Bio
Larissa Larrier turned a branch closure into a model for how public libraries can continue serving a community when access is at risk. In 2018, just three months after she became Neighborhood Library Supervisor of Brooklyn Public Library’s East Flatbush branch, the library closed for a major renovation that would leave the neighborhood without a full-service branch for years. Ms. Larrier refused to accept a limited substitute. Instead, she spent a year working with the local community board and Brookdale Hospital to create a “library in transit” pop-up on hospital grounds, preserving a staffed space where residents could borrow books, use laptops and iPads, access printing, and receive in-person support. In a neighborhood where the loss of a library also meant the loss of technology, guidance, and a trusted public resource, her response protected essential services and kept the library rooted in the community it served. When she later presented the model at a New York Library Association conference, it helped influence how libraries across New York State approached service during branch closures. That achievement was the product of years of experience and steady advancement within Brooklyn Public Library. Since joining BPL in 2001 as an Office Aide while attending college, Ms. Larrier has risen through increasingly senior roles, combining frontline knowledge with professional training that includes a bachelor’s degree, a Master of Library Science, and a certificate in Children and Young Adult Services. Across the branches she has supervised since 2018, visits increased by 10 percent and programming by 20 percent.
