You enter the Johnson Building
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/t7SK2DF.png">
Floor plan from BPL.org
[[Up]]
[[Down]]
[[Welcome Center]]
[[Newsfeed Cafe]]
[[Step back outside]]You enter the McKim Building.
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/fJ5nbnN.jpg">
First floor floor plan, from bpl.org
You step through the hum of magnet detectors. Before you looms an impressive staircase.
[[Impressive staircase]]
[[Right hallway]]
[[Left hallway]]
[[Step out]]<img src="http://i.imgur.com/LZmbCly.jpg">
Picture by the author.
Climbing the impressive staircase, you spy
[[Chavannes Gallery]]You turn right.
[[Gustavino Room]]
[[Maproom Cafe]]
[[Courtyard]]
[[Commonwealth Salon]]
You turn left. A light tile and cream brick surround you, echoing your steps.
[[McKim Exhibition Hall]]
[[Courtyard]] Pick pretty or functional.
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/CqKGrmJ.png">
Floorplan from bpl.org
[[Pretty.]]
[[Functional.]]A room full of vertical grey walls, each displaying a map. Alcoves off to the side. Some at child-height, with kid-sized chairs. You can flit from grey display wall to grey display wall, or you can duck into an alcove.
The maps here change like museum exhibits. Often, they feature Boston and its surrounding cities.
You like the ones that show Waltham, the town nine miles northwest of here where you went to undergrad.
You like knowing there are more maps here than you will ever be able to see on display.
*
Norman B. Leventhal Map Center
1st Floor, McKim Building, Central Library
The Norman B. Leventhal Map Center at the Boston Public Library, created in 2004, is a nonprofit organization established as a public- private partnership between the Library and philanthropist Norman Leventhal. Its mission is to use the collection of 200,000 maps and 5,000 atlases for the enjoyment and education of all through exhibitions, educational programs, and a website that includes more than 3,700 digitized maps at maps.bpl.org. The map collection is global in scope, dating from the 15th century to the present, with a particular strength in maps and atlases from the New England region, American Revolutionary War period, nautical charts, and world urban centers.
The Leventhal Map Center is located on the first floor of the Library's historic McKim Building in Copley Square. It includes an exhibition gallery that features changing thematic exhibitions, a public learning center with research books and computers, and a reading room for rare map research. Other elements include a world globe three feet in diameter and a Kids Map Club with map puzzles, books and activities.
Educational programs for students in grades K to 12 are offered to school groups on site and in the classroom. More than 100 lesson plans based on national standards are available on the website, and professional development programs for teachers are scheduled regularly throughout the year.
The Leventhal Map Center is ranked among the top ten in the United States for the size of its collection, the significance of its historic (pre-1900) material, and its advanced digitization program. It is unique among the major collections because it also combines these features with exceptional educational programs to advance geographic literacy among students in grades K to 12 and enhance the teaching of subjects from history to mathematics to language arts. The collection is also the second largest in the country located in a public library, ensuring unlimited access to these invaluable resources for scholars, educators, and the general public.*
-BPL.org
<a href="http://www.leventhalmap.org/content/current-exhibitions">You're afraid that--though steeped in history--their current exhibition is all too relevant.</a>
You enter the McKim Exhibition Hall.
It's 2014. A year after bombs exploded on Boylston, near the finish line of the Marathon just beyond the library walls.
You silently wander the exhibit. Surrounding you are handmade signs on posterboards. A collection of sneakers. The outside world has been brought indoors. Here, a glass mausoleum. The city grieved and you grieved with it.
<a href="http://www.bpl.org/exhibitions/coming-soon/dear-boston/">Dear Boston,</a> you say to yourself. Dear, dear Boston.
A saxophone sings out one time. Most often you see folks huddled here around tables, doing homework or sitting to be sitting--inside to be inside.
<a href="https://www.bpl.org/central/meeting_room_images/guastavino.htm" target="_blank">The library offers you four views of this space.</a>
<a href="http://www.thecateredaffair.com/the-dishes/inside-guastavino-room-at-the-boston-public-library/" target="_blank">The Catered affair offers you a few more.</a>
*"On first entering the seemingly unassuming doorway just steps from the courtyard, guests are sure to fall in love with the breathtaking space of the Guastavino Room. Looking out onto Copley Square and the Old South Church, Guastavino is the perfect space to enjoy all the splendors of a private event just steps from the hub of the city.
