With more than 23 million items, including books, DVDs, CDs, manuscripts and maps, the Boston Public Library is one of the largest municipal library systems in the United States. The majority of its collection is held at the Central Library at Copley Square in Back Bay, but it also boasts 24 branch libraries scattered throughout the city’s neighbourhoods.
The Central Library consists of two buildings which are connected by interior walkways, with the Renaissance-style McKim building housing its research collection and the modernist Johnson Building its main circulating collection. Both are built from pink Milford granite, with the Johnson Building added in the late 1960s and named after its architect, Philip Johnson. The library offers free Wi-Fi for anyone with an enabled device and computer access for library card holders, while ebooks, music and videos are available for download as part of their digital collection. Author talks, history lectures, art exhibitions and concerts are held at the library throughout the year, with special events such as story times geared towards kids and book discussions for teens and adults. There are also English as a Second Language conversation groups held here to help new immigrants, as well as technology classes to assist people from all walks of life in accessing information. A new Children’s Library and Teen Central zone have recently been added to the second floor, as well as a dedicated community reading area. The McKim Building is home to the famous “Triumph of Religion” murals which were completed by John Singer Sargent between 1890 and 1919 and symbolised the library as a shrine to Western culture.
The Boston Public Library is just a short walk to the north of Back Bay Station, from where there are trains, subway services and bus connections across the city. It’s located adjacent to the historic Copley Square and a block from the luxury Copley Place mall, as well as being within walking distance of the Boston Public Garden.
In the mid 19th century there was a push from several individuals to unify Boston’s libraries into a single institution, with the mayor of Boston, Josiah Quincy Jr., making a significant donation to fund its establishment. A former schoolhouse on Mason Street was selected as its first home and opened on March 20, 1854, with Edward Capen, the head librarian.