The Boston Public Library is a municipal public library system in Boston, Massachusetts, founded in 1848. The Boston Public Library is also Massachusetts' Library for the Commonwealth, meaning all adult residents of the state are entitled to borrowing and research privileges, and the library receives state funding. The Boston Public Library contains approximately 24 million items, making it the third-largest public library in the United States behind the federal Library of Congress and New York Public Library, which is also privately endowed. In 2014, the library held more than 10,000 programs, all free to the public, and lent 3.7 million materials.
The Boston Athenaeum is one of the oldest independent libraries in the United States. It is also one of a number of membership libraries, for which patrons pay a yearly subscription fee to use Athenaeum services. The institution was founded in 1807 by the Anthology Club of Boston, Massachusetts. It is located at 10½ Beacon Street on Beacon Hill.
The Astor Library was a free public library in the East Village, Manhattan, developed primarily through the collaboration of New York City merchant John Jacob Astor and New England educator and bibliographer Joseph Cogswell and designed by Alexander Saeltzer. It was primarily meant as a research library, and its books did not circulate. It opened to the public in 1854, and in 1895 consolidated with the Lenox Library and the Tilden Foundation to become the New York Public Library (NYPL). During this time, its building was expanded twice, in 1859, and 1881.
The St. Louis Public Library is a municipal public library system in the city of St. Louis, Missouri. It operates sixteen locations, including the main Central Library location.
The Akron-Summit County Public Library is a public library system in Akron, Ohio. Founded in 1874, it operates the Main Library on South High Street and South Main Street in downtown Akron, 18 branch libraries throughout the city of Akron and Summit County, the Akron Art Library, the Project LEARN of Summit County Training Room, Mobile Services, and Project LEARN of Summit County. As of 2013, they have a lion cub mascot, named Paws.
Newton Free Library, the public library of Newton, Massachusetts, provides an extensive collection of print, non-print, and electronic resources, a comprehensive reference service, and a wide array of educational and cultural programs for people of all ages.
The Ellen Stone Building, built in 1833, is an historic Greek Revival style building located at 735 Massachusetts Avenue in Lexington, Massachusetts. It was originally a meeting hall and lyceum for East Lexington, which had its own civic identity and, later, its own church, the neighboring Follen Community Church. Notable speakers at the Lyceum included Ralph Waldo Emerson, Charles Sumner, Wendell Phillips, Theodore Parker, Lucy Stone, Josiah Quincy, Jr. and possibly Henry David Thoreau. Emerson notably served as a minister in the building for three years prior to the building of Follen Community Church.
The Cambridge Public Library (CPL) in Cambridge, Massachusetts consists of unified city-wide system maintaining: a main branch, of notable aesthetic architectural value, plus a further six localized branches sited throughout the city. Having evolved from the Cambridge Athenaeum, the main library branch was built at its present site in 1888. The main library most recently underwent renovation, and a modern building addition significantly expanded the overall branch in 2009, thus greatly increasing the area of the branch, more than tripling its square footage.
Worcester Public Library is a public library in downtown Worcester, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1859 when local resident John Green donated his personal library to the city for public use. In 2004, the Worcester Library Foundation was established to raise funds and promote the library. In fiscal year 2009, the city of Worcester spent 1.14% ($4,817,006) of its budget on the library—some $26 per person.
The Yuma County Library District (YCLD) serves the population of Yuma County, Arizona. Today, the library district consists of a Main Library located in Yuma as well as 7 branch libraries, which are located in downtown Yuma, the Foothills, Somerton, San Luis, Wellton, Dateland, and Roll. The first Yuma Library, a Carnegie library, opened February 24, 1921 with 1,053 volumes and seating for 20 persons. Located in Sunset Park, the Yuma Carnegie Library underwent several expansions and renovations over the years, including a $4.2 million renovation completed in 2009. The Yuma Carnegie library still operates today as the Heritage Branch Library in downtown Yuma.
The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (est.1890) is a state agency that supports libraries in Massachusetts. The governor appoints each commissioner. The current board consists of librarians, academics and library trustees: Carol B. Caro, Mary Ann Cluggish, George T. Comeau, Mary Kronholm, Frank Murphy, Roland Ochsenbein, Janine Resnik, Gregory J. Shesko, and Alice M. Welch.
The Johannesburg City Library is situated in the central business district of the City of Johannesburg. The Library is located in an Italianate building designed by John Perry which first opened in 1935. It has over 1.5-million books and items in its collection and more than 250 000 members.
The Jones Library of Amherst, Massachusetts is a public library with three locations, the main building and two branches. The library was established in 1919 by a fund set up in the will of lumberman Samuel Minot Jones. The library is governed by a board of trustees and provides a range of library materials, electronic resources, programming, special collections and events for residents of Amherst and the surrounding area. The library is on the Association of Library Trustees, Advocates, Friends and Foundations’ Literary Landmark Register in recognition of its association with poet Robert Frost.
Northborough is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The official spelling of the town's name is "Northborough," but the alternative spelling "Northboro" is also used. The population was 15,741 at the 2020 census.
The Lucius Beebe Memorial Library is the main library for the town of Wakefield, Massachusetts. The building that currently holds the town's main library was opened in 1923 and is named after the first library commissioner.
The Southold Free Library is a public library located in Southold, New York, serving the towns of Southold and Peconic.
The State Reform School for boys in Westborough Massachusetts was a state institution for the reformation of juvenile offenders from 1848 to 1884. Originally conceived the facility was built to house up to 300 young boys but by 1852 an addition was added to house an additional 300 inmates. By 1857, there were 614 inmates at the reform school.
The Stoughton Public Library is part of the Old Colony Library Network (OCLN), a cooperative of libraries located on the South Shore of Massachusetts. In addition to books and print materials, the library offers patrons access to eBooks and databases through the OCLN, as well as lending museum passes to area museums and zoos, coordinating free tutoring for adults in Basic Literacy and English to Speakers of Other Languages, and housing local historical and genealogical materials in the Stoughton Collection. Established in 1874, the library is currently temporarily located at 529 Washington Street, Stoughton, MA. The permanent location, at 84 Park Street, is undergoing a large-scale renovation to expand the library's current space from 22,000 square feet to 31,058 square feet and is projected to re-open in May 2018.
The Dedham Public Library is a public library system in Massachusetts established in 1872. It is part of the Minuteman Library Network.
Edwin Pliny Seaver was an American educator who served as superintendent of Boston Public Schools from 1880 to 1904.
