BPL - Online Collections

Anti-slavery Manuscripts Collection at the Internet Archive - The papers of William Lloyd Garrison and other historical figures central to the Boston anti-slavery movement can be viewed and downloaded for free.
Archival and Manuscript Finding Aid Database - Search for and view the finding aids for some of our Rare Books and Manuscripts collections.
BPL at the Internet Archive - Read thousands of rare and research materials online thanks to our partnership with the Open Content Alliance.
Children's Books from the Jordan Collection - Over 500 historical series, tracts, and Mother Goose collections are available via the International Children's Digital Library.
John Adams Library - Browse and search 3,500 books from John Adams's personal library, view his marginal notes, and learn more about this President and his passion for books.
OverDrive Downloadable Media - Choose from hundreds of digital titles available in eBook, audio book, music, and video formats. Note: Additional software may be required to borrow OverDrive titles. Please visit OverDrive Help to learn the basics and get any software that you may need.

Newspapers

Newspaper Directories - Newspaper Directories were created for prospective advertisers to learn about media markets. They may give information about publication's circulation and are one of the first places to look to discover which titles were published in a given year or for a geographical area.

Government Information from Our Collections - Peruse reports and statistics from years gone by, published by local and federal governments.

Norman B. Leventhal Map Center - View the collection, browse maps in the news, take virtual tours, and find resources for the classroom.

Flickr Collections - See what we have been scanning from our vast collection of photographs, lithographs, stereographs, posters, postcards, book bindings, and more.
On The Edge: The Hidden Art of Fore-edge Painting - Unlike the spine and covers of a bookbinding, the page edges are not usually decorated, however, a fore-edge painting is where the page block is fanned and an image applied to the stepped surface. Discover the trove of these treasures housed at the Boston Public Library.
Sports Temples of Boston - Discover the Boston area's rich sporting history through historical images of fifteen important sports facilities.

Sound Archives - Listen to hundreds of spoken word and musical recordings from our special collections.

Boston at the Movies - Watch historic silent films of Boston at the turn of the 20th century.