BOSTON, MA – February 13, 2026 – The Boston Public Library (BPL), in collaboration with Boston.com's beloved “Love Letters” advice column, is launching a new interactive installation that invites visitors to pick up a phone, speak from the heart, and be heard.
The Tell-A-Booth is a pop-up phone booth located at the Boylston Street entrance of the Central Library in Copley Square. Inside the booth, visitors can anonymously share questions, stories, feelings, and lingering thoughts about relationships, community, family, friendship, and more, echoing the long tradition of advice columns while offering a modern, deeply human experience.
Created in collaboration with Boston.com's columnist and podcast host Meredith Goldstein, the Tell-A-Booth allows participants to choose from several options, including leaving a question for the “Love Letters” column, listening to a snippet of the “Love Letters” podcast, or simply talking, anonymously, into the receiver.
“Libraries sit at the heart of our communities, serving as a trusted resource for information and a welcoming space built for the free exchange of ideas,” said Lisa Pollack, BPL’s Chief of Communications. “Local media plays a similarly critical role, helping us better understand the issues that matter to us and to our neighbors. The Tell-a-Booth underscores our shared mission: to strengthen connections, ignite curiosity, and prompt open conversation about whatever is on our minds."
For Goldstein, the phone booth itself carries symbolic weight — a private, familiar space that invites honesty and vulnerability. “Advice columns have always been about helping people feel less alone,” said Goldstein. “The booth offers a way to speak freely, without judgment, and to participate in a shared conversation about how complicated, and meaningful, relationships can be. Libraries are natural homes for that kind of exchange: they're where people can feel supported, part of a community, and where we all come together to listen.” Goldstein added, "I also just thought it'd be super cool if there was a massive Love Letters phone booth in the library. I mean ... it's quite fun."
All questions left in the booth are anonymous. Selected questions may be answered in the “Love Letters” column, which appears on Boston.com and in The Boston Globe. Audio recordings will not be used on the “Love Letters” podcast or elsewhere.
The Love Letters Tell-A-Booth was designed by Luke Van Cleve and constructed by staff of the American Repertory Theater.
The installation is open to the public during library hours, and participation is free.
For more information, visit boston.com/tell-a-booth.
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ABOUT THE BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY
Established in 1848, the Boston Public Library is a pioneer of public library service in America. It was the first large, free municipal library in the United States; the first public library to lend books; the first to have a branch library; and the first to have a children’s room.
The Boston Public Library of today is a robust system that includes the Central Library in Copley Square, 25 neighborhood branches, the Norman B. Leventhal Map and Education Center, the Kirstein Business Library and Innovation Center, and an archival center, offering public access to world-class special collections of rare books, manuscripts, photographs, and prints, along with rich digital content and online services.
The Boston Public Library serves nearly 4 million visitors per year and millions more online. All of its programs and exhibitions are free to all and open to the public. The Boston Public Library is a department of the City of Boston, under the leadership of Mayor Michelle Wu. To learn more, visit bpl.org.
ABOUT LOVE LETTERS
Meredith Goldstein’s Love Letters is a relationship advice column that launched on Boston.com and in The Boston Globe in 2009. Meredith answers questions about dating, friendship, breakups, and the many ways we seek community. Since 2018, Love Letters has also been a popular storytelling podcast. Episodes include the one about the Boston woman determined to answer a key question: “Would it be easier to date in New York City?”; the tale of the married man who turned 40 and built a ball pit for himself in his basement (much to the dismay of his wife); and the story of the woman who moved to Paris and found love, only to realize she wouldn’t be able to move home again. Love Letters also has a book; Meredith’s memoir, “Can’t Help Myself: Lessons and Confessions From A Modern Advice Columnist” can be found in the Boston Public Library’s nonfiction section, on the second floor of the Boylston building.
ABOUT BOSTON GLOBE MEDIA
Boston Globe Media Partners, LLC is a locally owned, award-winning media company serving Boston and New England for over 153 years. Its cornerstone is The Boston Globe, a 27-time Pulitzer Prize-winning news source and one of the most successful metro news organizations in the United States. The Globe is headquartered in Boston with regional bureaus in Washington, D.C., Rhode Island, and New Hampshire. The Globe has been successfully growing its direct subscriber base, today boasting the highest total number of subscribers the organization has had since 2008. The Globe hosts events that connect community members to its journalism and provides a range of digital and home-delivered advertising solutions that reach more consumers than any other New England media brand. Boston Globe Media's portfolio includes The Boston Globe, Globe.com, Boston.com, STAT, The B-Side, Globe Publishing Services, Globe Events, Studio/B, and Boston magazine.