Annual report

DOCUMENT 15 — 1975

ANNUAL REPORT
of the
BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY
For the Year Ending December 31, 1972

DOCUMENT 15 — 1975

TRUSTEES OF THE PUBLIC LIBRARY

EDWARD G. MURRAY
President

AUGUSTIN H. PARKER
Vice President

ERWIN D. CANHAM

SIDNEY R. RABB

PATRICIA H. WHITE

PHILIP J. McNIFF
Director, and Librarian

DOCUMENT 15 — 1975

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, 1972.

The highlight of the year was the dedication and opening of the
addition to the Central Library in December. On Monday, December 11,
a group of distinguished speakers and invited guests participated in
the opening ceremonies. Archbishop Humberto Medeiros led off the
program with an invocation. After welcoming remarks by Philip J.
McNiff, Sidney R. Rabb, President of the Board of Trustees, outlined
some of the history of the Library's plans for expansion, including
the generosity of past benefactors and the untiring efforts of those
associated with the present building. He introduced the other Library
Trustees: Monsignor Edward G. Murray, Erwin D. Canham, Augustin H.
Parker and Patricia H. White, concluding that the completion of the
new Library Addition was just a beginning: "And now a greater task
has begun ... more space, more books, more services, more activities.
And this, of course, will call for more and more community involve-
ment."

David T. W. McCord, poet and essayist, spoke of the important
role of libraries in providing for the many and diverse needs of people
of all ages and backgrounds. He also praised the architectural accom-
plishment of the new General Library: "A building which massively
and modestly honors the Florentine palace to the east of it; that
happy marriage of the old and the new, which I, for one, thought could
not be achieved."

Rabbi Mayer Strassfeld delivered a message on the nature of books
and libraries, followed by remarks of the architect of the new Addition,
Philip C. Johnson. Mr. Johnson described the challenge of designing
a building which' would harmonize with the magnificent architecture of
the McKim Library, and praised the city for its ability to present this
challenge: "It's only Boston that would want to add to already the
greatest Library in the world, an addition."

The final speaker. Mayor Kevin H. White, emphasized the signifi-
cance of the new Library for the City of Boston: "I want to take a
moment to underscore what this building means to the people of this
city, and what it signifies in terms of the struggle of one city to
meet, to manage, and to begin to overcome the challenge of urban crisis.

"Tonight we are celebrating the opening of the largest modern
library facility in America. The vision was planted 120 years ago
when this city took the bold step of opening the first free public
library in the nation. The standard was to be and remains ...
excellence. The method ... openness. The goal ... opportunity. So
tonight we stand in an architectural masterpiece which is the outgrowth
of this century long dream, and the fulfillment of its promise."

Reverend Barnes, Pastor of Trinity Church, concluded the speaking
program with a benediction.

On the following day the new General Library was opened to the
public, who came in large numbers to inspect and put to use the ex-
panded facilities available to them. Several Open House receptions
were held during the opening week, to welcome all members of the
community. Wednesday, December 13 was a special day for young adults;

CITY DOCUMENT NO. 15

on Thursday, December 14 there was a reception for senior adults; and
on Friday, December 15 children were invited to a program arranged for
them. The weeks festivities closed on Saturday, December 16 with a
Christmas caroling concert by the New England Conservatory's Youth
Singers and the Children's Chorus.

The opening of the General Library begins a new era of service
for the Boston Public Library and marks a turning point in its develop-
ment. It symbolized the commitment of the City of Boston to the advance-
ment of learning and honors the generosity of private citizens whose
gifts, to a substantial degree, have made the construction of the new
building possible.

Another event of major importance was the founding of the Associates
of the Boston Public Library. The Associates were established to share
and stimulate the work of the Library at many levels of education and
research. With the Associates' help, the Library will be able to pur-
chase special materials that would be beyond our normal budget alloca-
tions, ensure the repair and restoration of important works already in
the collections, and by stimulating exhibitions, publications and
lectures, make the Library's collection and services more visible and
useful .

The Associates of the Boston Public Library held their first
meeting on March 10, 1972, to hear Philip Johnson speak about his
experiences in designing the new General Library Building. On June 6,
Mr. Johnson led the Associates on a guided tour of the new building
and the Associates were also among the invited guests at the
ceremonies opening the building on December 11. In the future the
Associates will meet twice annually, and will also receive notices
of exhibitions and the opportunity to buy library publications at a
special discount.

