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ANNUAL REPORT

THE BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY • 1985-1986

BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY

Annual Report

For the Year Ending June 30, 1986

Document 15-1986

Annual Report
of the

BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY

For the Year Ending June 30, 1986

TRUSTEES OF THE PUBLIC LIBRARY
OF THE CITY OF BOSTON

KEVIN F. MOLONEY
President

WILLIAM M. BULGER

Vice President

BERTHE M. GAINES

DORIS KEARNS GOODWIN

MARIANNE REA LUTHIN

DIRECTOR AND LIBRARIAN
ARTHUR CURLEY

Foreword

In the summer of 1984 the Trustees of the Public Library of the city
of Boston began a nationwide search for a new Director and Librarian
whose enormous task it would be to correct the problems of the late
70s and early 80s brought about by, among other things, woefully
insufficient budgetary support for the Library system. The major goal
for the new Director would be to revitalize and restore the buildings
and services of the Library and to make it ready for the 21st century.

A 15 -member screening committee appointed by the Trustees
assisted in the review of more than 65 applications from candidates
across the nation. Sixteen semifmalists were evaluated further and
interviewed personally by the committee. Of the 16, seven finalists
emerged, and the names were submitted to the Trustees for further
consideration. The backgrounds, experience and accomplishments of
the finalists were reviewed in greater depth, and each finalist was
interviewed intensively by the five Trustees in sessions lasting from
two to three hours.

The search ended at a meeting of the Trustees on February 2 1 , 1985
with the election by the Board of Arthur Curley, then Deputy Direc-
tor at the New York Public Library, as Director and Librarian. As
I cast my vote for him that evening, I recall remarking that I believed
that Mr. Curley would be as distinguished a Director and Librarian
of the Library for the 20th century as Justin Winsor had been at the
Boston Public Library in the 19th century.

As the events of FY86 unfolded, I was pleased to find that my belief
was becoming reality. Mr. Curley's report makes clear that the pro-
gram for restoration and revitalization of the entire Library system
has begun. With the enthusiastic support and endorsement of Mr.
Curley's recommended program on the part of each member of the
Board, the Library's proposal for continuation of the program into
FY87 has been endorsed once again and given dramatic financial sup-
port by the Mayor and City Council, such that the Library's operating

budget for FY87 is to be increased by approximately 30%, and com-
mitments made for capital improvements to Library buildings to the
extent of 40 million dollars. The state government has responded in
kind by increasing the fmancial support of the Conmionwealth with
a corresponding increase in operational funding for the next fiscal year.
I wish to thank my colleagues, Senator Bulger, Mrs. Gaines, Mrs.
Goodwin and Mrs. Luthin for their support and their many hours of
thinking, debating and just plain hard work on behalf of this very
special institution and the people whom we serve.

Kevin F. Moloney
President, Board of Trustees

Introduction

In the life of any great institution, there are years of progress and
years of decline. In its one hundred thirty-four year history— the
longest of any free municipal library in the world— the Boston Public
Library has indeed experienced both. The contributions of many
generations form a firm foundation for the resources and services of
the Library, making possible the achievements of any particular ad-
ministration, but sustaining as well an ability to rebound after periods
of adversity. The past decade has been such a period. Recovery will
require a commitment of several years; but if magnitude of endeavor
be any measure, this past year will stand out in the history of the
Library as a time when the efforts of many individuals converged
to insure the start of a renaissance.

The effects on the Library of Proposition 2 Vi and other recent forces
of fiscal retrenchment have been nothing less than devastating. A news
headline in the early 1980's forecast the "Death of a Library." The
impact of books not acquired (or preserved), of reference or readers'
advisory assistance not rendered, of school visits not undertaken, is
not easily measured, for the role of the library in society is in large
measure an intangible one. On the other hand, a library is a most
tangible symbol of the values and aspirations of a community. When
staff reductions reached a point requiring the actual closing of the
famous Copley Square entrance, its giant chained gates became a
haunting symbol of the plight within.

Many factors have contributed to the greatness of the Boston Public
Library. A newly appointed Director is particularly aware of the
achievements of his predecessors: the pioneering public service
philosophy developed in the previous century by Charles Coffin Jewett
and Justin Winsor, the remarkable growth of the collections from one
and a half to nearly six million volumes during the combined fifty-
year tenure of Milton E. Lord and Philip J. McNiff. But these
achievements were possible only because the citizens of Boston, in

each generation, have treasured and nurtured this special institution
so linked to the historical significance of their city. And so, in the
I980's, an aroused citizenry refused to tolerate further deterioration.
In 1984 a prominent supporter of the activist Save Our Library coali-
tion and Neighborhood Friends of the Library organizations, Ray-
mond L. Flynn, became mayor of the city of Boston and pledged to
reverse a decade of decline at the Library. Active Library supporters
were soon appointed to the Library's Board of Trustees and made
clear in their national search for a Director that they sought not con-
tinued retrenchment but a profound revitalization.

The first few months of this inaugural year of a new administra-
tion were necessarily devoted to analysis; the results, which
documented the impact of a decade of diminishing support, were
distressing: a 30% reduction in book acquisition levels; more than
half of the branch libraries without a children's librarian, a third
without even a branch librarian; loss of staff through attrition ex-
ceeding recruitment by two to one; hours of service cut drastically;
buildings in disrepair. In contrast, one most hopeful finding to which
sincere tribute must be paid was the dedication of the staff. Frustrated
in the extreme, overworked and underpaid, the staff remained com-
mitted to the great public mission of the Library and eager to help
launch a new era.

Analysis led to recommendations, and in January of 1986 the
Trustees enthusiastically adopted A Program to Rebuild and Revitalize
the Resources and Services of the Boston Public Library. This plan
for renewal sets forth goals in several major categories, chief among
them: rebuilding the book collections; restoring children's services,
with a full-time children's librarian in every branch library; renewal
of community services, including restoration of several hundred lost
hours of weekly services, visits to (and by) every school class, a ma-
jor assault on illiteracy, and special services for the disabled; com-
puterization of bibliographic records to link resources throughout the
city and the state; extensive restoration of Charles Follen McKim's
architectural marvel on Copley Square and rehabilitation of branch
library buildings throughout the city.

At the end of the fiscal year, prospects for fulfillment of these am-
bitious plans were most favorable. Mayor Raymond L. Flynn has
recommended for approval by the Boston City Council a $28 million
five-year capital program for library building improvements and the

Council has passed a 30% increase in the Library's operating budget
for the coming year; Massachusetts Senate President William Bulger
has pledged a 30% increase in state support to the Boston Public
Library, which now serves all residents of the Commonwealth; and
the Boston Globe Foundation has promised a grant of $1 million to
help initiate a major development campaign.

