Boston Public Library

Library system in Boston, Massachusetts

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The Boston Public Library is a municipal public library system in Boston, Massachusetts, founded in 1848.[4] The Boston Public Library is also Massachusetts' Library for the Commonwealth[5] (formerly library of last recourse),[6] meaning all adult residents of the state are entitled to borrowing and research privileges, and the library receives state funding. The Boston Public Library contains approximately 24 million items,[7] making it the third-largest public library in the United States behind the federal Library of Congress and New York Public Library, which is also privately endowed. In 2014, the library held more than 10,000 programs, all free to the public, and lent 3.7 million materials.[8]

Boston Public Library
The Seal of the Trustees of the Boston Public Library, as designed by Augustus Saint-Gaudens
Motto: Omnium Lux Civium (Latin)
"The Light of All People"
Map
42°20′57.55″N 71°4′41.78″W / 42.3493194°N 71.0782722°W / 42.3493194; -71.0782722
LocationBoston, Massachusetts, US
TypePublic
Established1852
Branches24
Collection
Size24,079,520
Access and use
Circulation3.69 million (FY 2013)
Population served6,547,629
Other information
Budget$31.2 million, plus $8.2 million from trust fund (2013)[1]
DirectorDavid Leonard, President[2]
Robert E. Gallery, Chairman of the Board[3]
AffiliationBoston Library Consortium
Websitebpl.org
The Chavannes Gallery at the McKim Building with murals painted by Pierre Puvis de Chavannes

This building was designated as a Boston Landmark by the Boston Landmarks Commission in 2000.[9]

  1. ^ "Summary Budget" (PDF). City of Boston. 2012. Retrieved 2013-11-16.
  2. ^ "BPL – Management Staff". Bpl.org. Archived from the original on 2017-06-18. Retrieved 2013-01-02.
  3. ^ "BPL – Trustees". Bpl.org. Archived from the original on 2018-05-20. Retrieved 2015-02-11.
  4. ^ Wayne A. Wiegand; Donald G. Davis (1994). Encyclopedia of Library History. Taylor & Francis. pp. 85–. ISBN 978-0-8240-5787-9.
  5. ^ "Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners Legislative Agenda". Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners. Archived from the original on 14 September 2013. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  6. ^ Declared in 1970 by law. Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 78, Section 19C, paragraph 4
  7. ^ "BPL By the Numbers: FY2014" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-04-12. Retrieved 2014-10-15.
  8. ^ "BPL - BP by the Numbers". Bpl.org. Archived from the original on 2014-12-02. Retrieved 2014-10-15.
  9. ^ "Boston Public Library Boston Landmarks Commission Study Report as is commonly known as the "BBL" with 69 foot tall ceilings in e Bates Study Hall" (PDF). December 12, 2000. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2020-07-08.

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