Billerica Library Trustees Extend Study Room Reservations to Three Hours

BILLERICA -- December 1, 2025, Billerica Library Board extends study room bookings to three hours and revises two other policies. The Library Board of Trustees voted unanimously at its December 1 meeting to raise the library's study room reservation cap from two to three hours, with a discretionary fourth hour available when no other patron is waiting, the result of a two-month trial during which patrons pushed back against the shorter limit. The board also approved a revised fundraising policy that allows the library director to place donation collection boxes in the building when coordinating with other town departments, narrowing an initial draft that would have extended the permission to "affiliated entities" as well. A third policy change formally allows up to three individuals to share a reserved conference room for quiet individual study. In a discussion item requiring no vote, one trustee flagged two recent patron complaints about restricted access to the local history room, calling it "a big change" and asking that the policy adopted in October be revisited; the board added the item to the January agenda. The library also reported an initial state aid award of $52,191.77 from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners and a $5,500 donation of games and puzzles from Billerica-based toy company Eboo.