The enthusiastic support of the Trustees of the Library, the mayor
and city council, the commonwealth legislature, the governor, the staff
of the Library, and citizens of both the city and the state, represents
a commitment to the revitalization of the Boston Public Library equal
to the zealous efforts of the 1840's which inspired the creation of this
extraordinary institution and launched an idealistic movement which
spread across the country and throughout the world.

Arthur Curley
Director and Librarian

Community Services

Public programs have been a priority for the Boston Public Library
since its founding in 1852. In their pioneering document of the public
library movement, the Trustees of the Library stated their intention
to foster the "self-culture" of all people. This concept is embodied
and nurtured today through attention to the humanities, arts, and
sciences in courses of instruction, seminars, lectures, discussions, con-
ferences, exhibits, and publications. It is also fostered through literacy
programs and a commitment to children, young adults, and the grow-
ing senior population.

In FY 1985-1986 the Central Library in Copley Square and the
branch libraries offered 5,161 public programs, tours, and class
presentations. Numerous exhibitions were presented throughout the
Library system.

Adult Services

Adult book discussion groups attracted 838 participants, with groups
meeting regularly at the General Library and at the Adams Street,
Brighton, Dudley, East Boston, Hyde Park, Jamaica Plain, Parker
Hill, Roslindale, West End, and West Roxbury Branch Libraries. Par-
ticipants shared in lively discussion regarding current literature and
literary classics.

National Endowment for the Humanities Learning Library Programs
offer college-level educational sequences to the general public at no
cost. Taught by distinguished subject specialists, such courses were
held during the past year in sixteen branches. They included:

• Classics of American Drama

Professor Frederick Danker, University of Massachusetts, Boston

• The Flowering of New England: Arts of the Colonial Period
Gilian Wohlauer, Museum of Fine Arts

• A Black Artist: His Life and Work
James R. Reed, Northeastern University

• The Modem Political Novel

Professor Jerry Bernhard, Emmanuel College

• The Architecture of Boston

Douglass Shand-Tucci, Architectural Historian

• Beacon Hill Authors

Professor Shaun O' Council, University of Massachusetts, Boston

• The Persistence of Tragedy

Professor John Mahoney, Boston College

• South Boston: Emergence of a Community
Professor Thomas O'Connor, Boston College

• Faith, Culture and Leadership: A History of the Black Church in

Boston
Robert Hayden, Northeastern University

Boston Public Library's services to adults include programs for
parents which are held each week in conjunction with the pre-school
story hours their children attend. Some programs feature speakers,
others films or book talks. Other Read Aloud Workshops, held in
cooperation with the School Volunteers for Boston, introduce parents
to the joys of reading to their children.

Special lectures at the branches continued to draw large audiences
during the past year. Among them were "Boston Sensations and
Disasters," a series at the West End Branch Library, which featured
Loretta McLaughlin of the Boston Globe speaking on "The Brinks
Robbery" and Professor William Fowler of Northeastern University
on "The Molasses Disaster." J. Anthony Lukas spoke at Charlestown
and South End Branch Libraries shortly after the publication of his
popular book. Common Ground. The Marjorie Gibbons Memorial
Lecture has become an annual event at the South Boston Branch
Library. Miss Gibbons was a well-respected former branch librarian
at South Boston and a former supervisor of branches. The topic of
this year's lecture presented in her memory was "Pleasure Bay:
Olmsted's Marine Park in South Boston."

Opposite: The Library offered several dynamic courses this year in its roles as
"f)eople's university" and "learning library."

Critics gave rave reviews to several of the Library's film series.

In September the Brighton Branch Library presented a two-part
panel discussion series entitled "Growing Pains: Allston/Brighton,
A Neighborhood Develops." The first presentation, "Outside
Forces," allowed representatives of governmental agencies and private
real estate developers to express their points of view on the issue of
development in the Brighton Community. The second, "Community
Influences," examined ways in which the citizen could respond to
development efforts within the neighborhood. Both evenings were
delay ed-cabelcast by Cabelvision.

Dudley Branch Library celebrated Black History Month with several
programs— a talk on folk, jazz, and pop music by C. Vincent Haynes,

Vice-President of the Boston Jazz Society, and readings by poets Ted
Thomas and Everett Goodwin.

"Readings by Writers" enjoyed its second successful year at the
Brighton Branch Library. Co-sponsored by the Writer's League of
Boston, this program featured readings by published authors.

The Library continued to promote literacy through various activities.
Adult education classes held in East Boston introduced participants
to the organization of library materials and provided them with the
opportunity to register for a library card. The Brighton Branch Library
worked closely with Collaborations for Literacy, an adult literacy pro-
gram at Boston University, providing space for tutors to hold private
sessions. Over the next three years as staffing increases, the Library
expects to become much more directly involved in the programming
and administration of adult literacy activities.

The Library's Audio- Visual Department presents well attended,
consistently high quality programming, in addition to circulating
16mm films, long-playing records, and audio-cassette tapes. Among
the film series presented this past year in the Rabb Lecture Hall at
the Central Library were "Remembering Jean: A Tribute to Jean Ar-
thur," "Documentaries: Contemporary and Controversial,"
"Dancer's Holiday," "Remembering: Six Movie Greats," "Idols
of the Silent Screen," and "Lovely to Look At: A Tribute to Irene
Dunn."

Children's Services

Introducing local Hispanic and Cambodian children to the Library
system and assisting in a program that brings community adults into
the classrooms to read to children are just two of the activities that
the Library provided to children this year.

Children's rooms at the Central and Branch Libraries serve children
from infancy through age thirteen, as well as adults with an interest
in children's books— parents, teachers, authors, illustrators, and
students of education, library science or literature. There is an in-
creasing use by bilingual groups, by handicapped groups, and by adults
with language or learning difficulties.

Throughout the system, children's librarians held story hours and
film programs for both pre-school and school-age children; story hours
for pre-schoolers were attended by children and their mothers as well
as by groups of children brought in by local day care centers. In

In this 1920 photo, children wait for story hour outside the Warren Street Branch
Library.

response to the tremendous need for quality time alternatives for tod-
dlers, several branches initiated story hours for this age group.