The South Boston Branch of the Library celebrated its 100th
anniversary in October. The centennial program on October 19 included
a hymn written in 1872 for the original dedication ceremony and sung
by three residents of South Boston who are students at St. Paul's
School, Cambridge. The principal address was delivered by Mr. Francis
W. Sidlauskas, Execytive Director of the Massachusetts Revolutionary
War Bicentennial Commission.

BUILDINGS

The major function of the Library's Addition will be the housing
of the General Library Division, v/liich includes a 450,000 volume open
shelf circulating collection; expanded childrens' and young adult
collections and services; a 50,000 volume foreign language collection
in a dozen or more languages; a comprehensive modern Audio Visual
Department; and large circulating collections of phonograph recordings,
films, pictures, and fine arts materials. Public service will be
provided on four levels of the new building. On the third floor will
be much needed room for the Library's processing operations, its com-
puter center, and its business and administrative offices. The four
upper floor levels are designed primarily for book stacks of the
Research Library division. Among the special facilities of the Addition
are a new 374-seat Lecture Hall, conference rooms, and new staff quarters.
Noteworthy also is the inclusion within the building of entirely new
quarters for the Library's distinguished Rare Book Department, including

BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY

offices, book stacks and a display area.

The new building is a monumental structure, simple in basic plan,
pure in line, functional in design, handsomely and lastingly impressive.
It conforms with the older building in such major respects as the
height of its cornice line, its rectangular shape, its massive pro-
portions, and the use in its exterior walls of pink Milford granite.

A spectacular Great Hall, or inner court, faced throughout with
the same granite that is used on the exterior walls, is the dominent
architectural feature of the building's interior; it soars from street
level to roof line, where a square-shaped skylight, 50 feet by 50
feet in area, illumines the building's whole central core with a flood
of natural daylight. From the floor of the Great Hall access is pro-
vided to the mezzanine and second floor levels by a graceful double-
branched granite staircase. Despite the mass of its great structural
piers and upper facade, the building's open, well-defined interior
spaces give an impression" of amplitude, clarity and light.

The total cost of constructing and furnishing the Central Library
Addition was $24,100,000. The construction cost was $22,700,000
and the cost of furniture and equipment was $1,400,000. By extra-
ordinary efficiency, the Vappi & Company, Inc. construction firm was
able to keep costs below the original contract price. This achievement
permitted the absorption, within the original contract totals of
certain additional construction costs made necessary by special
requirements of the City's Building Commissioner. The City of Boston
contributed $19,000,000 toward the cost of the new building and Library
trust funds dedicated to building purposes contributed $4,395,000.
To these sums was added a grant of $605,000 from the Federal government
under terms of the Library Services and Construction Act.

GENERAL LIBRARY SERVICES

The opening of the General Library was the culmination of years of
cooperation and effort by all levels of library staff to make the new
expanded service a reality. Preparation for the move to the new
building reached its height during 1972, but at the same time the ongoing
activities of the General Library Service continued without interruption.
School visits were made by branch library staff. Reading lists were
prepared. Meetings of Never Too Late Groups, film programs, etc. were
held.

Some changes were introduced. For the first time films were
circulated through branch libraries. Registration processes and bor-
rowers' cards were made bilingual. Use of 8mm films in service to
nursing homes was introduced. The circulation techniques in the Central
Library were adapted from film charging to a punch card operation
transitional to the move to the new building and to the use of more
sophisticated equipment. Changes in hours of opening were experimented
with in branch libraries -- more Saturday hours, fewer evening hours.
At the same time the imminence of transition of the General Library to
its new quarters, where it could properly fulfill the role of a robust
resource center for a true city-wid° general library service as well as
become a prime force in an Eastern Regional Library System, permeated
the thinking, the decisions, the planning and daily functions of the
whole General Library Services Division.

