residents have for maintaining and improving key public facilities and programming, including library services. If the budget requiring an override is approved to move forward at the April 29 Town Meeting, the override vote would go before the community in a Special Election on Wednesday, June 4.
“My colleagues and I love being a part of the Lynnfield community and want to be able to provide the same level of support and service to the community that we’re providing now,” said Katherine Decker, a Lynnfield resident and LPL’s Head of Circulation. “We are asking our neighbors and friends to move this proposed budget forward and support an override vote in June to protect access to library services and important programs Lynnfield residents not only enjoy, but rely upon.”