President | Boston Public Library
Keynote | Loud Libraries: Cultivating Community Through Shared Stories
David Leonard has led the Boston Public Library since June 2016. In this role, David oversees a collection estimated to contain more than 23 million books, maps, manuscripts, prints, and an ever-expanding digital collection, and a system comprising the historic Central Library in Copley Square, 25 neighborhood branches, and an archival center. The BPL also serves as the Library for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Prior to his formal appointment as President, David served as the Library’s Interim President, during which he focused on the completion of the $78 million renovation of the Central Library in Copley Square, which opened in July 2016.
David’s prior background spans academia, the non-profit sector, and more than a decade of private IT consulting, counseling clients about business development, management, and technology. David is currently enrolled in the PhD. program in Library Information Science at Simmons College, and holds degrees in Philosophy and Mathematics from the University College Dublin.