Performing artists’ activities in public libraries have received scant research attention. To address this gap, this study is based on semi-directed interviews with staff in charge of performing artists programmes in 11 libraries, and an email survey of libraries in the two main French metropolises of Paris and Marseilles. Four types of goals underpin the programming strategies of the public libraries surveyed: the development of audience; the enhancement of collections; the modification of institutional image and the decompartmentalization of arts. Finally, the article examines the effects on the libraries’ governance as regards audience development, their core missions and their development partnerships.