Annual report

[Document 15 — 1970]

ANNUAL REPORT

OF THE

BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY

For the Year Ending December 31, 1969

TRUSTEES OF THE PUBLIC LIBRARY

ERWIN D. CANHAM

President

Term expires April 30, 1973

SIDNEY R. RABB

Vice President

Term expires April 30, 1974

EDWARD G. MURRAY
Term expires April 30, 1972

LENAHAN O'CONNELL
Term expires April 30, 1971

AUGUSTIN H. PARKER
Term expires April 30, 1970

PHILIP J. McNIFF
Director, and Librarian

Boston Public Library

Annual Report for 1969

To the Board of Trustees of the Boston Public Library:

As Director, and Librarian, I have the honor to submit
my report for the year January 1 to December 31, 1969.

This year saw considerable progress made in the long-
range building program. The completion of two new
branch libraries, one in the Fields Corner section and the
other in Brighton, eliminated the two oldest and most
unsatisfactory branch library installations.

The new Brighton Branch was designed by Norman C.
Fletcher of The Architects Collaborative of Cambridge,
Massachusetts. Michael Prodanou was the Associate
Designer. The building, which provides 17,000 square
feet of service space, was constructed by Michael Racioppi,
Inc., of Boston, and the landscaping was done by Wyman
Nurseries.

Multileveled, it provides shelving for 80,000 volumes
and was designed to adapt itself to the gentle contours
of the site. The architects selected poured concrete as
the exterior fabric of the building and used large windows
plus two taU, periscope-like fins to bring in natural light.
The interior follows a modified butterfly pattern. A
modern, serviceable entrance is in the center, with a
Children's Room in one wing, the Adult/Young Adult
quarters in the second wing, and the meeting room and
work areas in the third. The building is completely air-
conditioned. Daylight fluorescent light supplements the
natural light, and all reading areas are carpeted.

The Fields Corner Branch, designed by Holmes &
Edwards, Inc., of Boston, and constructed by D.
Antonelhs, Inc., of Waltham, was opened on December 8.
This neighborhood branch occupies some 8,530 square
feet, houses over 24,000 volumes, and provides seating
for over 100 readers. The building uses a one-story,
slab-on-grade technique, with insulated masonry waUs on
steel frames. Its complete electric heating and air-con-
ditioning installation is a first for our branch libraries.
The reading areas are carpeted, and lighting is provided
by indirect fluorescent lights.

4 City Document No. 15

The year 1969 also saw considerable progress on new
branch libraries for Charlestown and Grove Hall. These
buildings, replacing older facilities, are expected to be
completed in 1970. The restudy and redesign of the
South End Branch were pushed forward, and occupancy
is scheduled for 1971.

A major event in the history of the Library took place
on April 25, 1969, when the Trustees of the Library
voted to award a contract to Vappi & Company, Inc.,
of Cambridge for the construction of the Addition to the
Central Library building. Groundbreaking ceremonies
took place on June 6 and the long-sought Addition was
under way. The need for this substantial enlargement
of the Central Library building is indicated (1) by the
growth of the collections from 628,297 volumes in 1895
when the present McKim, Mead & White building was
opened to some 2,500,000 volumes today; (2) by the sub-
stantial increase in use with more than 1,000,000
persons a year entering the Library; and (3) by the
steadily increasing role of the Library as a reference and
information center. Philip Johnson is the principal
architect for the Addition and has selected Architects
Design Group, Inc., to be his associates in a joint venture.

The new structure will contain some 480,000 square
feet on ten levels. Its height and roof line will conform
to the existing library, and its exterior will be faced with
Milford pink granite taken from the same quarry which
furnished the granite in the present building. The main
entrance will be from Boylston Street and will directly
serve the four public floors. At the year's end work on
the foundation was proceeding on schedule.

General Library Services

This division reports that the calendar year 1969 was
an uneasy one in which the social stresses of the times
were strongly reflected in General Library Services
activities. Among the bibliographical contributions of the
division were:

1. The preparation of a 152-page multimedia guide
on materials available for work with young people on
understanding the people, the institutions, the activities
that make up the problems and pleasures of city living.
This pioneer bibliography entitled "What Is a City.^"

Boston Public Library 5

was funded by a federal Library Services and Construc-
tion Act Title I grant and edited by Miss Rose Moora-
chian, Readers Advisor for Young Adults. The second
part of the project, conceived by Miss M. Jane Manthorne,
the Library's Coordinator of Young Adult Services,
concerned itself with the views of young people on what
the city means to them. Their responses in poetry and
prose, and in paintings, were judged by a distinguished
panel, and selections chosen were published in a companion
volume entitled "What Is a City.^ Young People Reply."
The judges were Miss Arlene Hope, Library Services
Program Officer, Region I, United States Office of Educa-
tion; Mr. David McCord, author, poet, and artist;
Mrs. Ruth Hill Viguers, children's librarian, author,
teacher, and former editor of "The Horn Book Magazine" ;
and Mr. John Wilson, artist, illustrator, and teacher.