The Guastavino Room is named for its vaulted ceilings, a style designed by Rafael Guastavino, who worked with McKim in the building and structure of the Boston Public Library’s building. The ceiling is the first of its kind by this Spanish architect that left open the exposed tiling as a design aesthetic—the interlocking Guastavino terracotta tiles add a majesty to the room that is carried throughout the McKim Building’s design.
One of our favorite things about the Guastavino room is its versatility. One evening it is easily transformed into a reception hall with a mixture of round and long tables for a seated dinner and magnificent dance floor while the next it can be styled for a corporate cocktail reception with standing tables and a central bar—perfect for networking and passed appetizers. The Guastavino Room hosts up 240 standing guests or 180 seated or 150 seated with a dance floor. It’s the perfect room for your next company holiday party, wedding, or reception.
Our tip? The Guastavino room is completely transformable so a glam, silver, sleek look is amazing. Try choosing florals arrangement with height to draw attention to the ornate ceilings—the true calling card of the room!"*
-The Catered AffairHere is where you can buy lattes to get you through the Monday night closing shifts that follow your editors' meetings that follow your Monday morning writing classes.
You can also buy T-shirts and <a href="https://archive.org/details/handbooktoartarc00wick">a handbook to the art and architecture of the Boston Public Library</a>
(or, a commodification of orientation)
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/nl5syNi.jpg">
Pictured is a retail case from the old circulation desk in the Johnson building before it was rennovated. But you wouldn't have known if I hadn't told you. Image from bpl.org
[[The Catered Affair]]You enter the courtyard.
You like to sit centered to the fountain in its middle and pretend you're closer to the ocean.
On some summer evenings, <a href="http://www.bpl.org/programs/concerts.htm/">musicians play jazz here.</a>
On other, classical. <a href="https://youtu.be/c_Iys1-46bs">You can almost recall a choral refrain.</a>
On Monday afternoons in the summer of 2014, you come here after your writing class (an advanced poetry workshop--The Published Poem--to be specific) to meet with your co-editors. Here you discuss the steps to launching your online journal <a href="http://windowcatpress.weebly.com/">Window Cat Press,</a> before creating some content of your own. You remember trying to write a villanelle and hating it. Your co-editor's boyfriend writes about a fight between a spider and a scorpion.
Years later, once you've stepped down from your co-editorship, you'll come here again to meet with a friend. They will tell you the Rules of the Sacred Heart.
[[Leventhal Map Center]]
[[Commonwealth Salon]]
Continue to [[Functional.]] sideYou enter the salon.
Tonight! The Fresh Ink Theatre Company is debuting its first look series.
The unassuming room with its white walls and courtyard views becomes a theatre for the world-premiere public reading of Don't Give Up the Ship, written by the leader of your playwriting group.
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/Cr2QypM.png">
Screencap of a Facebook event created by Fresh Ink Theatre, to which the author was invited.*Description of the Decorative Paintings by Puvis de Chavannes
Having been entrusted with the honour of decorating the staircase of the Boston Library, I have sought to represent under a symbolic form and in a single view the intellectual treasures collected in this beautiful building.The whole seems to me summed up in the composition entitled THE MUSES OF INSPIRATION HAIL THE SPIRIT, THE HARBINGER OF LIGHT.
Out of this composition others have developed which answer to the four great expressions of the human mind: POETRY, PHILOSOPHY, HISTORY, SCIENCE.
On the right-hand wall of the staircase as you enter appear in three panels:
Pastoral Poetry. Virgil.
Dramatic Poetry. Æschylus and the Oceanides.
Epic Poetry. Homer crowned by the Iliad and Odyssey.
On the left-hand wall:
History. Attended by a Spirit bearing a torch calls up the Past.
Astronomy. The Chaldean Shepherds observe the stars and discover the law of numbers.
Philosophy. Plato sums up in an immortal phrase the eternal conflict between Spirit and Matter. "Man is a plant of heavenly not of earthly growth."
On the end wall to the right and left of the windows:
To the left: Chemistry (mineral, organic, vegetable): A process of mysterious change evolves itself under the magic wand of a fairy surrounded by watching spirits.