CITY DOCUMENT NO. 15

The rallying of resources for the expanded General Library re-
flected the transitional stages preparatory to launching service itself
in the new building. The count of material reported in the units of
the Division grew as follows:

Total

Total

Books

Added

Record i

ings Added

Books

Recordings

GL

Branch

GL

Branch

1968

856,787

15,708

28.848

81,738

2,490

2,184

1969

876.061

19,209

19.850

63,193

3,342

2,035

1970

925,881

22,104

34,726

91,089

3,137

1,352

1971

1,020,757

24,099

79,424

62,730

2,328

1,722

1972

*1, 112, 517

*24,400

132,641

56,567

1,917

488

The registered use of such resources offers an encouraging, endor-
sement of the fact that improved resources will be sought out by waiting
readers.

Book

Circulation

Film

Central
535,492

Branches
2,270,277

Total
2,805,769

Circulation Attendance

1968

18,964

567,403

1969

520,330

2,027,854

2,548,184

22,156

873,376

1970

502,795

2,021,171

2,523,966

22,344

695,595

1971

533,539

1,956,488

2,490,027

27,990

921,021

1972

558,217

1,817,317

2.375.534

36,050

1

,563,593

The formally registered borrowers' tally can be reported as follows
and reflects the same response to service offered.

Boston

Non-Boston

Total

1968

259.741

48,602

308,343

1969

289,000

67,197

356,197

1970

290,243

68,739

358,982

1971

**259,429

67,990

**327,419

1972

256,471

73,158

329,629

These figures, while showing certain positive aspects of service
such as more registered borrowers, more use of the central General
Library, also reveal the diminution of borrowing from branch libraries,
a phenomenon that occurred in other metropolitan libraries five, seven
years ago, which is now reflected in Boston's figures. Here those services
that cannot be measured in terms of home borrowing must be considered.
During the year 1972 sampling figures show that as many as 1,250 people
were using the branches at a 3:30 p.m. on January 12, that 7,700 came and
went in the course of the same day. Thirteen thousand seven hundred
and thirty questions were answered in the week between January 10 and
January 15. Beyond this the staff maintained specific services.

*These figures do not reflect material processed and not fully available.
**Drop reflects change in method of keeping statistics.

BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY

The Children's Services provided 8,300 classroom orientation
meetings, 480 story hours, 836 pre-school story hours, 59 listening
programs. One hundred eighty-two agencies were visited. Four hundred
thirteen other activities (summer reading clubs, puppet shows) were
held. In all 60,000 children participated in these activities,
exclusive of those who were readers, or made classroom visits or who
visited the libraries only to browse, do homework, or borrow without
participating in a group.

Parallel to this Children's Program the Young Adult Program in
branch libraries offered school contacts (176 classroom or school
assembly visits), film programs (116) and other professional library
sponsored programs or consultations (3291). This program is supported
essentially in 14 of the 26 branches.

The Adult Services maintained its Never Too Late Groups, Friends
Groups, film showings, Great Books contacts. Great Decisions programs.
The Central Library Never Too Late Group continued to reach from 200
to 300 people per program. The Branch Adult work included active
Friends Groups at the Adams Street and the Charlestown Branches with
an average of 50 members participating in each of the 11 meetings;
active Never Too Late Groups in 15 branches with an average attendance
of 50 at 193 meetings; Parents Discussion Groups in ten branches with
programs reaching 2,580 parents; six Book Review, Book Discussion
Groups holding 50 meetings with 581 members; two Great Decisions
Groups holding 16 meetings with 216 in attendance; and some 75 general
adult programs (films plus speakers) with 2,600 in attendance, an
average of 35 people per meeting.

Beyond formal programs, not registered in circulation or reading
room attendance, the needs of those with a language background other
than English continued to receive major attention through the "Multi-
lingual Library," as well as through more foreign language deposits
in Branch Libraries, and foreign language reading lists (Arabic Chinese,
Spanish, Portguese). The activities of the Jamaica Plain/Connolly
Branch reflected the transition of the neighborhood from a black/white
community to a Spanish speaking/black/white community. Both Multilingual
Library and Jamaica Plain Branch were strengthened not only in their
book collections but also by recruiting staff with language backgrounds
invaluable in working with the community and the materials.

Attention to the shut-in and visually handicapped was developed
via the Homesmohile Service which was administratively made a part of
the Bookmobile Service. A program of buying books in larger type was
continued. Homesmobile and Bookmobile Collections were merged with
the expectation that both would be enriched and staff working with any
potential reader would be able to draw on more resources.

