(DOCUMENT 15 - 1981)
ANNUAL REPORT
of the
BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY
For the Year Ending June 30, 1980
TRUSTEES OF THE PUBLIC LIBRARY
ARTHUR F.F.SNYDER
President
PAUL PARKS
Vice President
MICHOF. SPRING
JAMES V.YOUNG
PHILIP J. McNIFF
Director, and Librarian
4 CITY DOCUMENT NO. 15
To the Board of Trustees of the Boston PubUc Library:
As Director, and Librarian, I have the honor to
submit my report for the year July 1, 1979, to June 30,
1980.
In this year of mounting energy costs and increasingly
severe budget constraints, the Library nonetheless wit-
nessed positive developments in acquisitions, services, and
modernized systems. In this latter area it should be pointed
out how the Library's adoption of this decade's technology
is contributing to heightened efficiency and cost-saving in
record keeping, cataloging, information retrieval, and
public service.
Most significant in this use of the latest technology is
the installation of the new DEC System 2020, an advance
supported by a grant from the Massachusetts Board of
Library Commissioners. This computer allows the Library
to move its bibliographic support systems from a
commercial time-shared Digital Equipment Corporation
PDP 10 to a dedicated in-house time-sharing system. This
move was critical to further development of the biblio-
graphic software and to make extensive on-line biblio-
graphic data-file interaction financially viable. The Li-
brary administration hopes that the dedicated control
system will eventually facilitate the transition from
manual-based catalog systems to in-house and remote
information retrieval.
In addition, with the installation of three IBM term-
inals, the Library moved to having on-line access to bor-
rower related information. This move accelerated the
search of the borrower registration file, master delinquen-
cy file, and master circulation file. The result is faster, con-
siderably more efficient service to the public. This public
numbers at this time 317,669 library card holders.
Other expedited service which can be credited to
advances in technology occurred in the Microtext Depart-
ment with the installation of new readers, reader/printers,
and a Duplifiche printer and developer.
FY79/80 saw the major Research Library catalog
project, funded by a Title II-C grant from the U.S. Office
of Education, moving toward completion. The project has
as its goal the total rehabilitation of the more than 7
BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY 5
million cards in the Research Catalog and ultimate listing
on microfiche.
In another federally funded grant, the National
Endowment for the Humanities Challenge Grant, the
Library was proud to reach its mandated three-to-one
match several months ahead of schedule.
GENERAL LIBRARY SERVICES
Despite reduced staff in Central and branches, the
Library maintained a high level of service to individuals
and groups from pre-school child to senior citizen. In the
face of impending cutbacks and the obvious need for
current statistics, the Library updated studies of each
branch unit in terms of staffing, population served, ethnic
makeup, book stock, circulation count, and operation
costs (salaries, books, heat, light, telephone, etc.). In
addition, each branch conducted a four-times-a-day use
survey during the second weeks of November, February,
May, and August. One consistent finding among branch
units was the diminution of night-time use by patrons.
Like the branch libraries, the Central Library proceeded
with necessary evaluation of service, specifically with an
in-depth study of periodicals. Considered in the study
were problems of room arrangement, the binding of
current periodicals, the evidence of much theft and mutila-
tion, the use and relevance of certain periodical titles. As a
result of this study, recommendations were made to drop
many specialized /scholarly titles and to plan for more re-
stricted use of current serials.
The activities calendar of the Central and branch li-
braries was highlighted with several key annual lectures
and events. In the first annual Marjorie Gibbons Lecture,
South Boston Branch hosted a lecture by Capt. Albert
Swanson on Castle Island. The 2nd Annual Mildred
Kaufman Program at Roslindale Branch was devoted to a
slide sequence on the Boston Ballet, a special interest of
Mildred Kaufman. Book award programs were held at
South End and North End Branch Libraries. Retired child-
ren's librarian Martha Engler delighted young guests at the
4th annual South End program with storytelling. Speaker
for the 32nd Annual Mary U. Nichols program at North
6 CITY DOCUMENT NO. 15
End Branch was Dr. Anthony Cortese, Commissioner of
the Department of Environmental Quality Engineering for
Massachusetts.
Black History Month was observed in many ways: in
Mattapan Branch Library, author Robert Hayden spoke
on endeavors to resurrect some of America's greatest
persons from obscurity; the branch also sponsored a dem-
onstration/The Art of Black Dance and Music"; Uphams
Corner Branch offered special film screenings on such
Black notables as Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther King,
Jr., and Malcolm X; Grove Hall featured films and storytel-
ling for adults by Linda Eubanks; Dudley Branch observed
the month with "Cinematic Black History Experience." In
the Central Library Dr. Walter J. Leonard, President, Fisk
University, lectured on "Some Missing Pages in American
History: The Black Contribution to American Life."