To the right: Physics: By the wondrous agency of Electricity, Speech flashes through Space and swift as lightning bears tidings of good and evil.*
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/boston_public_library/sets/72157648755985130">P. PUVIS DE CHAVANNES</a>
Proceed straight forward to the [[Abbey Room]]
[[More impressive stairs]]
[[Another left. Or is is straight?]] You're not sure.Continue climbing.
[[Sargent Gallery]]You've reached the Mezzanine.
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/Drd4o5I.jpg">
A model of an architect's rendering of this central section of the Johnson building. Image from bpl.org
[[Community Learning Center]]
[[Up again]]On the Lower Level, you enter The Connector.
You can head
Up right to[[ASA College Planning Center]]
Right to[[Kirstein Business Library & Innovation Center]]
Down to [[Rabb Hall]]
Left to [[Digital Partners]]It wasn't functional when you were last in Boston. Home to three cameras and a newsdesk, as well as chairs and tables.
You can only consume it through what virtual media you can discover.
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/yCgIQIM.png">
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/J4Aq5CC.png">
*"The Newsfeed Café is located at the prominent 700 Boylston Street address on the corner of Exeter and Boylston Streets inside the Central Library’s newly renovated Johnson building. The Newsfeed Café will be operated and managed by The Catered Affair and will offer a selection of Chef-Inspired Grab & Go fare featuring gourmet salads, pastries, and family friendly snacks. The beverage menu will feature trendy cold brewed iced tea, pour over coffee, and an extensive premium selection of loose leaf tea."
<a href="http://www.thecateredaffair.com/bpl/newsfeed-cafe/">See more here</a>*
<a href="http://www.thecateredaffair.com/bpl/assets/NFC-Winter-2017-Menu.pdf">Winter 2017 Menu</a>
Run by [[The Catered Affair]]You've stepped through this newly improved space once before, right before moving away from Boston. As you admired the multicolored HD touchscreens surrounding you and the librarians assisting patrons, you wondered why you decided to go for an MFA rather than an MLS.
*Central Library Renovation Reopening: Warmer Welcomes
by mschuler
Visitors to the Central Library in Copley Square can quickly find all that the library has to offer that day by speaking with a friendly staff member at the Johnson building’s new Welcome Center or discovering information about programs and events on digital signs around the building.
The new Welcome Center, located just inside the front door of the Johnson building, is the place to ask a BPL staff member for directions, referrals, or information about upcoming programs. It’s also where visitors can virtually engage with the library through a 41-screen digital interface designed by Cambridge-based Small Design Firm. Here, the public can follow the BPL’s Twitter and Instagram feeds in real time, see library usage stats such as active book returns and checkouts, explore a visualization of the BPL’s catalog, see popular and newly added titles, and learn curious facts about the BPL and Boston. In addition, patrons can take a “shelf-portrait” – a self-portrait formed from the text of classic novels – to download and save or record a video-response to a question posed by the library.
With more than 10,000 programs and events across the BPL system each year, the new digital information screens also help patrons discover all the library’s opportunities for learning and exploring. The interactive screens provide access to FAQs, general library information, and a searchable calendar of events. In addition, the screens promote programs taking place at the Central Library to encourage visitor participation.*
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/mR1FG6U.jpg">
Image of Welcome Center from Boston Public Library Website<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/boston_public_library/sets/72157647672175522/">LOOK UP!</a>
*The Quest and Achievement of the Holy Grail.
Wall paintings in the Boston Public Library installed in 1895 By Edwin Austin Abbey, R.A.
An Outline of this Version of the Legend By Henry James
The Holy Grail was fabled to be the sacred vessel from which our Lord had eaten at the Last Supper, and into which (having purchased it from Pontius Pilate), Joseph of Arimathea had gathered the divine blood of His wounds. Its existence, its preservation, its miraculous virtues and properties were a cherished popular belief in the early ages of European Christianity; and in the folk-lore from which the twelfth-century narrators, Walter Mapes in England, Chrètien de Troyes in France, and Wolfram von Eschenbach in Germany, drew their material, it was represented as guarded for ages in the Castle of the Grail by the descendants of the "rich man," to whom the body of Jesus had been surrendered, where it awaited the coming of the perfect knight, who alone should be worthy to have knowledge of it. This perfect knight is introduced to us in the romances of the Arthurian cycle, so largely devoted to the adventures of the various candidates for this most exalted of rewards. Incomparable were the properties of the Grail, the enjoyment of a revelation of which conveyed, among many privileges, the ability to live, and to cause others to live, indefinitely without food, as well as the achievement of universal knowledge, and of invulnerability in battle.