Both these activities, service to the foreign-language public and
to the shut-in, enjoyed substantial but not total support via Federal
funds allocated by the Massachusetts Library Extension Division.

Discussion that would hopefully lead to prison service did not
result in formal service being initiated, but individualized and in-
direct services continued. Changes in the youth corrective system and
creation of half-way houses and youth centers led to new conversations
and new solutions. Deposit of books was used on a larger scale than
before.

CITY DOCUMENT NO. 15

It must be mentioned that this 1972 year was a discouraging one
as far as disorder within libraries, fear of visiting- branches after
dark, vandalism of property were concerned. Undoubtedly these are
deterents to use of a library by the community.

As one measure of community service, a census of flyers and post-
cards show that 341 pieces of publicity were designed and executed with
the General Library Services Office to publicize library events within
Branch Libraries. These were preponderantly for adult programs. Copy
for 24 reading lists and 12 bookmarks was prepared.

A major undertaking was the preparing of the Young Adult Card
Catalog for reproduction as a book catalog, published in two volumes
by G. K. Hall.

A notable bibliography of Young Adult literature resulted from
this publication. The catalog is a wonderful key to material of
long-range use for those working with young adults in any library.

The Division participated in five neighborhood street fairs
(Charlestown, Brighton, Uphams Corner, Mattapan, West End), three
art shows with neighborhood support (Brighton, South Boston, Charles-
town). Notably the Division participated in the Boston Globe Book
Fair, with booths on Poetry, Foreign Language Services, World Affairs,
and Children's Services, representing the joint efforts of various
departments, divisions, and individual members of both the Library" and
the Eastern Regional Library Service staff.

With the imminence of the opening of the General Library in its
new quarters, restaffing was in order. Miss Rosalie Lang, Coordinator
of Humanities, was appointed Supervisor of the General Library. Miss
Dorothy Becker was appointed Coordinator of the General Library. Miss
Louisa Metcalf, Miss Ollie Partridge, and Miss Gladys White were ap-
pointed Senior Reading and Information Specialists. Miss Shirley
Utudjian was appointed Chief of the Audio- Visual Department, releasing
Mr. Euclid Peltier to give his full time to his duties as Coordinator
of Audio-Visual Services. Miss Rose Moorachian was appointed Young
Adult Specialist.

During the year, Miss Dorothy Smith was appointed Branch Librarian,
Mattapan Branch Library; Miss Carol Coxe, Branch Librarian, Fanueil
Branch Library; Mrs. Francina Gelzer, Branch Librarian, Egleston Square
Branch Library.

Miss Pauline Walker retired as Branch Librarian, West Roxbury
Branch Library; Miss Anne Coleman retired as Branch Librarian of the
Faneuil Branch Library; and Miss Nura Globus, Branch Librarian of the
Egleston Square Branch Library, retired as of December 31, 1971.

RESEARCH LIBRARY SERVICES

The year began sadly with the untimely death of Macy J. Margolis,
Coordinator for Research Services, on January 28. A highly esteemed
and much loved member of the Boston Public Library staff since 1945,
Mr. Margolis served key positions and played important parts in many
recent library programs, including development of a periodical collec-
tion and reference collection for the new General Library and the
pivotal role of the coordinator for collection building in the Research
Library, and a grievous shock to all his friends and colleagues.

10

BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY

With the generous support of the Research Library staff, much was
accomplished in spite of this loss. Miss Rosalie Lang, Coordinator for
the Humanities, took over and finished the General Library Reference col-
lection project and assisted in general much of the collection building
coordination both within the Research Library and between the General
Library and the Research Library. Mr. Charles Longley, Curator of
Periodicals and Newspapers, assumed the clearing house duties for all
periodical and serial subscription recommendations in the Research
Library. The Assistant Director for Research Library Services worked
closely and directly with the curators and coordinators in the overall
development of library resources.