Activities and special programs and events in the
Library were diversified in content and appeal. For the
senior citizen or Never-Too-Late audience the range of
programming moved from Social Security to literature to
travel to the process of aging. To cite examples of such
programming: traveler Stephen McCloskey spoke on "A
View of Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia";
Mark William Sheehan, Director of Development for
Earthwatch, gave a rare view of African wildlife in "On
Safari"; Ruth Harriet Jacobs, Professor of Sociology,
Boston University, dealt with "Life after Youth: Ten Ways
of Being an Older Person."
With equal diversity and awareness of patron's inter-
ests, branch libraries and Central reached out to children,
teenagers, and adults. For children there were story hours,
puppet shows, holiday celebrations, play production, film
events — with books and reading always major elements
around which each program was designed. Children cele-
brated the Chinese New Year with a traditional dragon
dance, decorated eggs for Easter, and learned about farm
animals from a 4H agent for Suffolk County.
Several lively programs were offered to young adults
with films frequently integrated into teen events. Codman
Square Branch conducted workshops for teenagers in
cooperation with the Roxbury Comprehensive Commun-
BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY 7
ity Health Center; the Young Adult Room at Central spon-
sored its popular annual Creative Writing Workshop with
guests: author Hila Colman, poet Elizabeth Galloway, and
book reviewer Floyd Kemske.
The vitality and relevance of branch library program
efforts deserve emphasis here. West End Branch Library
sponsored two series (Summer and Fall) titled"Moving
into Poetry." In these literary encounters, groups of adults
explored the creative arts as inspiration for their own
writing which they pursued (and shared) with diligence
and delight. As Paula Posnick, the staff member directing
the activity, described the series, "It encourages people to
find and explore the many facets of themselves."
Adams Street Branch sponsored a program on
"Understanding Your Aging Parents"; Jamaica Plain
presented a psychologist from Massachusetts Mental
Health speaking on "Educational Testing and Your Child";
Orient Heights held energy workshops; Egleston Square
Branch Library featured an officer of the New York
Housing Authority on protecting oneself from mugging;
Faneuil Branch conducted a chess tournament; North End
offered a presentation on wills and trusts; Parker Hill
Branch joined with Affiliated Hospitals Center, Inc. to
present "A Heart to Heart Talk" on heart disease. In
deference to the multilingual backgrounds of many
patrons, branch library programs were offered sometimes
in other languages, with Spanish presentations, for exam-
ple, at several libraries including Connolly, South End,
Uphams Corner, and Egleston Square.
Major programs in the Central Library brought a suc-
cession of distinguished speakers to the Lecture Hall. In a
remarkable two-day conference, "The Sacco-Vanzetti
Case: Developments and Reconsiderations — 1979," scho-
lars came together "to assess the relevance and signifi-
cance" of the Felicani Archive and other recently released
papers. Donated to the Library by his sons, Anteo and
Arthur, the Felicani Archive consists of thousands of
papers assembled during the years of the historic trial by
Aldino Felicani, who served as Treasurer of the Sacco-
Vanzetti Defense Committee.
8 CITY DOCUMENT NO. 15
The eighth annual Maury A. Bromsen Lecture in Hu-
manistic Bibliography brought the preeminent historian of
photography, Beaumont Newhall, to the Library podium.
Dr. Newhall lectured on "Photography and Book Illustra-
tion." The 15th annual Albert H. Wiggin Symposium as-
sembled a knowledgeable group of panelists. Dr. Clarisse
A. Poirier (Merrimack College), Katie Kenneally (Law
Clerk to the Justices, Massachusetts Superior Court), and
Martha Davidson (picture researcher and art historian).
The panelists centered their discussion on the Library's pic-
torial archives.
In the seventh William Addison Dwiggins Lecture,
publisher David Godine presented an illustrated talk, "The
Life and Works of Rudolph Ruzicka, Illustrator and
Designer." This major annual lecture, co-sponsored by the
Library and the Society of Printers, marks the anniversary
of the gift of the Dwiggins collections to the Library in
1974. Ruzicka illustrated many books including Whitehill's
history of the Boston Public Library with "rare distinction
and typographic understanding."
This year marked the launching of a program and
special collection which promises much influence in the
area of public education. In conjunction with the Eunice
Kennedy Shriver Center for Mental Retardation in
Waltham, the Library acquired an extensive book
collection, supplemented with films, related to mental
retardation. To mark the beginning of this important
cooperative program. Dr. Raymond D. Adams, Director
of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center, spoke on "Contem-
porary Approaches in the Study and Care of the Mentally
Disabled."