In an ongoing collaborative effort with Boston Public Schools,
children's librarians visited classes to tell stories, give book talks,
and inform students and teachers about Library services and programs.
Classes were invited to the branch libraries where they attended film
and story-telling programs, registered for library cards, browsed, and
learned about the use of catalogs and reference materials. In all con-
tact with school classes. Library staff members stress reading for the
child's own needs and pleasure. This emphasis is intended to foster
the idea that use of the Library need not be limited to schoolwork
alone.

Children's librarians throughout the branch system have cooperated
with The School Volunteers for Boston in their Reading Aloud pro-
gram, which brings community adults into classrooms to read to the
children. The experience is a meaningful one for adults and children
alike.

Youngsters watch a puppet show at Parker Hill Branch (1978). Eager attendance
at such programs continues today throughout twenty-five branches and the cen-
tral library.

This year the Central Library Children's Room sponsored
Children's Saturday Celebrations, presenting a range of programs that
interpreted children's literature. They included African storyteller Har-
riet Masembe, puppeteer Jean Tibbils, author-illustrator Gerald
McDermott, Boston College Children's Theatre, and poet John Ciardi.
Among the new programs offered there this year were bilingual story
hours utilizing volunteer readers, and a non-fiction film series.

Among special events for children in the branch libraries during
the past year were a lecture by author-illustrator Marcia Sewall, a
Kwanza Celebration at the Dudley Branch, and a Teddy Bear Picnic
at Fields Corner Branch Library in honor of Winnie-the-Pooh Day,
featuring teddy bear stories, games, and films.

In the spring of 1986 the Library introduced into the branches
"Reading is Fundamental," a national movement which encourages
reading and book ownership among children. Spearheaded by Fidelity
Investments, the first RIF series was targeted for Fields Corner with
other branches and corporate sponsorships anticipated.

This year marked the thirty-eighth Mary U. Nichols Book Award
to two young people from the North End neighborhood for their com-
petence in EngUsh in school work. This award honors a former branch
librarian at the North End Branch Library who worked closely with
immigrant children.

Young Adult Services

The Young Adult Room in the Central Library is an important
resource for high school students. Although most regular visitors are
from the local private and public high schools, a four-day workshop
on creative writing drew suburban students as well. In this workshop,
William Sleator, author of Interstellar Pig, Fingers, and Singularity,
led sixteen pre-registered young adults through writing two pieces
of fiction and also gave them written critiques of their work. A pro-
gram called Tune In Tomorrow: A Forum on Soap Operas drew more
than two hundred people; four panelists addressed the subject of soap
operas and young adult audiences.

At science project time in the spring, the Science Reference Depart-
ment in the Research Library provided a core collection of books for
the junior high and high school students who were using the Library
for this purpose. Staff produced a handout for students on doing
science projects, including how to formulate an idea and how to locate
supporting material. The department also hosted a program for
students in a summer program at the Museum of Science on how to
fmd science materials in the Library.

Special services to young adults in the branches were unfortunate-
ly limited this year because of limited staffing. The two young adult
librarians in the branches did visit area high schools to promote library
services and materials, and to present book-talks and programs on
job hunting techniques and college financing.

Services to the Institutionalized, the Disabled, & the Elderly

The Library serves both mobile and physically impaired elderly
through a variety of services. The Extension Branch Library Service
lends books to more than 600 shut-ins and immobile people through
a Homesmobile that travels to 80 locations, including nursing homes
and apartment houses for the elderly. The Book Deposit Service places

large collections of books into 26 non-library locations such as nurs-
ing homes, youth centers, and hospitals on a three month rotating
basis. Several branch libraries also deposit book collections in nurs-
ing homes and housing for the elderly in their communities.

Among the Library's most successful programs for the elderly are
the Never Too Late Groups that meet at the Central Library, South
Boston, and Roslindale branches. Films, lectures, and other infor-
mal educational programs are presented weekly to enthusiastic senior
citizen audiences. The Dudley Branch Library hosts a program call-
ed "Living is for the Elderly" (LIFE), for nursing home residents;
elderly participants meet once a month for brief library instruction,
book exhibits and film programs.

Recent technology has created new opportunities for the Library
to facilitate use of its vast resources for the disabled. The Library
plans to open an Access Center for the Disabled during the summer
of 1987. Over the past year. Access Center staff have worked under
a grant from the federal Library Services and Construction Act, ac-
quiring a Kurzweil Reading Machine which translates print into syn-
thesized speech, an electronic magnifier which enlarges print to 40
times its original size, and a number of other tools designed to assist
the blind and visually impaired. Materials for the deaf, hearing im-
paired, and physically disabled will be acquired under subsequent
grants.

Exhibitions & Special Events

Exhibitions and special events serve to heighten public awareness of
the Library as a resource for art, science, and literature; they also
stimulate interest in a variety of subjects. Annually the Central Library
presents up to fifteen exhibits. Many more exhibits are presented in
the 25 branch libraries.

During this year the branches maintained an active exhibit and
special events schedule. Annual art festivals held at the Brighton and
South Boston branches delighted large audiences with works by local
artists, films, and theatrical pieces. A successful exhibit entided "The
Artist's Lens: A Focus on Relocation" was held at the Dudley Branch
Library in May, staged by Urbanarts. It featured photographs of
neighborhoods along the soon-to-be-replaced Orange Line from
Chinatown to Forest Hills. The work of professional photographers
and student photographers from the Hubert H. Humphrey Occupa-

South American Portfolio

Photographs by Carol Ginandes

Itilv 1 -luiv n
The Gn-al Hall
The Boston Puhl
Coplov Sqiidrc

pIpASe '

Exhibitions like the South American Portfolio commanded much attention and
comment.

tional Resource Center, these photographs are a unique historical
record.

"Banned Book Week," an exhibit featuring a display of banned
books and mounted by the Young Adult Department in the Central
Library generated considerable publicity, prompting local radio sta-
tions and print media to produce stories on censorship and book ban-
ning. The display and booklist also piqued young adult interest.

Special programs and exhibits at the Research Library during the
past year included: a birthday reception for long-time Library friend
Laning Humphrey; a reception for John Sanroma for his contribu-
tions to an exhibit on Koussevitzky ; a day-long visit by John McKen-

na, donor of Joan of Arc materials; a program and exhibit on
Pirandello in conjunction with the Pirandello Lyceum; an exhibit of
New England Book Show prizewinning titles; a vocal program by
Mary Sandoni singing works by women composers from BPL col-
lections; and an exhibit of materials on Irish theatre.