The preservation program for research materials, particularly
early American newspapers, continued under the general direction of
Mr. B. Joseph O'Neil, Supervisor of Readers Services. In accordance
with the consensus decision of representatives from neighboring libraries
(Harvard, Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston Athenaeum, American
Antiquarian Society, etc.) priority was given to 19th century newsprints,
particularly those from New England mill towns and/or those on poor
paper. First newspaper to be selected in this category was the Lowell
Sun, which was being put on microfilm with the cooperation of the Lowell
Public Library. Other filming projects included the special events
collection and the documentation and report on the 2000 Commonwealth
Avenue building collapse, which was reproduced by the library at the
request of the City Law Department, The Ultra-Security Vault (Hull,
Massachusetts) where library master negatives had been stored ceased
service at the end of the year. Graphic Microfilm at Waltham generously
offered temporary storage facilities, and permanent relocation is to be
established in the new General Library building in 1973.

The consortium of Boston College Library, Boston University Library,
Brandeis University Library, Tufts University Library, and the Boston
Public Library continued to develop. A union list of microform holdings
V"/as compiled, and a printed bibliography was expected in 1973, Re-
ference and acquisition cooperation was furthered with joint meetings
among the Consortium librarians, and inter-library loans were much
facilitated by the daily book delivery service provided by the Boston
Public Library.

A major publication for the Research Library in 1972 was the book
catalog of the Music Collection, published by G. K, Hall of Boston. This
catalog represents not only a significant reference tool for all students
of music research, but also provides the Library with additional biblio-
graphical facilities and makes possible the interfiling of the existing
Music card catalog in the Research Library Public Catalog at a later date.

The Afro-American Artists Bio-Bibliographical Directory, initiated
by Mrs, Theresa Cederholm, Reference Librarian in Fine Arts, received
financial support from both the Massachusetts Council on the Arts and
Humanities ($3,000) and the National Endowment for the Arts ($10,000).
Under the general direction of William Lewis, Coordinator for Afro-
American Programs and Services, the project progressed apace and the
printed Directory is expected to be published at the conclusion of the

project in June 1973

11

CITY DOCUMENT NO. 15

The single most important event in 1972 was cf course the completion
of the General Library building and the December opening of the new
General Library. Personnel changes in the Research Library include the
promotion of Miss Rosalie Lang as Supervisor of the General Library, the
appointment of Mr. Raymond Agler as Coordinator for the Humanities,
and the transfer of Mrs. Margot Sullivan, Reference Librarian in Social
Science, to the General Library. In November 1972, 800,000 volumes of
Research Library books hitherto housed on Long Island were moved to
the new stacks on the upper floors of the General Library building, with
more volumes in the old stacks in the Research Library building to
follow. Following the official opening of the expanded General Library,
the Research Library ceased to circulate its books and thus became
strictly a reference collection for on-site consultation and research.

Some programs and plans, however desirable and important, had
perforce to be postponed. The useful and successful in-depth profile
study of the Research Library collections was not continued in 1972.
Collection building progressed along established lines and curators and
coordinators actively participated in the selection and addition of
reference and research materials. New comprehensive book acquisition
arrangements were made with Casalini of Florence, Italy for current
Italian publications, and further expansion to cover other major
cultural areas was explored.

The first five years (19C8-1972) in the existence of the Sound
Archives saw a rapid accumulation of a vast collection of recordings
in a variety of fields. Through gifts and purchase, the Library's
archival collection continued to grow and at year's end numbered more
than 130,000. Contents include the entire range of classical music,
literature, drama, public addresses, jazz and folk music, and ethnic
and language recordings.

Another rapidly growing collection in the Research Library is that
of Microtext. With substantial federal and state funding, the Library
houses one of the most comprehensive microtext collections in the area.
Again, the last five years represent significant expansion, and the
total collection at the end of 1972 consisted of: 47,257 microfilm
reels; 3,516 boxes (approximately 800,000 sheets) of microprint; 174,568
microfiches; and 11,357 microcards. Main categories in the collection
are newspapers and government documents, local, national and international,
and these serve as important resource materials in the Boston Public
Library in its role as the bibliographical and reference center of the
entire region.

The Government Document program anci service at the Boston Public
Library continued to grow. In addition to its unique responsibility
for local documents, it has also increasingly built up its strength in
international documentation. Following its designation as an official
United Nations Depository, the Library systematically sought to acquire
important source material on other international organizations, including
the League of Nations.