The programs here enumerated have proved instruc-
tive, sometimes unique, always an important dimension
in library service. Also necessary to pinpoint here is the
continuing evidence of the Library's interrelationship,
involvement, partnership, reachout with community
agencies, with colleges and universities. In addition to
representing the creative voices and authorities behind
books, the Library turns to contemporary contributors to
knowlege in its programming. To cite a few cooperatively
planned and sponsored programs: with the Boston Society
BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY 9
of the Archeological Institute of America, the Library
presented Dr. Peter Wells, Assistant Professor of Anthro-
pology^ Harvard University. Dr. Wells delivered an
illustrated lecture on "Excavating in Iron-Age Bavaria."
Moving to a more recent time frame, the Massachusetts
Historical Society and the Library co-hosted the William
Ellery Channing Bicentennial Lecture. Noted historian
Henry Steele Commager addressed himself to the subject,
' Our Age is an Age of Moral Revolution."
In still other jointly sponsored programs: Irish poet
Desmond O'Grady gave a reading of his works (with the
Eire Society); Paul Raabe, Director of Herzog August Bib-
liothek spoke on rare books (with The Rare Books and
Manuscripts Section of the Association of College and
Research Libraries). In other co-sponsored programs the
Library joined forces with the American Lung Association,
New England College of Optometry, Massachusetts
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the
Street Feet Workshop, Tufts University Psychiatric Unit,
Boston Edison Company, Consulate of Chile, Masaryk
Club of Boston and the Czechoslovakian Embassy, Child
Study Association, Consulate of Denmark, Boston by
Foot, the People's Theater of Cambridge.
FY79/80 saw the continuation of the Writer in Society
series, originally developed as part of the National Endow-
ment for the Humanities Learning Library. Guest speakers
for these perceptive lectures on belles lettres were David
Macaulay, "Buildingbooks: How an Author-Illustrator
Puts a Book Together"; Millicent Bell, "The Life of John P.
Marquand: A Fable of American Success"; Doris Kearns
Goodwin, "The Johnson and Kennedy Biographies: A
Study in Contrasts"; Ifeanyi A. Menkiti,"The Black Poet in
Africa and America"; Isaac Asimov, "Escape to Reality";
John P. Roche, "The Scholar in Politics"; Robert Pinsky,
"An Explanation of America"; and Boston's own poet, "An
Evening with David McCord."
In branches and the Central Library, programs and
exhibits gave testimony that the city was celebrating a
birthday. Jubilee 350. Charlestown Branch joined Boston
by Foot to present an architectural history, the "Four
Shapes of Boston"; also at Charlestown, Bradley Clarke,
10 CITY DOCUMENT NO. 15
President of the Boston Street Railway Association,
described three centuries of transit in a slide lecture. Fields
Corner Branch sponsored a series of panel discussions on
"Dorchester in the 80's" with focus on delivery of health
care, the cultural scene, the press, housing, and business.
West End Branch directed attention in its programming to
key sites in the history of Boston — including the Public
Garden and the Harrison Gray Otis House. Several Jubilee
350 programs highlighted the calendar of the Central
Library, among them "Dearo Family," a musical about
Irish immigrants in the North End.
Much of the Library's program activity was built
around spoken presentations — lectures, panel discussions,
conferences; but music and the arts were also featured, pro-
jected through concert and exhibit formats. Among the
concerts offered were performances by the Radcliffe
Choral Society, Chorus pro musica. New England
Conservatory Chamber Singers, the Yale Russian Chorus,
Boston Conservatory of Music, and the Longy School of
Music. Other musical events featured Daniel Spiegelberg,
French concert pianist from Geneva, and cellist Roberto
Gonzalez and pianist Oscar Gacitua from Chile.
Many exhibitions served to interpret and enhance
library collections and events. Exhibitions included: "Isaac
Asimov: 20th Century Renaissance Man"; "Medicine
in Boston, 1630-1980"; "Drawings and Prints by Paul
Hogarth, Naoko Matsubara and Barbara Westman";"Six
Centuries of Book Binding"; "Working in Boston, 1920
-1970"; "Judaism and Christianity in the Catacombs of
Rome"; "Toys, Games, and Books for the 19th/early 20th
century Child"; "Three Centuries of Constantinople, 1600-
1900"; "John Quincy Adams: Pioneer of German-American
Literary Studies"; "Space Revisited (celebrating the 19th an-
niversary of the Apollo Lunar Landing)"; "Americans in the
20th Century"; "David McCord: The Art of the Broadside";
"The Pilot of Boston" (on the occasion of the 150th anni-
versary of Boston's nationally-known newspaper. The
most extensive exhibition was the annual Children's Books
International which assembled more than 3,000 books
from more than thirty nations. Interpreting the exhibit was
a colloquium probing the conference theme of children and
poetry.
BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY 11
This fiscal year marked the return of a permanent ex-
hibition to public view. Cleaned and restored, the diorama
of ten scenes from the Arabian Nights was created many
years ago by Louise Stimson of Concord. Each exotic min-
iature scene depicts one tale told by Queen Scheherazade
to King Shahriyar — as she charmed her way to survival.
