BPL

Ground broken for new East Boston library

adamg — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 00:03:46 +0000

WBUR reports on the new branch, which will replace the current two branches - and be larger than both of them combined.

Man robs Beacon Hill drugstore, makes bomb threat to nearby BPL branch as a diversion

adamg — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 16:10:31 +0000

4/7/12 - 11:15 am

Suspect. Photo via BPD.

Updated, 6 p.m.

Boston Police report a man who robbed the CVS at Charles Circle this morning handed workers a note that said there were bombs both there and at the nearby West End branch of the BPL and to give the man all their good drugs.

Bombs were not found at either location, police say:

The note further stated that someone would be watching the store in the event police were called. Provided police weren't called, in 2 1/2 hours time, bombs would be deactivated in the pharmacy and the library. After receiving an undisclosed amount of prescription drugs, the suspect fled the store on foot.

Maybe there was a problem on the Mattapan Line

adamg — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 00:19:57 +0000

Several hundred people, including Mayor Menino, attended an MBTA service cut/fare hike meeting at the BPL in Copley Square tonight. Michael Ratty snapped a photo of one of the people wondering where Gov. Patrick was.

Well thumbed

adamg — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 03:54:18 +0000

Photographynatalia recently made a trip to the BPL main library in Copley Square for a bridal show, but she walked around the rest of the library as well.

Copyright Photographynatalia. Posted in the Universal Hub pool on Flickr.

Now that's a novel idea: Dennis Lehane named BPL trustee

adamg — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 23:39:55 +0000

The Globe's Andrew Ryan tweets Mayor Menino has named the writer to the Boston Public Library board of trustees.

BPL begins lending e-books

adamg — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 15:05:30 +0000

Available for Kindles.

Via Ben Becker.

BPL, MIT get federal grant to highlight work of ceiling master

adamg — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 14:32:38 +0000

A $350,000 National Endowment for the Humanities grant will let the Boston Public Library and MIT mount a traveling exhibition of the work of Rafael Guastavino, whose "thoughtful design of public spaces transformed American architecture in the late 19th and early 20th centuries:"

Guastavino and his family invented a colorful tiling that is lightweight, attractive, fireproof, and virtually indestructible. Excellent examples of his work grace buildings in 40 states. Examples include the Grand Central Terminal in New York City, the United Stated Supreme Court Building, and the Nebraska State Capitol. Guastavino used his extraordinary gift to elevate public spaces including transportation centers, government centers, libraries, and churches.

The exhibition will first open at the BPL main branch in Copley Square - which was the site of Guastavino's first major work in the U.S.

UPDATE: Thanks to commenters for noting the photo I posted from the McKim building was not of one of the ones Guastavino designed. See if you can spot his work in this collection of McKim construction photos.

Sunday hours to return to Copley Square library

adamg — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 15:32:33 +0000

The Boston Public Library Board of Trustees voted today to restore Sunday hours at the main library for October through May.

Trustees had earlier voted to shutter the main library on Sundays due to an anticipated $350,000 cut in state funding; instead, the current state budget includes level funding for the BPL.

The library will be open 1 to 5 p.m. on Sundays, starting Oct. 2, with the exception of holiday weekends.

Menino: City will build new East Boston library with or without state funds

adamg — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 22:45:39 +0000

The East Boston Times-Free Press reports the mayor is vowing to go ahead with the $11.3-million project even without the $8-million state grant the city had applied for, but probably won't get.

Last year, BPL trustees had targeted the Orient Heights branch for closure, in part on the assumption the city would build an entirely new branch to replace the tiny building and the neighborhood's other branch.

Mystery potatoes discovered growing in garden of North End library branch

adamg — Fri, 20 May 2011 23:10:16 +0000

How did they get there? Nobody knows, NorthEndWaterfront.com reports, adding somebody took one home tonight for dinner.

Globe: Who needs all those branch libraries?

adamg — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 11:03:23 +0000

A Globe editorial calls for restoration of Sunday hours at the Copley Square main library, and says part of the fix is ending the "tragedy" of having all those damn branch libraries:

The system doesn't need 26 branches to function well, especially in the digital age. But last year's vote of the trustees to close four branches was met not only with protests from patrons but an end run by state legislators who threatened to cut off all state aid to Boston's library system unless the Menino administration backed off the closure plan. It only delayed the inevitable; eventually, some branches will need to close.

One might hazard a guess that the author doesn't live in Oak Square or Lower Mills, or realize that libraries are about more than just books.

BPL not planning branch closings, but will eliminate Sunday hours at Copley

adamg — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 15:51:11 +0000

The Dorchester Reporter has the details on the latest from Boston Public Library trustees.

Cape man charged with attacking patron of Copley Square library for not giving up his laptop

adamg — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 20:01:11 +0000

Boston Police report Joseph Whalen, 66, of Yarmouth, was arrested for allegedly striking a man in the back of the head with a blunt object yesterday afternoon outside the BPL main library in Copley Square.

According to police, the victim was working on his laptop in the library around 4:45 p.m. when Whalen went up to him and demanded "Give met that!" Police say the victim refused, then left the library:

However, as he was exiting the library, the victim says that the suspect struck him in the back of the head with some sort of blunt object. Officers observed that the victim had a laceration in the back of his head. The victim was treated for non-life threatening injuries.

Whalen was charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. Police say they recovered a pocketknife from his backpack.

Innocent, etc.

New BPL book finder more like 21st-century search engine than 20th-century card catalog

adamg — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 14:28:08 +0000

The Boston Public Library will be rolling out a new search tool for finding stuff - simple-to-use initial form, but with an advanced-search page if you want to do some of that old Boolean magic.

Menino still wants to close branch libraries

adamg — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 13:28:08 +0000

Too many branches, too little money, he tells the Globe.