Parents who choose to breastfeed in public places often have to seek out odd locations for a little privacy – restrooms, utility closets, or storage rooms.  

The Library – like many other institutions – continues to evolve. When it comes to inclusivity, the Library has started the process of becoming breastfeeding family-friendly, supporting the youngest patrons and their parents.  

“It started with a board member who has two young children,” says Crystal Faris, deputy director, youth & family engagement. “It didn’t even occur to her to think that we didn’t have any private space for that.” 

Library staffers were just starting a conversation about addressing the issue when a patron also asked for a private space to feed her baby.  

In response to those requests, mobile privacy screens are now available in or near children's areas at most locations, including Central, Plaza, Trails West, and Waldo. Screens were already located at Bluford, Southeast, and North-East. 

Feedback from patrons leading to change in the Library, Faris says, probably happens more often than people think.  

“I welcome suggestions for how we can improve things,” she says. 

“We get suggestions online. When I get phone calls, I take those seriously. It’s people who want to use the Library. And what can we do? And how can we do it?” 

Patrons are already recommending ideas for upgrades to the privacy screens at the Plaza Branch.

“Parents loved it, and now they’d like a little side table for all their stuff,” Faris says with a laugh. “So now that it’s there, and accessible, people are using it and wanting a little bit more. I think a goal always is whatever makes people feel comfortable.” 

When you visit a Library location where privacy screens are available, simply request one from a staffer – then pull over a chair to the space you’d like to use. The screen can be positioned for privacy for the breastfeeding parent and folded away when not needed.  

Parents who don’t require a privacy screen are still welcome to breastfeed in the Library. 

Faris acknowledges that determining to breastfeed or not is a personal decision. 

“And one of the things that we're doing, too,” she says, “is to recommend resources for those parents trying to decide what's best for them and their child when the baby is born, so that's probably another next step is to make sure that we share those resources.” 

The project team included nearly a dozen staff members across six departments.  

“I liked that there were so many of us from so many different departments working on it and approaching it from all of our expertise areas," Faris says.

This includes community engagement, health and well-being, youth and family engagement, and operations, researching local and state recommendations and other libraries’ practices. 

“Sometimes it feels like suggestions just go into the great void,” she says. “But sometimes they do go places. And it’s especially good when it’s someone not saying, "You’re doing it wrong,' but just saying, ‘Have you ever thought about this?’ It helps us begin to move the needle."