This revelation was the proof and recompense of the highest knightly purity, the perfection constituting its possessor the type of the knightly character; so that the highest conceivable emprise for the Companions of the Round Table was to attain to such a consecration - to cause the transcendent vessel to be made manifest to them. The incarnation of the ideal knighthood in the group here exhibited is that stainless Sir Galahad, with whom - on different lines - Tennyson has touched the imagination of all readers.
No 1. The child Galahad, the descendant, by his mother, of Joseph of Arimathea, is visited, among the nuns who bring him up, by a dove bearing a golden censer and an angel carrying the Grail, the presence of which operates as sustenance to the infant. From the hands of the holy women the predestined boy passes into those of the subtle Gurnemanz, who instructs him in the knowledge of the things of the world, and in the duties and functions of the ideal knight. But before leaving the nuns he has performed his nightly vigil has watched alone, till dawn, in the church.
No. 2. This ordeal of the vigil terminates in his departure. Clothed in red, he is girt for going forth, while the nuns bring to him Sir Lancelot, who fastens on one of his spurs, and Sir Bors, who attaches the other.
No. 3. The Arthurian Round Table and the curious fable of the Seat Perilous are here dealt with: the Seat Perilous − "Perilous for good and ill" − in which no man has yet sat with safety, not even the fashioner himself, but into which, standing vacant while it awaits only a blameless occupant, the young Sir Galahad, knighted by Arthur, has sworn a vow to be worthy to take his place. The Companions of the Order are seated in Arthur's hall, and every chair, save one, is filled. Suddenly the doors and windows close of themselves, the place becomes suffused with light, and Sir Galahad, robed in red (the color emblematic of purity), is led in by an old man clothed in white, Joseph of Arimathea, who, according to one of the most artless features of the romance, has subsisted for centuries by the possession of the supreme relic. The young knight is thus installed in safety in the Seat Perilous, above which becomes visible the legend, "This is the seat of Galahad."
No. 4. The knights are about to go forth on their search for the Holy Grail, now formally instituted by King Arthur. They have heard Mass and are receiving the episcopal benediction, Sir Galahad always in red. Throughout this series he is the "bright boy-knight" of Tennyson, though not, as that poet represents him, "white-armored."
No. 5. Amfortas, the Fisher King, King of the Grail, as the legend has it, having been wounded several centuries before for taking up arms in the cause of unlawful love, lies under a spell, with all the inmates of the Castle of the Grail, into which the artist here introduces us. They are spiritually dead, and although the Grail often appears in their very midst, they cannot see it. From this strange perpetuation of ineffectual life they can none of them, women or men. priests, or soldiers, or courtiers, be liberated by death until the most blameless knight shall at last arrive. It will not be sufficient, however, that he simply penetrate into the castle: to the operation of the remedy is attached that condition which recurs so often in primitive romance, the asking of a question on which everything depends. Sir Galahad has reached his goal, but at the very goal his single slight taint of imperfection, begotten of the too worldly teaching of Gurnemanz, defeats his beneficent action. Before him passes the procession of the Grail, moving between the great fires and the trance-smitten king, and gazing at it he tries to arrive, in his mind, at an interpretation of what it means. He sees the bearer of the Grail, the damsel with the Golden Dish (the prototype of whom was Herodias bearing the head of John the Baptist on a charger), the two knights with the Seven-branched Candle-stick, and the knight holding aloft the Bleeding Spear. The duty resting upon him is to ask what these things denote, but, with the presumption of one who supposes himself to have imbibed all knowledge, he forbears, considering that he is competent to guess. But he pays for his silence, inasmuch as it forfeits for him the glory of redeeming from this paralysis of centuries the old monarch and his hollow-eyed Court, forever dying and never dead, whom he leaves folded in their dreadful doom. On his second visit, many years later, he is better inspired.