RESEARCH LIBRARY
The rehabilitation of the Research Library catalog
moved toward completion in its editing/maintenance
phases with 1981 targeted as the date for the photoduplica-
tion phase.
The departments of the Research Library uniformly
reported substantial increases in use and service in the face
of diminishing staff and space. Humanities Reference
noted a 7. 2% rise in telephone reference and a 10% increase
in in-person service, with October and April the busiest
months. Tours (including 6 groups of regional librarians)
and exhibit preparation occupied much staff time.
The Microtext /Newspaper Department continued,
despite staffing and space shortages, in its multi-service
capacities: in Microtext, the delivery of microforms to
patrons, reference activity, photocopy center, patent
reproduction center, and consultant service; the Newspaper
Room in its delivery service to patrons in their diverse
needs. An unseen role of the department relates to
conservation /preservation — binding, wrapping, or micro-
filming newspapers for future researchers.
Acquisition of microfilm materials in FY79/80 streng-
thened library resources in many disciplines. To illustrate
the range of acquisitions, among them: Greenwood Press's
]azz Periodicals; English Cartoons and Satirical Prints,
1320-1832 (Somerset House); Historical American Build-
ings Survey (Library of Congress); National Women's
Party Papers, 1913-1972 (Research Publications); Indian
Claims Commission (Greenwood Press); Marburger Index
(Bildarchiv Foto Marburg and Reinisches Bildarchiv). The
Marburger Index is an overwhelming pictorial archive of
everything of merit in Germany — buildings, paintings,
sculpture, artifacts.
As of this year the holdings of the Music Department
12 CITY DOCUMENT NO. 15
nudged the 100,000 figure (actually 99,713, not including
rare collections such as the Walter Piston and Handel and
Haydn Society collections which are in the Rare Books and
Manuscripts Department). In addition to servicing this
significant music library and providing extensive reference
assistance, the department cooperated in the production of
a Boston area composer's directory.
The Fine Arts Department devoted much time to col-
lection development, working to fill in retrospectively
major gaps in research materials. Major efforts were
directed to strengthening holdings in exhibition catalogs,
serials, specialized bibliographies, reference works, and
microfiche items. Staff projects in the department included
shelf reading of the LC portion of the collection, assisting
in collection of data for the Artist and the Child catalog,
retrospective indexing of one-man shows in Boston,
continuing compilation of the Boston Art Archives and
indexing of materials for inclusion in the Boston Architec-
ture Index.
This year Fine Arts acquired many significant items
through purchase and donation. A major gift included a
portfolio of 43 prints by Boston-born artist Irwin
Hoffman. The gift has since been expanded to include 73
watercolors, most of Hoffman's sketchbooks, and numer-
ous books, journals, photographs, and exhibition cata-
logs. Several gifts were received by the Department related
to architecture: files surveying downtown Boston from the
Boston Landmarks Commission; surveys of Massachusetts
from Massachusetts Historical Commission; and their arch-
itectural holdings from the library of the Society for the
Preservation of New England Antiquities.
Beyond attention to internal organization, processing,
cleaning, labeling, shelving of materials and services to
researchers, the Rare Books and Manuscripts Department
was involved in numerous other activities: receiving,
checking, and storing the Treasure Collection of the
Massachusetts Historical Society; preparing an exhibition
catalog for The Artist and the Child; preparatory work for
the Boston Public Library as host institution of the
ALA/ACRL Rare Book Section Preconference; contribu-
ting to exhibitions of other institutions; and preparing a
BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY 13
series of exhibitions (cited under Exhibits).
FY79/80 brought a substantial number of significant
rare acquisitions to the Department. Among them: Taxae
cancellarie sequunt {Rome, ca.l490); Pierre de Rosnel's Le
Mercure Indien ou Le Tresor des Indes (Paris, 1672);
Samuel Pepys' The Portugal History (London, 1677); El
triunfo de la Cruz de Cristo by Girolamo Maria Francesco
Matteo Savonarola (Valladolid, 1548); Voltaire's Merope
(London, 1749); also, important Lincolniana items includ-
ing a rare leaflet (item #1 in Monaghan's Bibliography of
Lincoln) which Lincoln presented to the Illinois Legislature
when he served as a member of the Finance Committee.
Science Reference this year acquired a microfilm and a
microfiche reader which has made it possible to service all
patent-related reference tools in the Science Reference
Department. Program activities of the department
included sponsorship of a Workshop on Patents and
Patent Searching in cooperation with U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office; a medical history program on the
occasion of the annual meeting of the American
Association for the History of Medicine— with Dr. Philip
Cash speaking on "Health Problems of the Continental
Army at the Seige of Boston" and J. Worth Estes speaking
on "Medical Skills in Colonial Boston"; and preparation
and execution of program and bibliography on mental
retardation in conjunction with the Eunice Kennedy
Shriver Institute on Mental Retardation. The department
mounted exhibitions on the lunar landing and on the
history of medicine (described in Exhibits).