Departments in the Research Library held events and exhibitions
to highlight their collections. The Fine Arts Department organized
the exhibition "Peabody and Stearns: Preserving the Records" and
assisted with another, "Book Arts in Boston." Heirloom Discovery
Day, held in May 1986, included oral appraisals of art, antiques and
collectibles by members of the Appraisers' Registry, as well as tours
of the McKim Building, lectures by art experts, and an on-going film
schedule. The highlight of the day occurred when the owner of a paint-
ing learned that it was the work of American surrealist Peter Blume,
worth $50,000!

Exhibits organized by the Print Department in the Wiggin Gallery
focused on six features of their collection:

• American Master Prints, 1902-1943

• Contemporary Fantasy Drawings from the Collection of John D.
Merriam

• To Picture the Story: the Illustrations of Judith Gwyn Brown

• George Lockwood and Impressions Workshop in Boston

• Sidney Hurwitz: Thirty-five Years of Printmaking

• Steven Trefonides: Many Inventions

In addition, the Print Department loaned twenty-four prints to the
Museum of Modern Art for their memorable Toulouse-Lautrec
exhibition.

The Rare Book & Manuscripts Department mounted five exhibits
this year:

• Lope de Vega, his Friends and Enemies (early Spanish books)

• John Adams among his Friends (books from the library of the
second President)

• The traveling exhibit // Giardino Romantico (photographs of
private Italian gardens)

• Witches: Myth or Reality

• Literary Dublin

This department has also provided unique items for exhibition pur-
poses to other institutions; during the past year objects were exhibited
at the Museum of Our National Heritage, the Folger Shakespeare
Library, the International Type Face Corporation, and the Graphic
Institute of Rochester University. "Treasures of W. A. Dwiggins,"
held at the International Type Face Corporation, organized by Dorothy
Abbe and coordinated by the department, drew particular interest.

The Humanities Reference staff assisted in presenting exhibits on
"Women of Excellence," held in September, the Krisjanis Barons
150th anniversary exhibit in October, and "YOM TOV: Jewish
Festivals and Holy Days."

Music Department staff mounted several well-received exhibitions,
among them "A Tricentennial Salute to Bach, Handel and Schutz";
"Women Composers"; "The Stoughton Music Society" (a loan);
"Musical Iconography"; "The Metropolitan Opera in Boston";
"Concert Halls Around the World"; and a major exhibit entitled
"Koussevitzky and the Americans."

Exhibits in the Government Documents Department included
"Vacation with Documents," "Self Health," and an exhibition com-
memorating the Jewish holidays, while the Science Department pro-
duced several small exhibits on subjects such as snowflakes, kites,
paper airplanes, thunderstorms, plants, turkeys, and acupuncture. In
addition, the department maintained bulletin boards for science-related
activities and conferences, articles of interest from newspapers and
magazines, and patent activities of local groups. In February 1986
the Social Science staff prepared the traditional Black History Month
exhibit, which included a special section honoring the Bay State
Banner.

Opposite: A major exhibition honored author/illustrator Judith Gwyn Brown for
her gift to the Library of original illustrations for more than fifty children's books.
Here a raccoon lounges on a four-poster bed in Brown's drawing for Through
Tempest Trails by Denise Fox (Atheneum).

Research Services

The Boston Public Library serves the educational and recreational
needs of its citizens through its role as a community library; its
research collections qualify it further as one of the most important
research institutions in the United States. Continued building of col-
lections is one of the most important tasks of Research Library staff,
along with servicing collections, preserving them, providing reference
assistance, interpreting the collections, and making them known to
researchers and members of the general public.

The collections of the Boston Public Library now total more than
5 million books, 15,000 serials, 2 million government documents,
310,000 maps, 1 million prints, paintings and photographs, 12,000
films, 3 million microforms, and 400,000 architectural drawings. All
of these materials must be housed, serviced, and preserved.

During the past year Research Library staff members continued to
provide a high level of reference services to members of the public.
They also conducted routine housekeeping tasks, rearranged storage,
boxed collections for the purpose of moving in the future, and organ-
ized special collections, including those of James Michael Curley,
Ford Hall Forum, League of Women Voters, and Massachusetts
Reform Groups. Significant progress was also made on several other
fronts such as automation, renovation plans for the McKim Building,
collection development, preservation, special programs, and
exhibitions.

Projects managed by the Research Library Office during the past
year included arranging and listing several special collections, oversee-
ing the U.S. Department of Education newspaper microfilming pro-
ject, arranging for preservation microfilming and binding of materials,
preparing a grant proposal to the National Endowment for the
Humanities for the Massachusetts Newspaper Program, monitoring
collection development activities, and working closely with all
Research Library departments.

Humanities Reference Department

One of the busiest areas of the Research Library is the Humanities
Reference Department where on-site and telephone reference ques-

Today research proceeds apace in Bates Hall even as it flourished in this photo
more than thirty years ago.

tions are directed. Staff members field questions in subject areas such
as philosophy, psychology, religion, languages, literature, motion pic-
tures, television, theater, bibliography, and library science. In FY
1985-1986 Humanities Reference staff answered 10,344 in-person in-
quiries, 130 mail inquiries, and 27,588 telephone inquiries— 3,500
more telephone inquiries than last year.

Special collections in the Humanities Reference Department include
telephone directories for all the New England States, directories cover-
ing populations of 50,000 or more outside New England, and direc-
tories for major foreign cities. This collection is supplemented by the

PHONEFICHE collection of current telephone directories, which
comprised last year's largest addition of materials to the Humanities
Department. Last year also witnessed the completion of microfilm-
ing the stack collection of Boston telephone books and reverse
telephone directories. Other special holdings in this department in-
clude selective city directories; extensive backfiles of city directories
are available in both original printed editions and in microform.

Humanities Reference holdings include major national and foreign
bibliographies such as the National Union Catalog, Canadiana, the
Deutsche Bibliographie, and the Bibliographie de la France. Also
in Humanities Reference are the printed catalogs of the British
Museum, the Bibliotheque Nationale, the Library of Congress, and
other major research libraries.

Designated a regional collection repository by the Foundation Center
in 1973, the Humanities Reference Department houses the Center's
standard reference works, recent books and reports on foundations,
and printed guides to collecting data on charitable grants. Internal
Revenue Service Information Returns for all Massachusetts founda-
tions are available in microform. Not-for-profit organizations in the
Boston area seeking outside funding found these resources particularly
useful during the past year.

Social Sciences Reference Department

The Social Sciences Reference Department provides reference ser-
vice on-site and by telephone on the subjects of anthropology,
business, economics, education, finance, genealogy, geography,
heraldry, history, maps, numismatics, philately, political science,
social sciences, sports, and travel.