2. A timely adult reading list on "Cities, Cities,
Cities," which received wide acceptance and fulfilled a
demonstrated need.

3. The revised list, "Turned On," deahng with books
and films on drugs, which was addressed to both the
young reader and the professional working on the problem.

A start was made on strengthening the collections of
the General Library. A fivefold increase in the number
of volumes for open shelf access has been programmed for
the new building. A substantial increase in the numbers
of large-print books — for people with limited vision —
and of foreign language titles resulted from federal funds
made available through the Massachusetts Bureau of
Library Extension and the Board of Library Com-
missioners.

Circulation of materials for home use decreased.
However, this is but one criterion of library use, and many
aspects of library service are not reflected in a count of
circulation. In the audio-visual area some 873,376 people
were in attendance at the showing- of 22,156 films. The
children's staff supplemented normal reading room and
reference services as follows:

Visits to classrooms .... 1,505

Class visits to the library
Story hours .
Pre-school story hours
Film showings

350
398
550
319

6 City Document No. 15

More than 400 other programs, which drew an estimated
57,000 youngsters, included puppet and creative drama
activities, original writing clubs, and summer reading
clubs.

In. the area of service to adults there were twelve
Never Too Late groups functioning in the branches.
Branch library activities included Friends of the Library
meetings. Parents Discussion Groups, film programs, and
lectures. The Central Library's Never Too Late series
had a weekly attendance ranging from 120 to 240 inter-
ested, appreciative, critical people.

The Library again cosponsored with the State Bureau
of Library Extension the Boston Herald Traveler Chil-
dren's Book Fair. Together with other libraries in the
Eastern Region and using the creative work which stu-
dents had contributed to the "What Is a City?" project,
the Library made a major contribution to the Boston
Globe Book Festival. Under the sponsorship of the Young
Adults Services, a film scenario was written, filmed, and
released by youngsters associated with the East Boston
Branch Library. Cooperation with tutorial programs and
sponsorship of TV high school equivalency programs in
four branch libraries are further examples of the service
programs provided.

Research Library Services

The year under review was one of sustained pressure —
pressure from increasing demands and pressure from
diminishing space. The scope of collection coverage was
broadened especially in the field of foreign acquisitions.
With the assistance of federal and state funds the refer-
ence resources were substantially improved. Many back
files of important, journals and monographic series were
acquired, and from the secondhand market and reprint
publishers the Library has added significantly to its grow-
ing collection of Africana and Afro-American holdings.
The microfilm preservation program has continued apace.
In 1969 forty-one local newspapers were filmed. Of these
fifteen represented ethnic or foreign language papers, the
other twenty-six being neighborhood community papers.
The Sound Archive continues to grow through gifts and
purchases.

Boston Public Library 7

Further consolidation of serial services took place within
the year, and a decision was reached to use the Superin-
tendent of Documents classification scheme for United
States Government documents. A compilation of a Bos-
ton and Massachusetts public affairs index was started,
and the Fine Arts staff undertook to resurrect its Boston
Architecture Index.

At the request of Mrs. Serge Koussevitzky, a detailed
inventory listing of the scores, books, recordings, por-
traits, correspondence,, personal papers, and clippings
belonging to her late husband was prepared by Mrs.
Natalie Breed. This collection, which has been donated
to the Library by Mrs. Koussevitzky, is an important
addition to our music resources. Under the direction of
the Keeper of Rare Books and Manuscripts, Mrs. C. M.
Buerger prepared a prehminary listing of the papers pre-
sented to the Library by Judge Ehjah Adlow. Other
special projects included a pilot study on the handling of
special gift collections of official and personal papers and
the processing of a special collection of nineteenth-
century theological pamphlets.

Among the many gifts received during the year were a
collection of 1,400 books on Asia and the social sciences
from the library of Professor John Pelzel of Harvard Uni-
versity; some nineteenth-century children's books from
Mr. Sinclair Hamilton; a 1488 bible in the Bohemian
language from Mr. Israel Perlstein; the library of Sara
Ware Bassett, the gift of Mr. Frederick B. Taylor; the
hbrary of Ehot Channing Clarke from Mrs. Louis F.
Perry ; documents and papers relating to the Immigration
Restriction League from Mr. Henry DeCourcy Ward.