In FY79/80 Government Documents was responsible
for the completion and distribution of the important tool.
Government Publications in Microform in the Boston
Public Library /A Partial List, June, 1980. The Department
also conducted a workshop, "Sources of Marketing
Information," in cooperation with the U.S. International
Trade Administration. The need for additional shelving
space became urgently apparent in FY 79/80.
Activities within Interlibrary Loan centered around
making the service more efficient and educating users of
this service. To this end several orientation tours and
meetings with members of Eastern Region libraries were
14 CITY DOCUMENT NO. 15
conducted. The Department surveyed its responses to ILL
requests from Massachusetts public libraries in one-week
periods within each of four three-month time slots, ana-
lyzing the books requested in terms of location and availa-
bility. The Department found its services assisted and
expedited by the distribution of the General Library book
catalog and COM Supplements, resulting in more than 50%
of requests now bearing call numbers.
Social Sciences Department undertook a major
project this year: a bibliography of books, periodicals,
newspaper articles (1930-80) on Boston history, events,
personages. Also in process is a chronology of Boston
events. Sound Archives continued its inventory of
holdings, now counted at 192,344. This department also
developed a closer working relationship with the
Audiovisual Department in terms of evaluating and
sharing collections.
PUBLICATIONS
Library publications were numerous and diverse this
year. Among the booklists and bibliographies: "What's
Up? Science and Science Fiction for Those Who Love It
and Those Who Wish They Did," compiled by Mary Jo
Campbell; a new edition of the popular "Boys and Girls
with Hang-Ups," compiled by Catherine Clancy, Paula
Todisco, and J. Ron Brown; "Special People — Getting to
Know Them: Resources on Mental Retardation," an
annual reading and film list with Introduction by Eunice
Kennedy Shriver, compiled by Lilla Costello, Jane
Manthorne, Ruth Marshall, Marilyn McLean, Euclid
Peltier, and Beverly Spencer under the chairmanship of
Suzanne Gray; "Black Is— 1980," an annual list in celebra-
tion of Black History Month, compiled by Gwendolyn M.
Crockett, Elaine P. McLean, and Karen L. Williams;
"Children's Books for Year-Round Giving," prepared by
Irenemarie H, Cullinane; "Books about China," compiled
by Paula Hayes and May Lo and published in Parents
Choice and Episcopal Times; a supplement to "Children
with Handicaps," prepared by May Lo; "Books to Think
By" (reading recommendations for grades 7-12), compiled
jointly by staff members of the Children's and Young
BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY 15
adult sections. General Library. Once again the staff of the
General Library put together a timely, comprehensive an-
notated list for the reading program of the Massachusetts
Federation of Women's Clubs.
A highpoint in the Library's publication program this
year was three books representing lecture series of the
National Endowment for the Humanities Learning Library
courses: Humor and Social Change in Twentieth-Century
America by Joseph Boskin; From Common School to
Magnet School, edited by James W. Fraser, Henry L.
Allen, and Sam Barnes; and Boston's Workers: A Labor
History by James R. Green and Hugh Carter Donahue.
Each of these volumes contributes — as did the lectures on
which they are based — to interpretation of singular forces
or changes in American history.
EASTERN MASSACHUSETTS REGIONAL LIBRARY
SYSTEM
Significant in FY80 was the passage by the General
Court and the signing by Governor Edward King of legis-
lation to increase the state appropriation for the regional
library systems beginning in FY81. This long-awaited
funding suggested an increased awareness in legislative/
executive leadership of the needs and services of the
regional systems.
In the Audiovisual Center improvements in service
were provided by enlarged stack and work area, made
possible in part by a federal Library Services and
Construction Act grant; a cumulated list of feature films
available for public library programs; and improved time
management in personnel assignments. Interlibrary Loan
service from the Headquarters Library showed an increase
statistically, reflecting changes and improvements in a
number of activities within the Headquarters Library.
These include catalog searching, shelf checks, improve-
ments in the reserve process, and follow-up on orders in
Book Receipts.
A wide range of activities was undertaken by Eastern
Region staff in an equally wide range of formats. More
than one hundred and fifty appointments involved staff
in field visits; office interviews and consultations; attend-
16 CITY DOCUMENT NO. 15
ance at conferences and conventions; planning and
participation in workshops; and speaking engagements. In
addition, staff sliared in the preparation and distribution
of booklists prepared in /by member libraries and arranged
tours of the Headquarters Library for member librarians.