While biographical, business, education directories, and periodical
indexes in the fields of the Social Sciences make up the department's
basic collection, special collections include the major business ser-
vices of Dun and Bradstreet, Moody's Investor Services, and Stan-
dard and Poors; nearly 4,000 college and university catalogs; the in-
dex to ERIC (Educational Resources Information Center) Documents;
a card catalog of names representing coats of arms; a card catalog
of family genealogies; U.S. Geological Survey topographical maps
for the New England states; and street maps of major American cities.

Microfiche collections in the Department include United States and

foreign college catalogs; Dun's Business Identification Service; and
the Disclosure collection of annual reports, lOK's, and Securities and
Exchange Commission reports of companies on the New York and
American Stock Exchanges.

During the past year the department supplied 4,991 items to re-
searchers. The number of telephone and in-person reference ques-
tions rose considerably, a fact which is directly attributable to a
deliberate increase in the size of the business reference collection.
Staff responded to 21 , 135 telephone inquiries (compared with 20,648
last year), 14,560 in-person reference questions (compared with
12,159 last year) and 438 reference letters. This year users with Boston
addresses constituted slightly less than one-half of the users of the
department.

Science Reference Department

Inventors' Weekend at the Museum of Science, where Science
Reference staff met with more than 18,000 people, and the Patent
Depository Library Open House were events of special importance
for the Science Reference Department this year. These events served
to promote the department as a U.S. Patent Depository and guided
the public in conducting patent research.

The Science Reference Department provides both on-site and
telephone reference service on the subjects of mathematics, astronomy,
chemistry, geology, natural history, biology, medicine, agriculture,
engineering, manufacturing technology, building trades, crafts,
domestic science, military and naval science, marine navigation, ship
building and marine engineering.

Special collections include complete United States and British
patents; German patents, 1898-1938; European Patent Office and PTC
patents; standards; and schematics for radio and television repair. Each
day staff provides assistance to 15-20 independent inventors assess-
ing the patents for the first time.

Computerized literature search service is provided for all subjects,
not just limited to science. Data bases accessed are those available
through BRS, Dialog, Infoline, and others.

Because two staff members attended MEDLARS training during
the past year, the Library now has access to an additional 16 data
bases, available only through the National Library of Medicine. They
cover medical subjects, toxicology, and cancer information.

A major overhaul of the Science Reference collection took place
this year. Staff reviewed areas of the collection, weeding outdated
books and then pulling more current books from the Research Library
stacks. This process has led to a newly refurbished and more rele-
vant core collection.

Government Documents

The Government Documents Department provides on-site reference
service and limited telephone service to business, government and
other research users. It is a regional depository for federal documents
as well as a depository for United Nations, Commonwealth of
Massachusetts, and City of Boston documents. The department col-
lects selected foreign, international, state, local, and regional publica-
tions; federal and Massachusetts laws and regulations; and court cases
for federal and states including Landmark Briefs.

Departmental holdings also include all major indexes for federal
publications; Index to International Statistics: Statistical Reference
Index; British Parliamentary Papers; official publications of
Massachusetts and Boston; U.S. Congressional documents; Index to
Current Urban Documents and its fiche collections; Declassified
Documents Index and its fiche collections. The Department maintains
a subject index to City of Boston and Commonwealth of Massachusetts
documents.

Recent subscriptions to the U. S. Government Monthly Publications
Catalog, July 1976 to date, on both roll fiche and microfilm have
greatly facilitated bibliographic access to these often-used publica-
tions. Subscription to the privately produced Foreign Broadcast In-
formation Service Iruiexes has expanded public use of these once
almost inaccessible reports.

Progress on the computerized "State and Local File" has been
rewarding. The format of the finished product is being completed and
a useful print-out is expected within the near future.

In the last year the department obtained photocopies of a document
that was thought not to exist: a compilation of 1930 census tract data
for Boston, which was not published by the U.S. Bureau of the Cen-
sus for that year. This useful document was purchased from the United
Community Planning Corporation.

The total number of items requested during FY 1985-1986 (61,817)
increased by 32% over 1984-1985 and by 68% over the 1982-1983

period. Such increases reflect the rapid growth of the department and
its services over the past several years.

Microtext Department/Newspaper Room

A steady increase in holdings in recent years together with the in-
clusive nature of microform publishers' sets have required that
Microtext staff members become thoroughly familiar with these
resources in order to guide patrons in their use. While the depart-
ment was originally set up as a form delivery service, it now pro-
vides reference service of a very advanced nature.

During the past year the department circulated 69,905 microforms,
slightly up over last year. Boston residents used 24,734 items, non-
Boston residents used 39,356 items, and out-of-state patrons used
5,816 items.

The Department's original emphasis on newspapers on microfilm
continues and has been strengthened. Holdings of Massachusetts
newspapers on microfilm have been increased by the ongoing pro-
gram of filming these papers. The Library regularly films newpapers
and during FY 1985-1986 increased that commitment with the help
of a grant from the U.S. Department of Education. Fifty-seven
Massachusetts newspapers were filmed under the grant. With few ex-
ceptions, all major Boston newspapers are available in complete files.
Files of the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and several im-
portant foreign newspapers are also available.

Government publications of many varieties can be found in the
Microtext Department, among them ERIC Documents, Library of
Congress Presidential Papers Program, National Historical Publica-
fions Commission's Microfilm Publications, U.S. House and Senate
Bills, U.S. Congress Committee Prints, Records of the German
Foreign Office, Declassified Documents, Port of Boston Passenger
Lists, Suffolk and Essex Counties Probate Court Records, Boston and
other city and town records.

The Department also maintains a card index to obituaries in Boston
newspapers and an index to the genealogical columns of the Boston
Transcript.

An important new development in service was introduced this year:
the use of two coin-operated Fuji FMRP 30AU reader/printers. Self-
service photocopying has relieved the staff from the constant pressure
of making thousands of on-demand photocopies.

Independent

UNIVERSAL

VOLUME XIX.

Chronicle:

ADVERTISER.

THURSDAY, 'J^cembvk 6,

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The Department greatly increased its holdings through the purchase
of major microform sets in the areas of Shaker history, American
Revolutionary War history, Vietnam War, development of the
American West, British biographies, music, fine arts, civil rights,
genealogy, business, and economics.

The Newspaper Room makes current world press available to the
general public for purposes of recreation, information, and research.
Two hundred and seventy eight domestic and foreign newspapers are
openly displayed on racks; available on request are thousands of bound
volumes of newspapers of all kinds. The collection is greatly sup-
plemented by the Library's rapidly growing collection of newspapers
on microfilm, and by the Library's membership in the Center for
Research Libraries which is systematically building an extensive
worldwide collection of newspapers on microfilm.