In 1972 members of various subject reference areas jointly partici-
pated in several highly successful exhibits, among which were those on
Science Projects; Mass Transportation; Consumer Education; Services to
the Disadvantaged; Resources in Microform; Books and Recordings in Many
Tongues; and Travelling through New England. The Rare Books & Manuscript

12

BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY

Department presented a series of exhibits in the Sargeant Gallery
including: For the Philatelist; Fire! Fire! Fire!; The World of James
Arnold; U.S. Politics and Government; and "A Splendid Misery" - Cam-
paigning for the U.S. Presidency. In the Wiggin Gallery, the Print
Department mounted the following exhibits: Ind^'a: Photographs by Steven
Trefonides; Cityscapes and Landscapes by Susan Shatter; Across America:
The Art of a New Nation; Copper: Etchings and Engravings by Contemporary
Artists; Houses of Boston's South End; Thomas Waterman Wood and 19th
Century American Drawings; and La Lithographie Originale En Couleur.

EASTERN REGIONAL LIBRARY SERVICE

The delivery service for libraries in the Boston Metropolitan Region
was expanded to daily service in March. A new Eastern Region Extension
Center opened at Yarmouth Port in April. Two new bookmobiles purchased
for the North Reading and Taunton areas were put into service in August.

Media Package programs which contain books, pamphlets, pesters,
films, filmstrips, tape cassettes and exhibit material were purchased
and made available for loan to regional libraries. It is planned to
make more of these package programs available next year. Circulation
of films from the Boston Public Library continued to increase. Some
changes were made in the circulation procedures for films to improve
public service.

Mary A. Heneghan, formerly Senior Supervisor of Public Library
Development witfi the Bureau of Library Extension, was appointed Regional
Administrator for the Eastern Regional Public Library System in August,
1972. The Region was saddened by the sudden death of A. William Kunkel ,
retired administrator of the Eastern Region in January, 1972.

PERSONNEL

Appointments to the Library staff during the year included the
following: Joseph Quinton was appointed Library Personnel Officer;
Joseph J. Gelly was appointed Chief of Duplicating; Rosalie A. Lang
was appointed Supervisor of the General Library; Dorothy K. Becker was
appointed Coordinator of Reader's Services, General Library; and
John J. Doherty was appointed Assistant Director.

At the annual recognition ceremony for Library employees with 25
years of service, the President of the Board of Trustees presented
citations and BPL chairs to the following: Rhoda Blacker, Patricia
Harrington, Helen McDonouah and flelen Sevagian.

Professional activities and publications of Library staff members
during 1972 included the following: Jane Hanthorne, Coordinator of
Young Adult Services served as President of the Young Adult Division of
the American Library Association, and edited Jane Manthorne's Choice
of Current Books for Young Adults (Second Edition). Kay Hegarty,
Coordinator of Adult Services served on the NCCJ Awards Committee, on
the Mayor's Inter-departmental Committee on Senior Affairs, as a Board
Director for the Boston Center for Older Americans, and as Treasurer
of the Adult Education Association in Massachusetts. Ruth Hayes, the
Coordinator of Children's Services served as convenor of the Annual Meeting
of Supervisors of Children's Services at the American Library Association
Convention.

13

CITY DOCUMENT NO. 15

Mrs. Suzanne Gray, Coordinator of Science Reference, published "A
Guide to Resources: Science Projects for Young People" in Wilson Library
Bulletin (March, 1972). John Alden, Keeper of Rare Books and Manuscripts
published "Manuscripts and the Philatelist" Manuscripts (Spring, 1972).

The Library was saddened by the death of three staff members during
1972: Macy J. Margolis, Coordinator for Research Services; Ann E.
Armstrong, Professional Library Assistant, Children's Room, and Frederick
Rodenmacher, Special Library Assistant, Central Charging Records. A
number of staff members retired during the year, many after long years
of service. Among those retiring were four branch librarians: Anne
F. Coleman of Faneuil, flura Globus of Egleston Square, Christina P.
Jordan of Allston and Pauline A. Walker of West Roxbury.