BOSTON LIBRARY CONSORTIUM
In 1979-1980 the Boston Library Consortium presen-
ted two major program series. The Preservation series of
five programs included lectures by Paul Banks of the
Newberry Library, Chicago, and Gay Walker, Yale
University; a hands-on workshop by Doris Freitag,
Harvard University; a tour of the New England Documents
Conservation Facility in Andover; and a showing of related
films. The second series featured workshops on AACR2
(Anglo-American Catalog Rules, 2nd edition.) The first
workshop brought Paul Winkler to Boston to deliver a
tutorial. Winkler is co-editor of the second edition of the
catalog rules and is Principal Descriptive Cataloger at the
Library of Congress. Subsequent programs were directed
to Consortium catalogers as well as public service and
acquisitions personnel.
Other Consortium activities included an update of
policy relating to reciprocal borrowing; provision of an
editorial function for the Consortium office; adoption of a
serials petition procedure; and exploration of applications
of automation to library systems in a cooperative setting.
The U.S. Congressional Committee Prints on microfiche
was selected for purchase as part of the Joint Acquisition
Program.
BUILDINGS
Three branch libraries figured in building construc-
tion or renovation this year. The Lower Mills Branch, pre-
sently under construction, should be completed on
schedule in September 1980. The Library joined with
Public Facilities this year in preliminary discussions
relating to a program for the addition to West Roxbury
Branch. In still another branch-related program, the
Library — with the assistance of the Boston Housing
Authority and Public Facilities — decided on a location
BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY 17
(first floor. Old Colony Housing Project) and plans for a
library reading center in the Washington Village area.
A matching grant was received this year from the
Massachusetts Historical Commission to support a
feasibility study for the restoration/rehabilitation of the
McKim building. The next step will entail advertising for
architectural firms to submit programs and cost estiriates
for such a study.
FY79/80 represented a year of continuing, stringent
efforts in energy conservation with substantial cutbacks in
energy usage in Central and branch libraries.
PERSONNEL
Staff activities beyond the Boston Public Library
were directed to many fields. Kate Waters served as
Chairperson of the oral history project of the Round Table
of Children's Librarians, member of the Horn Book
Council, and speaker at the Springfield Public Library on
the subject, "Where are they? Young Adults and
Libraries." Ms. Waters also served as panelist in a program
on controversial literature for young adults, co-sponsored
by Simmons College Center for the Study of Children's
Literature and Lincoln-Sudbury School Libraries. Paula
Posnick accepted a part-time teaching assignment at Lesley
College titled "Creative Programming Incorporating Pub-
lic Library Materials." Edwin G. Sanford described
methods used in tracing one's family history in "Genealo-
gy — Your Greatest Adventure," at an Egleston Square
Branch program; Mrs. Suzanne Gray spoke on the Boston
Public Library at the Alliance of the Unitarian Church in
Sharon; Mrs. Gray also served as group facilitator at a
Special Library Association Roundtable on "Research
Strategy /Reference Interview: A Challenge in Communi-
cation."
Many staff activities related to acquisitions and
processing. As a member of several professional associa-
tions, Martha Dukas participated in key conferences and
programs related to Asian, African, and Middle Eastern
materials. Stephen Yusko was actively involved in
meetings of the New England Chapter of the Music Library
Association and served as Chairman of the Continuing
18 CITY DOCUMENT NO. 15
Education Committee. As background to the Boston
Public Library's move to an automated acquisitions
program, Joe Raker attended the ALA preconference on
acquisitions and also visited the University of Massachu-
setts to study their system. John Pelose served as Chairper-
son for "AACR2 and You," sponsored at the Boston Public
Library by the Technical Services section of the Massachu-
setts Library Association; he also joined with Liam Kelly in
a presentation on OCLC and Boston Public Library
systems, a program also sponsored by MLA Technical
Services. Gunars Rutkovskis served as panelist in a Baltic
Studies conference in Washington, D.C. He was also
involved in various meetings with representatives of area
ethnical groups on library acquisition of their publica-
tions.
In other staff activities Rose Moorachian and Jane
Manthorne addressed the annual conference of the Rhode
Island Library Association; J. Ron Brown spoke on
"Coming of Age in Novels for Adolescence" in a program
jointly sponsored by Simmons College Center for the
Study of Children's Literature and Lexington Public
Library. Tess Cederholm continued to be active on several
art /architectural fronts including service as Treasurer of
ARLIS/NA (Art Library Society of North America),
Director of the City Conservation League, and Vice-Presi-
dent of Massachusetts Committee for the Presentation of
Architectural Records. Amy Rolnick served as Chairper-
son of YACBRG (Young Adult Cooperative Book Review
Group).
