Boston Public Library
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The BPL Compass

Category Archives: Library Services

New East Boston Branch: Recent Photos

Posted on September 26th, 2013 by Gina Perille in Library Services, Major Projects
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Enjoy these recent photos of the construction site for the new library branch in East Boston. The opening date for the new building is Saturday, November 2, at 11 a.m. Read the August 1 press release for additional details.

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Library exterior as seen from the walkway beside the community garden.

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The view from the children’s area out across Bremen Park to the Boston skyline.

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Shelving with the sunlit children’s area beyond it.

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Looking from the children’s area back across toward the study room.

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Crews hard at work.

 

Timetable for Phase 1: Johnson Building Improvement Project

Posted on September 16th, 2013 by Eamon Shelton in Johnson Building Study, Library Services, Major Projects
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As noted in summertime posts (here and here), construction of the initial phase of the Johnson Improvement Project is set to begin in December 2013. This phase will include the renovation of the second floor of the Johnson building. In preparation, all of the services and collections on the second floor will be relocated prior to construction.

The second floor will be closed to the public in October in order to facilitate the necessary moves. The book collections will either be temporarily relocated elsewhere at the Central Library or transferred to the Archival Center, remaining available to circulate by request. There will be a brief period during the move when some of the second-floor collections may be unavailable.

Planned locations are as follows:

  • the second-floor nonfiction collection will be moved to the first floor with a pair of exceptions:
    • second-floor nonfiction business books are now located in the Central Library’s Kirstein Business Library, located on the concourse level of the Johnson Building
    • second-floor nonfiction arts books will be moved to the Arts Department, located on the third floor of the McKim Building
  • smaller collections already on the first floor — such as travel, romance, DVDs and CDs, and new fiction — will be shifted to new first-floor locations
  • the second-floor Johnson reference desk service and reference collection will be relocated to the Boylston Room on the second floor of the McKim Building
  • the microtext desk and service, currently on the second floor of the Johnson Building, will be moved to the Washington Room, on the second floor of the McKim Building.

One special note: the microtext department and the reference desk may be unavailable on the day they move.

We will continue to post continuing updates to this blog, on our project display, and during our public roundtable meetings. Most importantly, staff at the library are available to answer questions and provide directions during this transition. The Central Library’s comprehensive wayfinding system is also nearing its installation phase, which will provide additional assistance in finding materials.

The first phase of construction is scheduled to be complete in the fall of 2014. Subsequent phases are still in the early planning stages.

Children’s Library & Teen Room: Johnson Building Improvement Project

Posted on September 12th, 2013 by Christine Schonhart in Johnson Building Study, Library Services, Major Projects
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Since our last update on the Children’s Library and Teen Room, library staff and users have been hard at work in the design stage of these spaces.

A few things have changed since the summer, mainly the orientation of the Children’s Library which is now planned to occupy two quadrants of the second floor along Exeter Street. This will allow for dedicated space for toddlers, school-age kids, and tweens; a large program space within the room, stroller parking, and collections and computers for all ages.

BPL 130816 Children's LibraryThe Teen Room is also progressing in the design stage as we look at different options for the shape of the room as well as developing ideas for a digital makerspace for teens. The Teen Room will be on the second floor of the Johnson Building as well.

BPL 130816 Teen AreaOver the summer, library administration met with youth services staff and gathered feedback from teens who use current Central Library Teen Room. We have also used the recommendations from our system-wide programming report to help inform decisions.

You can be part of the conversation in a number of ways: post comments on this post, visit the project exhibition now at the Central Library in Copley Square, attend a roundtable meeting, send an email at compass@bpl.org, or mail a letter to Boston Public Library, 700 Boylston Street, Boston MA 02116.

Systemwide Youth Programming Study complete

Posted on August 13th, 2013 by Christine Schonhart in Library Services
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In July 2012, the Boston Public Library Foundation put out a request for proposals to assist the BPL in reviewing systemwide youth programming, program spaces, and gathering best practices from peer libraries across the country. The team from Wondercabinet Interpretive Design process included a staff survey, site visits, staff meetings and a public survey. Hundreds of comments were gathered over several months and the final report (PDF), published in June 2013, is now available.

New East Boston Branch to Open on November 2

Posted on August 4th, 2013 by Gina Perille in Library Services, Major Projects
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4-IMG_1622The opening date for the new East Boston Branch is Saturday, November 2, at 11 a.m. The new facility, currently undergoing construction at 365 Bremen Street, is at the corner of Bremen and Prescott Streets in East Boston and faces Bremen Street Park. Read the August 1 press release on the new facility.

The new East Boston Branch was designed by William Rawn Associates Architects and is a capital project of the City of Boston. The new branch is approximately 15,000 square feet in size, more than double the combined public space of the current branches in East Boston. The new library will have onsite parking, a dedicated teen space, multipurpose room, early literacy resources, and a variety of other user-friendly features. The project budget is $17.25 million. Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners supported the project with a grant of $7.25 million.

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