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The Boston Public Library's McKim building The Boston Public Library was established in 1848. It was the first publicly supported municipal library in the United States. It was also the first public library to allow people to borrow books and other materials. The Boston Public Library is also the library of last recourse[1] of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts; all adult residents of the state are entitled to borrowing and research privileges, and the library receives state funding. Image File history File links 4793-5_bplfront6-small. ... Image File history File links 4793-5_bplfront6-small. ... 1848 is a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A municipality or general-purpose district (compare with: special-purpose district) is an administrative local area generally composed of a clearly defined territory and commonly referring to a city, town, or village government. ... A modern-style library in Chambéry In the traditional sense of the word, a library is a collection of books and periodicals. ... Official language(s) English Capital Boston Largest city Boston Area  Ranked 44th  - Total 10,555 sq mi (27,360 km²)  - Width 183 miles (295 km)  - Length 113 miles (182 km)  - % water 13. ... Contents 1 Collections 2 History and Architecture 3 Art, Rare Books and Exhibits 4 Branch library system 5 Technology 6 References 7 External links Collections By volume count, with 14.9 million volumes, the Boston Public Library is the third largest library in the United States.[2] In addition to its extensive circulating library, which includes works in many languages, the Boston Public Library's collection has special strengths in art and art history (available on the third floor of the McKim building) and American history (including significant research material), and maintains a depository of governmental documents. There are large collections of prints and works on paper, photographs, and maps, rare books and incunabula and medieval manuscripts. A page from a rare Blackletter Bible (1497) printed in Strassburg by J.R.Grueninger. ... History and Architecture The library was initially located in a former schoolhouse located on Mason Street, and was opened to the public on March 20, 1854. Later that year, the construction of a new building was authorized by the Library Commission, to be located at the corner of Boylston Street and Dartmouth Street on Copley Square. March 20 is the 79th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (80th in Leap years). ... 1854 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Categories: Stub | Boston ... Bates Hall has a coffered ceiling in a wide catena-arched barrel vault. Internet and power connections are discretely placed under the large wooden research tables. In 1888, Charles Follen McKim, of the architectural firm McKim, Mead, and White, was engaged to design the new building, opened in 1895. This building included a children's room, the first in the nation and a sculpture garden in its central courtyard surrounded by an arcaded gallery in the manner of a Renaissance cloister. To Copley Square the library presented a façade reminiscent of a 16th-century Italian palazzo (illustration, right). The arcaded windows of its façade owe a debt to the side elevations of Alberti's Tempio Malatestiana, Rimini, the first fully Renaissance building. McKim did not simply imitate his model, however; the three central bays are subtly emphasized without breaking the rhythm. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (482x711, 355 KB) Summary Bates Hall, Boston Public Library. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (482x711, 355 KB) Summary Bates Hall, Boston Public Library. ... Charles Follen McKim, portrait by Frances Benjamin Johnston. ... From left to right: Will Mead, Charles McKim and Stan White McKim, Mead, and White was the premier architectural firm in the eastern United States at the turn of the twentieth century. ... 1895 (MDCCCXCV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Cloister of Saint Trophimus, in Arles, France A cloister (from latin claustrum) is part of cathedrals and abbeys architecture. ... Categories: Stub | Boston ... The quintessential medieval European palace: Palais de la Cité, in Paris, the royal palace of France. ... Statue of Leon Battista Alberti. ... The pediment of the main building has three inscriptions, one on each face, which read: A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of a triangular section or gable found above the horizontal superstructure (entablature) which lies immediately upon the columns. ... MDCCCLII founded through the munificence and public spirit of citizens / The public library of the city of Boston built by the people and dedicated to the advancement of learning A.D. MDCCCLXXXVIII / The commonwealth requires the education of the people as the safeguard of order and liberty The last quotation has been attributed to the library's Board of Trustees. Another inscription, over the main entrance, reads: FREE TO ALL. Boston Globe writer Sam Allis identified "Bates Hall, the great reading room of the BPL, vast and hushed and illuminated with a profusion of green lampshades like fireflies" as one of Boston's "secular spots that are sacred." [3] The library also represents one of the first major applications in the United States of thin tile vaults by the Catalan master builder Rafael Guastavino. Seven different types of Guastavino vaulting can be seen in the Boston Public Library. Guastavino tile work in NYC City Hall subway station Guastavino tile refers to the Tile Arch System patented in the US in 1885 by Catalan architect and builder Rafael Guastavino (1842–1908). ... Guastavino tile work in NYC City Hall subway station Guastavino tile refers to the Tile Arch System patented in the US in 1885 by Catalan architect and builder Rafael Guastavino (1842–1908). ... A modernist addition designed by Philip Johnson was completed in 1972; the Johnson Building now houses the circulating collection, while the research library is located in the McKim Building. Modernism is a cultural movement that generally includes the progressive art and architecture, music, literature and design which emerged in the decades before 1914. ... IDS Center in Minneapolis Philip Cortelyou Johnson (July 8, 1906 – January 25, 2005) was an influential American architect. ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... Art, Rare Books and Exhibits Murals include recently restored paintings by John Singer Sargent on the theme of Judaism and Christianity; Edwin Austin Abbey's most famous work, a series of murals which depict the Grail legend; and paintings of the Muses by Pierre Puvis de Chavannes. Self Portrait, oil painting, 1907 John Singer Sargent (January 12, 1856 – April 14, 1925) was a painter known for his portraits. ... Edwin Austin Abbey (April 1, 1852-August 1, 1911), artist, painter. ... For other uses see Muse (disambiguation). ... The Poor Fisherman Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Pierre-Cécile Puvis de Chavannes Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, (December 14, 1824 – October 24, 1898) was a French painter. ... One of Frederick William Macmonnies' most famous sculptures, "Dancing Bacchante and Infant Faun," in the Italianate Courtyard It is the home of several large collections, including first edition folios by William Shakespeare, and the personal library of John Adams. Image File history File links 4819_bacchante-e-small. ... Image File history File links 4819_bacchante-e-small. ... Dancing Bacchante with an Infant Faun: fountain at the Boston Public Library Frederick William Macmonnies (Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn September 28, 1863 - New York March 22,1937) was the best known expatriate American sculptor of the Beaux-Arts school, as successful and lauded in France as he was in the United... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was the first Vice President of the United States (1789–1797), and the second President of the United States (1797–1801). ... The library regularly exhibits its rare works, often in exhibits that will combine works on paper, rare books, and works of art. Several galleries in the third floor of the McKim building are maintained for exhibits. Rooms are also available for lectures and meetings. Branch library system The main branch is located on Boylston Street in Boston. Facing the library from across Copley Square stands Henry Hobson Richardson’s Trinity Church. Boston is a town and small port c. ... Categories: Stub | Boston ... Henry Hobson Richardson, portrait by Sir Hubert von Herkomer Trinity Church in Boston is one of Richardsons most famous works. ... Trinity Church in Boston. ... In 1870, the first branch library (geographically distinct facility of the same organization) in the United States opened in East Boston. The library currently has 27 branches serving diverse populations in the city's neighborhoods. Technology One of the features that the Boston Public Library offered first is Free Wi-Fi wireless internet. It is offered throughout the entire library and at all 27 branches, giving access to anyone who has a wireless enabled laptop and a library card to access the Internet. Plug-in ethernet access is also available in Bates Hall. The Boston Public Library also maintains several internet databases providing either catalogue or full text access to different parts of its collections, as well as to a number of proprietary databases. Public Internet access is also available to those without laptops, though this is in high demand and will be limited in duration if there are other patrons waiting. Wi-Fi (also WiFi, Wi-fi, Wifi, or wifi) is a brand originally licensed by the Wi-Fi Alliance to describe the underlying technology of wireless local area networks (WLAN) based on the IEEE 802. ... Wireless networks are telephone or computer networks that use radio as their carrier or physical layer. ... A Toshiba Qosmio G20 desktop replacement laptop with a 17 inch screen. ... References ^ Declared in 1970 by law. Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 78, Section 19C, paragraph 4. ^ According to the American Library Association [1], the Library of Congress has 29.6 million volumes, Harvard University 15.2 million. ^ Allis, Sam (2005): "Holy Hub's hot spots: Fenway Park and other secular spots that are sacred." Boston Globe, December 4, 2005, p. A3 December 4 is the 338th day (339th on leap years) of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... External links The Boston Public Library A Tribute to the Boston Public Library Boston Public Library: architectural images Great Buildings on-line Photos of the Boston Public Library Categories: 1848 establishments | Libraries in Massachusetts | Museums in Massachusetts | Public libraries in the United States | Registered Historic Places in Massachusetts | McKim, Mead, and White buildings

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	Public library - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (904 words) A public library is a library which is accessible by the public and is often operated by civil servants and funded from public sources. Public libraries exist in most nations of the world and are considered an essential part of having an educated and literate population. The first libraries open to the public were the collections of Greek and Latin scrolls which were available in the dry sections of the many buildings that made up the huge Roman baths of the Roman empire.
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