Newspaper Room staff are responsible for collating and preparing
files of newspapers for microfilming. They also rewrap hundreds of
volumes of newspapers that have come back from the microfilmers
as a part of the ongoing Massachusetts newspaper microfilming
program.

Fine Arts Department

As a research collection within a public library, the Fine Arts Depart-
ment follows broad objectives in acquisitions, collecting as comprehen-
sively as possible the materials necessary for the study of all facets
of art and art history, architecture and its history, the decorative arts
and crafts of all countries and periods. Collecfions include works of
biography, criticism, history and philosophy of art, art education,
manuals on technique, journals and pattern-books, major studies of
artists and periods, catalogs raisonnes, oeuvres catalogs, collectors'
manuals and many valuable early imprints, as well as major art in-
dexes and abstracts, encyclopedias, dictionaries, bibliographies, and
auction records.

Special collections in the Fine Arts Department include Art in the
Boston Public Library (a card index by artist, subject, and title, to
the paintings, sculptures, and decorative art in the library's collec-
tion); The Boston Architecture Reference (a card index of references
to written descriptions, critiques, histories, illustrations, renderings,
and plans of Boston buildings and their architects); The Boston Pic-
ture File (photographs, clippings, and postcards of and about Boston

buildings, parks, monuments, streets, etc.); and The Por-
trait/Biography File (clippings, photographs, and old engravings of
individuals of considerable importance in all fields and of all periods).

Reference services and collection development remained the
priorities and comprised the chief activities of the department during
the past year. During the past year 14,891 phone inquiries (up 9%
from last year), 284 letters, 14,072 in-person reference questions and
20,614 call slip requests received attention from members of the
department.

Several projects were initiated which aimed to improve record keep-
ing. Other progress made in organizing special files and resources
of the department was accomplished by dedicated volunteers and will-
ing library science interns from Simmons College Graduate School
of Library and Information Science. Sixteen students in the library
conservation course at Simmons College were provided with "hands-
on training" in basic conservation techniques on the William Preston
architectural drawings; fourteen of 55 volumes have been cleaned,
flattened and mended. Other work on special collections during the
past year included the organization of an uncataloged collection of
sales catalogs and cataloging of a large collection of retrospective ex-
hibition catalogs.

The Fine Arts Department devoted considerable time toward future,
long-range planning. Two grant proposals were prepared: the first
for the restoration of BPL furniture (a three-day survey of BPL fur-
niture was conducted with a surveyor from the Society for the Preser-
vation of New England Antiquities); and the second for a preserva-
tion survey and needs assessment of the Peabody and Steams architec-
tural drawings (a matching grant of $1 ,000 was pledged by the Society
of Architectural Historians/New England towards the conservation
of this collection).

Music Department

Collections in the Music Department include both music and works
about music. The Allen A. Brown Collection, donated to the Library
by Mr. Brown in 1895, represents the heart of the Music Depart-
ment's holdings. The collection continues to be developed through
the use of the Allen A. Brown Trust Fund and, with the addition of
231 items during the past year, now numbers 37,451 books, scores,
and manuscripts.

Additional special collections in the Department are:

• Baron Joseph von Koudelka Collections: Rare musical works
from the 15th through the 18th centuries as well as 19th century
imprints and reference materials.

• Handel and Haydn Society Collection: The Society's archives
dating back to 1815, early imprints of Handel's music, holo-
graphs of commissioned works, books and scores.

• Serge Koussevitzky Collections: The Koussevitzky Archives were
donated to the Library in 1974 by Mrs. Olga Koussevitzky in
memory of her late husband, conductor of the Boston Symphony
Orchestra and founder of the Koussevitzky Music Foundation.

• Walter Piston Collection: The gift of the composer, the collec-
tion represents Piston's library as it was maintained in his home
in Belmont, Massachusetts.

• Victor Young Collection: Film scores, orchestral arrangements,
radio music and original compositions trace the career of this
talented composer/conductor.

• Karl Geiringer Collection: More than 1 ,000 glass slides represent-
ing musical instruments, portraits and caricatures of musicians,
and facsimiles of musical compositions, the basis of Professor
Geiringer's books. Musical Instruments.

Special files and indexes include:

• Clipping and Pamphlet Files: Ephemera on the history of music,
performing groups, festivals, contests, awards and scholar-
ships and biographical information about people in the world
of music.

• Song Index: A catalog of songs in the Department's collections,
by title.

• First Performance File: Important world and New England
premiers.

• Obituary File

The Munn Collection added six items during the past year for a
total of 95 1 ; and the Koussevitzky Collection added four items for
a total of 1,643. The number of items photocopied or microfilmed
increased by 60% from FY 1984-1985.

The Music Department acquired several very important items

through purchases in the past year: several incunabula and two
holographs by Mrs. H.H.H. Beach.

Sound Archives

The Sound Archives Department houses a collection of recordings
and tapes encompassing all aspects of music and speech. Holdings
exceed 250,000 items, including 78rpm and LP recordings, compact
discs, audio cassettes, open reel tapes, and some video tapes. A sampl-
ing of collections includes those from the New England Conservatory
of Music, Ford Hall Forum, the Boston Public Library's lecture hall
programs, and materials from the estates of Walter Piston and Serge
Koussevitzky.

The department is still being organized and developed and is not
yet open for public service. During the past year almost 6,000 recor-
dings were added to the collection. The Rigler and Deutsch Index
was purchased, which will greatly facilitate continued cataloging of
78rpm records. Eventually the department will be open for use by
archivists, historians, researchers, and advanced students.

Rare Books & Manuscripts

The Rare Books and Manuscripts Department serves a dual purpose:
to provide scholars with primary sources for research and to give
special care and handling to books and manuscripts which merit such
attention because of their age, scarcity, aesthetic or financial worth,
or association with notable persons or events.

In the field of printed books the Rare Books Department has out-
standing collections of Elizabethan and Restoration literature including
the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Folios of Shakespeare in the
Barton library; Spanish literature of the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries
in George Ticknor's library; early astronomy, mathematics, and
navigation in the Bowditch collection; early American printing from
the libraries of John A. Lewis and Rev. Thomas Prince (including
the Bay Psalm Book); the West Indies, especially Haiti, from the
library formed by Benjamin Hunt; and the Defoe and Defoeana Col-
lection assembled by W.P. Trent; the liturgy of the Church of England
and its sources, collected and endowed by Josiah H. Benton; the library
of President John Adams; and the Robert A. Feer Collection of
World's Fairs of North America. In addition, the Department

possesses widely representative examples of the graphic arts. These
examples range from medieval and Renaissance manuscripts to fine
modern printing, illustration, and binding.