Philip J. McNiff
Director, and Librarian

14

BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY

Table 1. Circulation

BOOK CIRCULATION

1971

1972

Central Library
Kirstein Business Branch

Adams Street

Allston

Bookmobile Service

Brighton

Charlestown

Codman Square

Connolly

East Boston

Egleston Square

Faneuil

Fields Corner

Grove Hall

Hyde Park

Jamaica Plain

Lower Mills

Mattapan

Mt. Pleasant

North End

Orient Heights

Parker Hill

Roslindale

South Boston

South End

Uphams Corner

Washington Village

West End

West Roxbury

Hospital Library Service

Multilingual

Total, Branch Libraries

Total, Entire Library

533,539

558,217

9,557

9,591

108,422

99,185

41,965

38,827

247,087

221,096

143,039

123,984

48,524

48,555

54,467

52,341

46,242

43,193

39,552

39,857

38,096

28,888

37,977

39,902

110,246

103,221

42,029

41,630

114,695

107,397

64,508

60,153

53,109

48.432

50,036

39,319

24,686

16,000*

32,727

30,743

33,789

33,894

37,655

34,780

130,687

124,849

79,789

78,749

27,340

31,863

51,218

55,948

33,750

17,911**

68,990

65,608

154,145

143,688

28,278

27,289

13,440

20,065

1,709,401

1,596,221

2,499,584

2,385,125

*Estimated
**Branch closed due to fire August 12.

1972.

15

CITY DOCUMENT NO. 15
NON-BOOK CIRCULATION

1971 1972

Films and Film Strips 27,990 36,050

Recordings 42,841 40,361

Totals 70,831 76,411

VOLUMES SENT ON INTERLIBRARY LOAN

1971 1972

Interlibrary loans 14,389 23,926*

Table 2. Growth of the Library
BOOKS

1971 1972

General Library
Volumes Added
Volumes Withdrawn

Total on hand December 31

Research Library:
Volumes Added
Volumes Withdrawn

Total on hand December 31

156,757
61,881

233,359
33,743

1,020,757

1,220,373

106,943
5,541

96,048
437

1,981,191

2,076,802

Total Book Stock 3,001,948 3,297,175

^Fiscal year 1972.

16

BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY
NON-BOOK MATERIALS

1971

197:

Films

Filmstrips

Recordings

Lantern Slides

Negatives

Pictures

Postcards

Prints and Drawings

Projected Books

Microcards

Microfiche (sheets)

Microfilm (reels)

Microprints (boxes)

3,560

4,345

150

280

24,099

160,176

14,884

14,884

2,130

2,130

426,426

426,426

133,805

133,805

53,264

54,744

178

178

11,283

11,488

128,338

174,568

42,040

47,257

3,237

3,516

Table 3. Cataloging Statistics

1971

1972

Volumes processed
New titles cataloged

Original cataloging
NUC cataloging
LC cataloging
Rare Book cataloging

Films

Recordings (titles)
Recordings (volumes)
Microcards (boxes)
Microfiche (sheets)
Microfilm (reels)
Microprints (boxes)

278,003

329,407

62,868

68,997

13,373

12,184

10.286

48,119

44,693

1,376

1,834

518

785

6,474

5,563

15,902

74

46,230

5,217

279

17

CITY DOCUMENT NO. 15
Table 4. Binding

1971

1972

Volumes Bound

58,338

60,283

Table 5.

Library Expenditures

1971

1972

Salaries and Wages:

City Appropriation $4,821,322.16 $5,347,811.00
Eastern Regional Public Library

System 260,264.07 323,596.82

Trust Funds Income 2,304.82 90.86

Total $5,084,257.63 $5,671,498.68

Books and Other Library Materials:

City Appropriation $764,603.33 $909,791.00
Eastern Regional Public Library

System 435,051.10 858,028.97

Trust Funds Income 54,609.74 83,388.44

Gifts for Current Use 23,931.27

Library Services and Construction Act 183,461.27 298,352.37

Library of Last Recourse 142,228.96

Total $1,471,656.71 $2,291,789.74

All Other Expenses:

City Appropriation $610,539.96 $857,380.00
Eastern Regional Public Library

System 101,297.98 194,301.17

Trust Funds Income 12,020.84 20,190.43

Library Services and Construction Act 30,612.62 71 ,232.68

Total $754,471.40 $1,143,104.28

GRAND TOTAL $7,310,385.74 $9,106,392.70

,^°^TON PUBLIC LIBRARY

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