A trust fund was established to purchase books for the
Kirstein Business Branch with a bequest of $7,864 from
the estate of Mr. F. G. Kane. A bequest of $43,608.87
received from the estate of David James estabhshed the
David James Print Fund.

Exhibits, as always, played an important role in the
cultural contributions of the Library. Highlighting this
year's program was the Library's salute to its good neigh-
bor, the Old South Church, on its three hundredth anni-
versary. The Trustees held a reception in the courtyard
on June 17 for the clergy, deacons, members, and friends

8 City Document No. 15

of the Old South Church to mark the opening of an
exhibition of the New England Library of the Old South
Church. The Prince Library, as it is popularly called,
was collected by the Reverend Thomas Prince, Minister
of the Old South Church from 1718 to 1758.

Among the special exhibitions in the Sargent Gallery
were "Nineteenth-Century Concert Life in Boston";
"Notable Recent Additions to the Library's Collections";
"Dartmouth College: A Bicentennial Exhibition"; "Pi-
rates and Privateers"; and "Five Centuries of Fine Bind-
ings."

The display cases on the fu-st and second floors featured
a wide variety of exhibits. The Science Reference staff
arranged an exhibit for the 136th meeting of the American
Association for the Advancement of Science; the opening
of the New Copley Square was signahzed by a "Copley
Square" exhibition featuring photos, prints, watercolors,
past and present; other programs ranged from "Black
Inventors in American History" organized for Negro
History Week to a Harrison Gray Otis exhibition on the
occasion of the pubhcation by Houghton MifUin of
Samuel Eliot Morison's biography of Mr. Otis and a
salute to "Polish Music and Polish Musicians on the
American Scene" cosponsored by the Massachusetts Fed-
eration of Polish Women's Clubs. The arts were repre-
sented by watercolors, prints and drawings on the
"Boston Scene" by Polly Thayer (Mrs. Donald Starr)
and by a ceramics collection of Mme. Bonanou-Papayan-
naki of Athens which traced the history of pottery from
3000 B.C. to the present.

An exhibition entitled "Boston Town and City" was
mounted in the Wiggin Gallery to celebrate the opening
of the new Boston City Hall. "Masterworks of Lithog-
raphy from the Albert H. Wiggin Collection" included
works of Gericault Daumier, Redon, Toulouse-Lautrec,
Shannon, and Bellows, and the exhibition of Arthur
Polonsky's drawings continued the Library's program of
featuring local artists. "Philipon's Printmakers" was
organized by Weston Naef of Brown University, this
year's visiting scholar. The exhibition takes its name
from Charles Philipon, printmaker, publisher, and leader
of the opposition to King Louis-Phihppe.

Boston Public Library 9

Eastern Massachusetts Regional Library System

Interlibrary loan and fibn loans increased over the
previous year, and expanded teletype service was naost
useful in reference as well as loan services. Advisory
service and workshops were provided by the regional
staff, and bookmobile service to communities under 25,000
population in the metropolitan area was begun. The
operations of the two extension centers in North Reading
and Fall River, formerly administered by the Bureau of
Library Extension, are coordinated tlu'ough the regional
bookmobile office in the Charlestown Service Building.

Professional Activities

The staff made many contributions to the local, state,
and national library organizations and was represented
at meetings of a number of learned societies. Mr. Macy
Margolis attended a conference on "New Dimensions in
Acquisitions" held in conjunction with the annual meet-
ing of the American Library Association; Mr. B. Joseph
O'Neil represented the Library at the Annual Conference
of the Graduate Library School, University of Chicago —
the topic of the conference was "Deterioration and
Preservation of Library Materials"; Mrs. Beryl Robinson
participated in Northeastern University's Writers Con-
ference; and Mr. John Alden was invited to take part
in a conference on Caribbean resources held at the Col-
lege of the Virgin Islands.

Miss M. Jane Manthorne addressed the Cape Cod
Branch of the NAACP on "Black Americans: Many
Voices, Many Messages"; Mrs. Laura Reyes spoke to the
Women's National Book Association on the Library's
Spanish Center; Mr. Sinclair Hitchings gave the opening
lecture in the 1969 Adams National Historic Site Lecture
Series — his topic was "Adams Historic Maps"; at the
Association of College and Research Libraries Rare Books
Section meeting Mr. John Alden read a paper on Thomas
Prince and his library; Mr. Euclid Peltier moderated a
panel on "Films for and by Children" for the Educational
Film Library Association.

The many programs and services of the Library could
not be carried out without the outstanding contributions

10, City Document No. 15

made by the staff members in the Resources a.d Proc-
essing Division, the Business Office, and the iiuiidings
Department. The cooperation of the entire staff has
been a major factor in the maintenance of hbrary service
under trying space hmitations. I wish to express appre-
ciation to the members of the Board of Trustees for
their leadership and support.