Special collections administered by the Department include materials
on the Brownings, the Civil War, the Franciscan Order, women's
rights, history of the theatre, 19th century German literature, and rare
autographs brought together in the Richard and Virginia Ehrlich Col-
lection. The Library offers particular strength in Colonial American
manuscripts and in the correspondence of New England Abolitionists.
Included in its holdings are British and European manuscripts, both
literary and political. Among the 20th century collections are the
papers, cassettes and memorabilia of comedian Fred Allen; the Sacco-
Vanzetti papers assembled by Aldino Felicani, treasurer of the Defense
Committee for the accused men; and the Beaulieu papers related to
"survivance" of the Franco- American.

During the past year departmental staff entered all manuscripts in
the accession list, so there is better control of items in the collection.

The Department coordinated a program with the Harvard Univer-
sity Latin American and Iberian Studies Center and the Spanish
General Consul to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the death
of the Spanish poet Garcia Lorca. The program included a talk by
Harvard professor F. Maurer, and an exhibition of the watercolors
of the artist Denis, which interpret Lorca 's work.

The book conservator and assitants have been working steadily on
materials in the Adams Collection. More than half of the collection
has now been treated with almost 1700 more items waiting to be
restored. Conservation staff is often called upon to advise on other
projects and to conduct tours of the conservation center.

August 1985 saw the completion of a 50-minute long videotape made
by the paper conservator and other members of the Library staff. The
videotape illustrates general conservation techniques for special col-
lection materials.

The Alice M. Jordan Collection

Named in honor of the founder of children's services in the Boston
Public Library, the Alice M. Jordan Collection began in the late 1960's
with gifts solicited from interested persons for a retrospective collec-
tion. The collection grew in the early 1970's with the withdrawal of
historic material from the BPL circulating collection and the acquisi-

tion of material from other libraries. The collection's historic strength
dates from 1870, but it contains earlier imprints as well. The scope
of the collection was expanded in the mid- 1 970 's to include contem-
porary and foreign language material. One copy of each juvenile title
added to the Children's Room is also added to the Jordan Collection.
The foreign language material has been exhibited during the annual
Children's Books International conferences and represents acquisi-
tions from sixty countries. Primarily monographic, the collection now
totals more than 100,000 volumes of children's picture books, fic-
tion, and nonfiction titles. Eighteen hundred domestic and 3,764
foreign volumes were added to the Alice M. Jordan Collection dur-
ing the past year. The collection is further enhanced by secondary
sources in children's literature and contemporary and historic
periodicals.

Cataloging of juvenile foreign language material which began in
November 1983, was completed for the Roman alphabet languages.
The non-Roman languages which remain to be cataloged are African
languages, Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Japanese,
Korean, Russian, Thai, and Turkish.

Print Department

Prints became a notable part of the Library in 1 869 when Thomas
Gold Appleton presented the Cardinal Tosti Collection to the City
of Boston. Seven decades later, when Albert Wiggin gave his out-
standing collection of modem master and old master prints and draw-
ings, a Print Room was established. Today the Library owns one of
the largest public collections of prints in the United States. Some of
its outstanding holdings include:

• A small, but interesting collection of Old Master prints and draw-
ings, including works by Rembrandt and Du'rer.

• 18th and 19th century American historical prints, including a
large collection of caricatures from the Revolutionary War to
about 1870.

• A Boston pictorial archive of prints, drawings, and photographs
comprising the largest public collection for study of the pictorial
history of the community.

• One of the outstanding American collections of British print-
making, including the largest American collection of the works

of Legros, Cameron, Charles Shannon, Bone, John Copley,
McBey, Griggs, Augustus John, Austin, Brockhurst, Rush-
bury, Blampied, Briscoe, and Drury, and strong collections of
prints by Haden, Eric Gill, and others.

• Major collections of the work of individual artists, including:
Rowlandson, Goya, Daumier, Toulouse-Lautrec, Fantin-Latour,
Forain, Bellows, Charlet, Gavarni, Meryon, Buhot, Jacque
Villon, Stothard, Homer, Nast, Whistler, Pennell, Hassam,
Wengenroth, Nason, Heintzelman, Benson, Chamberlain,
Higgins, Woodbury, Grassby, Sloan, Marsh, Arms, Winkler,
F.G. Hall, Asa Cheffetz.

• American posters of the nineties by Penfield, Reed, Bradley, and
others.

• A collection of plates, blocks, and stones, including a Hogarth
plate, a Meryon plate, a Picasso plate, a Bellows plate (his only
attempt at etching), and blocks by Eric Gill.

• An exceptional collection of early French lithography and color
lithography of the nineties.

• A large collection of American chromolithographs.

• The Holt Collection of prints, drawings, and watercolors depic-
ting the works of Islam, 1550-1900.

Year to year collecting commitments of the Print Department in-
clude strengthening of the Library's remarkable holdings of nineteenth
and early twentieth century French, British, and American prints and
drawings; nineteenth century and early twentieth century photographs;
and the Boston Pictorial Archive, the largest public collection of pic-
tures relating to the history of Boston.

Service to Business Users

One of the most heavily used of the Library departments, the Kirs-
tein Business Branch, supplied 91 % of all requests made during FY
1985-1986. The interest in real estate, investments, franchising, small
business operations and marketing is great at the present time, pro-
ducing requests for information from both members of the general
public and the professional business community. During 1986, Kirs-
tein staff has worked to build the directory collection, placing orders
for new editions of directories already in the collections and for direc-

tories that were either newly published or new to the collections. The
serials collection was also enhanced this year. Among the sources
in greatest demand by business users at Kirstein are: the annual reports
of companies on the New York and American stock exchanges; Bank
and Quotation Record; CCH Capital Changes Reporter; Commer-
cial and Financial Chronicle; Dunn and Bradstreet, Moody's, Stan-
dard and Poor's publications; Trendline; and Value Line.

Among the business services provided by the Research Library's
Science Reference Department, computer searches have become the
most popular. The staff conducts approximately 132 on-line searches
per month for business users. With nine database vendors that pro-
vide access to some 350 databases. Science Reference can provide
business users easy access to bibliographies, abstracts, or lists. The
nine vendors include: BRS; MEDLARS; DIALOG; Pergamon In-
foline; and Cassis. The most popular database to business users has
been DIALOG, although biotechnical companies have found
MEDLARS useful in their work.