Staff members of the Library contributed much to
current literature as editors, authors, compilers, or
translators. Irenemarie H. Cullinane served as Editor of
the Friends of IBBY (International Board of Books for
Young People) Newsletter; Judith Friedman as translator
from the German of G. Mestwerdt's Atlas of Colposcopy
(W.B. Saunders) and Operative Obstetrics by Gerhardt
Martius (Stratton-Thieme); Suzanne Gray contributed
reviews to American Reference Books Annual; Eva
Murphy was author of several articles in The Dictionary of
North Carolina Biography jjay Daly, formerly with the
Boston Public Library and presently Director of the
BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY 19
Lincoln Public Library, published his first novel Walls
(Harper & Row); J. Ron Brown served as Editor of'Adult
Books for Young Adults" in Bowker's School Library
Journal with the following staff members as contributing
reviewers: Mary Jo Campbell, Catherine Clancy, Sylvia
Pascal, Amy Rolnick, Paula Todisco, Kate Waters; staff of
Dudley Branch contributed a weekly book review column
to the Bay State Banner and staff of Brighton /Allston/
Faneuil wrote a weekly news column in the Brighton
Citizen.
Several staff presentations were made in radio/TV
programs. In Woman '79 (Channel 4, WBZ-TV) Sharon
King interviewed children's librarians on how they can
help parents develop reading skills in their children.
Participating in five daily sessions were Lilla Costello,
Jackie Hogan, Lucille LePage, Jane MacFarlane, and Jerrie
Norris. Raymond Agler described the Pilot anniversary ex-
hibition on WELL Students from Randolph High School
interviewed J. Ron Brown on services offered to young
people by the Boston Public Library. Marilyn McLean was
featured by both Boston and Quincy radio stations in a
description of the foster friends program at the Cardinal
Cushing School and Training Center (formerly St.
Coletta's) in Hanover.
These examples of staff contribution to various
professional fields serve only as selected demonstrations of
the range of staff expertise and contribution.
This year witnessed many changes in staffing through
promotion and retirement. Paula Todisco was named
Branch Librarian of East Boston /Orient Heights; Mrs.
Helen Maniadis, Branch Librarian of South Boston /Wash-
ington Village. J. Ron Brown became Young Adult
Specialist and Beverly Hall Spencer, Senior Reader and
Information Librarian, in General Library. Among this
year's retirees, seven staff members worked more than two
hundred and sixty-five years in the Boston Public Library:
Stephen L. Baxter, Bindery Foreman, more than 34 years;
Frank P. Bruno, Chief, Book Delivery, more than 51 years;
Anne Crowley, Children's Librarian, more than 42 years;
Catherine A. Farrell, Principal Accountant, more than 35
years;Thomas P. Geoghegan, Superintendent of Library
20 CITY DOCUMENT NO. 15
Buildings, almost 20 years; Elvira G. Lavorgna, Reference
Librarian in Fine Arts, more than 41 years; Louisa S.
Metcalf, Senior Reading & Information Librarian for over
42 years.
In special ceremonies this year the University of Mass-
achusetts granted an Honorary Degree, Doctor of Humane
Letters, to Library Director Philip J. McNiff. The citation
is included in full here, reaching — as it does — beyond the
honored individual to do honor to the Boston Public
Library, as well:
An alumnus of Boston College, Philip ]. McNiff held
major positions in the Harvard Library before
becoming Director of the Boston Public Library in
1965. To these great research institutions he has given
and is giving wise and dedicated leadership. At
Harvard he helped to develop the concept of the
undergraduate library, and the Lamont Library, the
first of its kind, became a model for the whole
country. At the Boston Public Library he has
developed programs for the old and young, opening
for them exciting new worlds to be explored through
books. To "Phil" McNiff, librarianship means serving
the entire constituency of the library. He has always
put the needs of the users first, and has instilled this
principle in all who have had the privilege of working
with him. His vision has not been local; his friends
include librarians around the world with whom he has
worked on library problems that call for. national and
international cooperation. This honorary degree
expresses the gratitude and appreciation of this
academic community which benefits greatly from the
Boston Public Library under the directorship of Phil
McNiff — doyen of Boston's librarians.
Other honorary degree recipients on this occasion were
Florence Luscomb whose life is called a "journey to create
a just a peaceful world"; Andrew Young, a man of three,
but overlapping worlds; and I.M. Pei, who "not only
shapes our environment but creates the best in architec-
ture."
BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY 21
TRUSTEES
This year marked the culmination of more than fifty
years of dedicated service from four Trustees who
completed their service on the Board: Msgr. Edward G.
Murray, who served from 1958-1979; Augustin H.Parker,
1961-1979; Patricia H.White, 1972-1980; Frank B-Maher,
1973-1980. Named to succeed these retiring members were
Paul Parks, Arthur F.F. Snyder, James V. Young, and
Micho F. Spring.
With the submission of this annual report, we note a
year of increasing austerity and diminishing staff and
funding; but we note, as well, the undiminished
commitment of this great library to public service and
scholarship.
