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The BPL Compass

Category Archives: Library Services

Johnson Building Improvement Project: CAC Minutes & Discussion Questions

Posted on January 24th, 2013 by Gina Perille in Johnson Building Study, Library Services
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The minutes of the January 10, 2013, Community Advisory Committee were recently shared on this blog. One of the agenda items from the meeting was a review of several discussion questions, which are included below.

We invite your comments in response to these questions, too. You are welcome to reply to this blog, send an email to compass@bpl.org, or a letter to Boston Public Library, 700 Boylston Street, Boston MA 02116. This link to the Central Library map may be helpful in identifying specific spaces mentioned in the questions here. For previously-published information on the Johnson Building Improvement Project, visit our blog archives.

The next meeting of the Community Advisory Committee for this project is scheduled for Wednesday, March 13, at 8:30 a.m. in the Johnson Building Mezzanine Conference Room.

CAC Meeting: January 10 Discussion Questions

Entry

  1. What are the first things you would like to see when you enter the library?
  2. How can we transform the lobby arrival experience?

First Floor

  1. What could the first floor include for a blend of uses to be a successful attraction to various age groups?
  2. If the question is about re-energizing the Johnson building, what are your observations about the first floor? What’s working? Where is there potential for revitalization?

Children’s

  1. Where do you see possible locations for the Children’s Library?
  2. How do we balance imperatives for security and natural light?

Conference Center

  1. What could you envision for components of a conference center and who do you think would use it?
  2. How does the absence of natural light in the basement limit its potential?
  3. What limitations does the 340 seat count of Rabb put on the conference center concept?

Commercial Uses

  1. What types of commercial uses would be most compatible with the library’s vision?
  2. What kind of activities would bring the most energy to the ground floor? Commercial? Non-commercial?

Exterior Changes

  1. How extensively should exterior changes be pursued?
  2. How should we maximize the level of energy on the street/sidewalk?

Deferrari (the open atrium area in the Johnson Building)

  1. What might be ways to energize Deferrari Hall? On 1st floor? On 2nd floor?

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Update: Jamaica Plain Community Advisory Committee Meeting #2

Posted on January 22nd, 2013 by Christine Schonhart in Library Services, Major Projects
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On Thursday, January 10, over 40 Jamaica Plain residents gathered in the community room at the Jamaica Plain Branch of the Boston Public Library to continue discussions with the library and architects Miller, Dyer Spears, regarding upcoming renovations. Meeting minutes and the presentation can be found here: Jamaica Plain Branch renovations. 

At this stage, three preliminary ideas were shared as the architects, library, and community continue to work out the details of which spaces should go where, what are the best adjacencies, what’s most cost effective and operationally efficient, and what can be incorporated into the space that will highlight the best of Jamaica Plain.

The final meeting in this planning stage will be held at the branch at 12 Sedgwick Street on Thursday, February 7, at 6 p.m. In the meantime, if you have ideas, comments, questions or suggestions, please feel free to contact the Library at ask@bpl.org or by writing to Christine Schonhart c/o Boston Public Library, 700 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02116.

 

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BPL’s Consolidated Archival Storage Facility

Posted on January 10th, 2013 by Mary Frances O'Brien in Library Services, Major Projects, Strategic Plan
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A key to meeting the library’s Compass principles that focus on Special Collections and the BPL as a Center of Knowledge is ensuring that the library’s unique and valuable collections are safe and accessible. Although space in Central Library totals almost a million square feet, it is still not large enough to hold the extensive collections that the library has gathered through its history.

Since the 1940s, the library has used a number of buildings to serve as storage facilities, but now we are entering the final phase of a long term project to consolidate our offsite storage space in the City of Boston Archival Center, located at 201 Rivermoor Street in West Roxbury. When completed, much of the library’s special research collection will be stored in a secure climate controlled state-of-the-art facility that will enhance the efficient storage and retrieval of books, journals, newspapers, maps, films, and archival materials. The facility is based on a high-density shelving plan and is designed around the “Harvard model” in which materials are shelved according to size. Barcodes are assigned to match each item with a specific location on a shelf. Requested materials will be retrieved by staff and delivered to the Central Library or, for some titles, to a branch location. Occasionally, if a large collection is requested, users will be welcomed to the spacious reading room which is shared with the City of Boston Archives.

For those interested in local history, the facility will be most convenient as they pursue their research into the history and culture of Boston.

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Johnson Building Improvement Project – Community Advisory Committee

Posted on January 2nd, 2013 by Michael Colford in Johnson Building Study, Library Services, Major Projects
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One of the commitments the library has made in the BPL Compass strategic plan is to solicit public input and community involvement. To help facilitate that commitment with regard to the Johnson Building Improvement Project, a Community Advisory Committee (CAC) has been assembled to work with library staff and share ideas and reactions to proposed plans that will emerge over the course of the next several months. The committee is made up of business owners and residents in the Back Bay neighborhood. The first meeting of the CAC was held on November 14. To see the meeting notes from that meeting click here (PDF, 7 pages). The next CAC meeting will take place on Thursday, January 10, at 8:30 a.m. in the Commonwealth Salon.

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Johnson Building Improvement Project: Conference Center

Posted on December 24th, 2012 by Gina Perille in Johnson Building Study, Library Services, Major Projects
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A commercial conference center could be created from the existing Rabb Lecture Hall and adjacent underutilized spaces on the lower level as a state-of-the-art facility used by both the BPL and outside organizations for significant, large scale events. The conference center could attract authors rolling out their latest book; companies and organizations that want to announce new products, ideas, and innovations; local and distant universities to offer their newest courses; and conferences looking for the premier knowledge meeting space in Boston. The vision is if someone had major news, developments, or technology to announce in the United Staes, the BPL’s Central Library in Copley Square would be the place to do it.

Adjacent spaces could include meeting facilities equipped with teleconferencing capabilities linking BPL to the world, function space for smaller meetings and social functions, and support and catering space to facilitate events. The conference center would be adjacent to the existing Kirstein Business Library, creating opportunities for shared events and resources.

A commercial partner would be sought to market and manage the conference center for the Boston Public Library. Time would be preserved for BPL events and its programming needs as part of that partnership.

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