Philip J. McNiff,
Director, and Librarian.

Boston Public Library 11

Table 1. Circulation
BOOK CIRCULATION

1968 1969

Central Library 535,492 520,330

Kirstein Business Branch 8,512 8,698

Adams Street 124,571 111,970

Allston 48,505 44,740

Bookmobile Service 351,577 320,481

Brighton 55,929 73,684

Charlestown 54,980 48,538

Codman Square 102,541 83,908

Connolly 58,757 48,206

East Boston 50,050 35,423

Egleston Square 57,929 43,287

Faneuil 50,228 46,839

Fields Corner (Dorchester) 64,034 57,551

Hyde Park 119,648 111,831

Jamaica Plain 74,863 68,641

Lower Mills 63,011 55,204

Maltapan 91,216 74,076

Memorial 19,522 16,497

Memorial Bookmobile . . . . . . 13,893 14,582

Mt. Bowdoin 28,866 21,375

Mt. Pleasant 25,830 25,690

North End 56,151 35,651

Orient Heights 37,664 32,581

Parker Hill 40,119 39,480

Roslindale 173,453 153,158

South Boston 94,310 86,260

South End 34,126 28,453

Uphams Corner 61,882 54,561

Washington Village 53,211 43,749

West End 58,290 62,416

West Roxbury 173,847 154,763

Hospital Library Service 29,585 29,042

Biblioteca Latina 1,659 5,217

Total, Branch Libraries 2,270,277 2,027,854

Total, Entire Library 2,814,281 2,556,882

NONBOOK CIRCULATION

1968 1969

Film and filmstrips 18,954 22,156

Recordings 54,505 52,952

Pictures 22,172 15,570

Totals 95,631 90,678

12 City Document No. 15

VOLUMES SENT ON INTERLIBRARY LOAN

1968 1969

Interlibrary Loans 9,584 10,780

Table 2. Growth of the Library
BOOKS

1968 1969

General Library:

\'olumes Added 116,426 88,65:5

Volumes Willidrawn 61,735 69,:i79

Total on Hand December 31 .... 856,787 876,061

Ilesearch Library:

Volumes Added 58,197 107,967

^'olumes Withdrawn 5,111 918

Total on Hand December 31 .... 1,670,713 1,777,732

Total Book Slock 2,527,518 2,653,793

NONBOOK MATERLVLS

1968 1969

Films 2,355 2,692

Film-strips 113 132

Ilecordings 21,389 19,319

Lantern Slides 14,884 14,884

Negatives ....:.... 2,130 2,130

]>ictures 407,188 412,448

Postcards 133,805 133,805

Prints and Drawings 39,836 49,500

Projected Books 178 178

Microcards 11,283 11,283

M icrofiche (sheets) 38,991 71,706

Microfilms (reels) 25,664 29,546

Microprint (boxes) 2,428 2,718

Boston Public Library

13

Table 3. Cataloging Statistics

1968

1969

Volumes Processed ....
New Titles Cataloged ....

235,236
50,209

233,073
61,080

Original Cataloging ....

LC Cataloging

Rare Book Cataloging

7,347

41,182

1,680

6,262

53,669

1,149

Films

Recordings

568
3,978

337
6,084

Table 4. Binding

1968

1969

Volumes Bound

40,823 49,319

Table 5. Library Expenditures

1968

Salaries and Wages:

City Appropriation $3,714,147 13

Eastern Regional Public Library System . . . 14 1,4 12 78

Trust Funds Income 2,916 65

Total $3,861,506 56

Books and Other Library Materials:

City Appropriation $601,405 00

Eastern Regional Public Library System . . . 645,236 14

Trust Funds Income 74,214 27

Gifts for Current Use 15,657 35

Library Services and Construction Act Book Credits 313,002 30

Total $1,649,515 06

All Other Expenses:

City Appropriation $597,104 75

Eastern Regional Public Library System . . . 109,097 75

Trust Funds Income 15,428 02

Library Services and Construction Act Book Credits 11,819 85

Total $733,450 37

GRAND TOTAL . '. '. '. '. '. . $6,244,471 99

1969

$4,093,397 35

190,485 74

2,353 79

$4,286,236 88

$657,199 52

530,273 86

111,153 35

10,676 60

361,967 35

$1,674,270 68

$650,117 40

100,435 10

12,539 14

4,119 72

$767,211 36

5,727,718 92

CITY or BOSTON '71 rfff^» 31 PRINTING SECTION

BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY

3 9999 06315 044 3