PHILIP J. McNIFF
Director, and Librarian
22 CITY DOCUMENT NO. 15
BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY
Table 1. Circulation
BOOK CIRCULATION
Fiscal Fiscal Fiscal
1978 1979 1980
Central Library 848,320 809,992 755,733
Adams Street 53,482 57,470 57,609
Allston 32,890 28,976 26,395
Bookmobile Service* 50,835 37,445 37,900
Homesmobile — — 33,194
Brighton 67,869 68,606 68,361
Charlestown 38,956 41,658 43,347
Codman Square 21,013 33,247 40,158
Connolly 28,179 28,231 27,079
East Boston 41,512 41,524 41,694
Egleston Square 22,896 23,218 24,049
Faneuil 31,162 30,924 31,117
Fields Corner 71,429 69,334 66,510
Grove Hall 24,478 25,419 31,829
Hyde Park 83,894 88,090 84,940
Jamaica Plain 42,938 45,968 46,308
Lower Mills 29,042 30,185 25,458
Mattapan 20,461 18,288 20,084
North End 30,453 28,500 28,373
Orient Heights 33,101 31,345 30,793
Parker Hill 20,461 19,475 19,933
Roslindale 71,770 70,652 71,940
South Boston 60,563 57,906 55,402
South End 27,086 24,986 22,305
Uphams Corner 28,593 t 26,773 28,242
West End 44,131 44,242 46,495
West Roxbury 115,211 123,224 124,115
Hospital Library Service 19,457 19,668 17,001
Multilingual Library — _ 17,516
Total Branches 1,181,569 1,195,973 1,194,759
Total, Entire Library 1,979,054§ 1,998,965 1,950,492
* Suspended service March 30, 1977— March 6, 1978
t System of tabulating circulation changed to conform with other
branch libraries
§ Library System shut down February 6 to 12, 1978 (blizzard)
Sunday service was suspended March 14, 1977 to February 19, 1978.
BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY 23
NON-BOOK CIRCULATION
Fiscal Fiscal Fiscal
1978 1979 1980
Films 48,916 57,096 48,756
Recordings and Audio Cassettes.. 70,072 61,871 64,732
Total 118,988 118,967 113,488
INTERLIBRARY LOAN
Books 20,180 15,863 14,689
Photocopies — 126,391 130,674
Table 2. Growth of the Library
BOOKS
General Library:
Volumes added 176,573 117,944 119,394
Volumes withdrawn 8,987 18,337 10,352
Total on Hand 1,950,853 2,050,460 2,159,502
Research Library:
Volumes added 68,768 78,398 69,719
Volumes withdrawn 34 400 —
Total on Hand 2,521,831 2,599,829 2,699,548
Total Book Stock 4,472,684 4,650,289 4,829,050
24 CITY DOCUMENT NO. 15
BOOK AND NON-BOOK HOLDINGS
Fiscal Fiscal Fiscal
1978 1979 1980
PRINT MATERIALS:
Volumes 4,472,684*
Serial subscriptions —
Special Collections:
Rare Books —
Rare manuscripts,
letters, etc —
Letters, books, etc.
on Prints —
Patents: USA —
Patents: Foreign —
Sheet Maps —
Government Documents —
NON-PRINT MATERIALS
Cassettes 19,561
Audio-Recordings 225,238
Films, 16 mm 8,016
Filmstrips 577
Slide Sets (including
lantern slides) 4,884
Videotapes —
Video Cassettes —
Reel-to-Reel Tapes —
Art Prints 59,254
Picture Collection 494,615
Postcards 138,065
Negatives 2,430
MICROFORMS
Microcards (including
aperture cards) 52,491
Microfiche (sheets) 422,286
Microfilm (reels) 87,852
Microfilm (master
negatives) 2,430
Microprints(boxes) 4, 800
* This count excludes Rare Books
* * Includes Rare Books
— Inventory of this item not previously reported
I This is a partial total, inventory incomplete
4,650,289*
4,829,050 *
—
16,464
—
250,000
—
750,908
2,607
—
4,209,857
—
2,178,696
—
302,500
—
2,030,022
19,035
22,900
234,246
238,472
8,437
9,760
588
621
14,884
17,934
—
489
—
161
—
1,902
59,254
162,915
494,615
597,371 T
138,065
148,999
2,430
40,603
52,491
52,481
492,932
583,120
93,152
100,407
2,430
40,603
4,992
5,312
BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY 25
Table 3. Cataloging Statistics
Fiscal Fiscal Fiscal
1978 1979 1980
Volumes processed 245,341
New Titles cataloged 55,793
Original cataloging 8,288
NUC cataloging 5,044
LC cataloging 35,208
Rare Book cataloging 1,900
Films 419
Recordings 7,485
Cassettes 975
Sound Archives —
Table 4. Binding
.96,342
189,113
54,069
50,608
10,794
7,596
9,637
4,340
32,165
38,022
688
876
421
1,323
828
362
38?
256
9,055
5,860
Volumes Bound 63,700 55,027 48,369
26
CITY DOCUMENT NO. 15
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