The patent collections held by the Science Reference Department
are another important source for business users. The department lists
200 patent clients some of which make patent inquiries on a daily
basis. Science Reference holds patents for the United States (1790
to present), Canada (1969 to date). Great Britain (Old Law 1617-1981
and New Law 1979 to date), Germany (1898-1938), patent abstracts
for Japan (1985 to present), European Patent Office applications (1978
to date), and World Patent Office applications (1979 to date).

Business users also find the Government Documents Department
an important source with information ranging from statistics for
marketing studies to publications of the latest state and federal con-
tract bids. Additional sources used frequently by business users in-
clude: congressional documents. Environmental Protection Agency
documents, requested often by consulting firms; documents from the
State Department, United Nations and International Monetary Fund,
used primarily by companies involved in foreign trade; and the listings
of codes for buildings, plumbing, and electricity.

The Research Library's Government Documents department over-
saw the compilation of that department's most popular pamphlet to
date, 77?^ BPL Business and Finance Location Guide.

Notable Gifts & Donations

Throughout its history the resources of the Boston Pubhc Library have
been handsomely augmented by the gifts of many benefactors. Among
the notable gifts and donations of this past year:

PRINT DEPARTMENT

• The Fox Graphics Collection of 62 prints received from Herbert
and Jeanne Fox. This gift which shows some of the work of
an important Boston graphic arts workshop will serve as the basis
of an exhibition, probably about two years from now.

• Mitchell Siporin's large watercolor, "Man and Nature," from
the series, "Monet in his Garden." The watercolor, made in
1960, was the gift of Florence Gerstein and Edna Kalman,
daughters of the late Helen Slosberg. It is a key work in the
Library's collection of works by artists with ties to Boston.

• Twenty-four drawings of the 1970's by Jack Wolfe, including
a series of twelve— The China Trade Drawings, the gift of Walter
Grossman. An important addition to the Library's collection of
works by artists with ties to Boston.

• The "Magnetic Image" series of eight lithographs, gift of the
artist, Harold Tovish. These are the latest additions to a major
collection of works on paper by Tovish, who lives and works
in Boston.

• Sixteen prints and drawings by Daniel Lang, and a print by
Alfred Leslie, the gift of John Arthur. Daniel Lang has strong
ties to Boston and received a one-man show of drawings in the
Wiggin Gallery of the Boston Public Library in 1970.

• M.C. Escher's lithograph. Three Spheres II, gift of John
Merriam. This remarkable print is a self-portrait added to the
fine Escher collection John Merriam has been building at the
Library over a period of about fifteen years.

FINE ARTS DEPARTMENT

The Society of Arts and Crafts of Boston placed approximately 58
boxes of its archives on permanent deposit. These materials include
manuscripts and correspondence, photographs of early exhibitions and
craftsmen, annual reports, exhibition catalogs, scrapbooks of clipp-
ings, financial statements, organizational records— all pertaining to

This year friend of the Library Robert Bayard Severy added to his major dona-
tion of photographs of Boston neighborhoods.

the Boston Society— as well as files from the Allied Craft Groups and
American Handicraft Council, and articles and pamphlets on other
arts and crafts organizations.

Robert Severy continued his photographic documentation of Boston
architecture during the past year with subsequent gifts of more than
five hundred photographs of Boston buildings.

Former Boston Herald photographer Calvin Hutchinson donated
twenty professional ektachrome photographs of Boston.

MUSIC DEPARTMENT

• A large sheet music collection with approximately 1,700 items,
featuring popular music from the early twentieth century. Gift
of Mrs. Fay Spears.

• An extensive sheet music collection with approximately 1,700
items, featuring popular music from WW II to the 1970's. Gift
of Mrs. Kenneth Wilson in memory of her husband.

RARE BOOK & MANUSCRIPTS DEPARTMENT

• The Comic Almanack and Diary, edited by Henry May Lew and
illustrated by George Cruikshank, London (1851). Gift of
Thomas McDonald of Williamsburg, VA.

• A collection of visiting cards, many with autographs of impor-
tant people including artists, politicians, etc. Gift of Mr. F. C.
Schang from Delray Beach, Florida.

• Exposicao Commemorativa Iconografia de Recife— XIX Cen-
tury. Gift of Richard Raimer of New York City.

• Boston Fire Department documents, circa 1830. Gift of Mr.
Kenneth W. Rendell from Dover, MA.

• Margaret Fuller, sixteen letters to various people and some clip-
pings. Gift of Mrs. Lillian Haight of New York City, in memory
of her husband George W. Haight.

• An original barrack box and copies of documents of a Civil War
soldier Charles W. Hebard. Gift of Mrs. Charles K. Urlass of
Duxbury, MA.

ALICE M. JORDAN CHILDREN'S LITERATURE RESEARCH COLLECTION

• Approximately 2,500 children's books. Gift of Cary Memorial
Library, Lexington, MA.

• 144 children's books, primarily early to mid-20th century with
some foreign language titles. Gift of Mrs. Bernadette Hunter,
Hillsborough, NH.

• 32 children's books. Gift of Ann Hayden, Ventress Memorial
Library, Marshfield, MA.

• 50 children's books with an international focus, including sec-
ondary sources and periodicals on Iranian children's films from
the pre-revolutionary period. Gift of Priscilla Moulton.

GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS DEPARTMENT

• Approximately 35 cartons of material from the Massachusetts
Division of Employment Security.

• Canadian documents dating from 1810 through the 1960's from
the Massachusetts State Library.

• Much of the Library of the United Community Planning
Corporation.

SCIENCE REFERENCE DEPARTMENT

A library benefactor has been replacing missing SAMS photofacts,
a collection of schematic drawings for radios, televisions, videocassette
recorders, and computers.

THE BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY ANNUAL REPORT FY86

LIBRARY RESOURCES:

General Book Collections

Volumes 5,567,590

Special Collections

Rare Books and Manuscripts 1,214,037

Prints 1,099,277

Patents 8,100,014

Maps 318,010

Government Documents 2,400,513

Musical Scores 97,324

Periodicals

Current Subscriptions 15,738

Non-Print Material

Audio-Recordings 292,811

Films & Other Projected Visuals 72,025

Pictorial Works 512,000

Microforms 3,053,535

22,742,874

LIBRARY USE:

Visitors 2,153,021

Programs 5 , 36 1

Program Attendance 180,877

Items Borrowed 1,736,353

Volumes Consulted 983,144

Reference Inquiries 1,014.027

Photocopies 1,200,000

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