No. 6. It is the morning after his visit to the Castle of the Grail. Awakening in the chamber to which he had been led the previous night, Sir Galahad finds the castle deserted, issuing forth, he sees his horse saddled and the drawbridge down. Thinking to find in the forest the inmates of the castle, he rides forth, but the drawbridge closes suddenly behind him; a wail of despair follows him, and voices mock him for having failed to ask the effectual Question. He fares forward and presently meets three damsels; the first, the Loathly Damsel, is riding upon a pale mule with a golden bridle. This lady, once beautiful in form and features, is now noble still in form, but hideous in feature, and she wears a red cloak, and a hood about her head, for she is bald; and in her arms is the head of a dead king, encircled with a gold crown. The second lady is riding in the manner of an esquire. The third is on − her feet, dressed as a stripling, and in her hand is a scourge with which she drives the two riders. These damsels are under the spell of the Castle of the Grail. Against her will, a magic power is used by the Loathly Damsel to tempt and destroy knights and kings. She, with her two companions, must continue to wander, doing deeds of wickedness, until the sinless Virgin Knight shall come to the castle and ask concerning the wonders he sees there. They now assail Sir Galahad with reproaches, cursing him for having failed on the previous day to ask the Question, which not only would have delivered them and the inmates of the castle, but would have restored peace and plenty to the land. The earth now must remain barren, and Sir Galahad, wandering forth again, is followed by the curses of the peasantry, while war rages throughout the land. He must encounter many adventures, suffer many sorrows, and many years must pass before he returns once more to the Castle of the Grail, where, having through all ordeals remained sinless, he will finally ask the Question which shall redeem the sin-stricken land.
No. 7. Sir Galahad is here seen arriving at the gate of the Castle of the Maidens, where the seven Knights of Darkness, the seven Deadly Sins, have imprisoned a great company of maidens, the Virtues, in order to keep them from all contact with man. It is Sir Galahad's mission to overcome Sin and redeem the world by setting free the Virtues, and he accordingly fights the seven knights till he overcomes them.
No. 8. Having passed the outer gate of the castle, Sir Galahad encounters a monk who blesses him and delivers up to him the keys of the castle.
No. 9. Sir Galahad's entry into the castle is shown. The imprisoned maidens have long been expecting him, it had been prophesied that the perfect knight would deliver them. They welcome him with shy delight, putting out their hands to be kissed. Having accomplished this mission, Sir Galahad passes on to other deeds.
No. 10. Sir Galahad has become wedded to Blanchefleur, but, sacrificing his earthly love, he leaves her that he may continue the Quest. The wounded and sin-stricken Amfortas can be healed only by a Virgin Knight, and only a Virgin Knight may achieve the Quest. A new-born knowledge has unsealed Sir Galahad's eyes, but with this knowledge is begotten the strength to overcome, and, renouncing finally every human desire, he resumes the Quest.
No. 11. Having passed through many adventures, Sir Galahad has here returned to the Castle of the Grail. The procession of the Grail has once more passed before him, and this time, grown wise by knowledge and suffering, he asks the Question, and thereby heals Amfortas, cleanses him from sin, and allows the old king to die. The Angel bears away the Grail from the castle, and it is not seen again until the day when Sir Galahad achieves it at Sarras. Having now accomplished his great task, he is guided by the spirit of the Grail toward the goal which shall crown his labors − the achievement of the Grail. He is directed toward the sea, to Solomon's Ship, which will bear him to Sarras, where he will be crowned king, and where the Grail itself will finally appear to him.
No. 12. Sir Galahad, borne upon a white charger and followed by the blessings of the people, is seen passing from the land, where peace and plenty once more reign.
No. 13. Carry him across the seas to Sarras. The Grail, borne by an angel, guides the ship. Sir Bors and Sir Percival follow him. Having sinned once, they can never see the Grail themselves, yet, having persevered faithfully in the Quest, they have acquired the right to accompany Sir Galahad and witness his achievement. Resting upon a cushion in the stern of the ship are three Spindles made from the "Tree of Life" − one snow-white, one green, one blood-red. When Eve was driven from the Garden of Eden, she carried with her the branch which she had plucked from the "Tree of Life." The branch, when planted, grew to be a tree, with branches and leaves white, in token that Eve was a virgin when she planted it. When Cain was begotten, the tree turned green; and afterward, when Cain slew Abel, the tree turned red.
No. 14. THE CITY OF SARRAS.
No. 15. Sir Galahad is now King of Sarras, and upon a hill he makes a Sacred Place and builds a Golden Tree. Morning and evening he repairs thither, and from day to day he beautifies the tree, and, finally when it is complete, Joseph of Arimathea (with a company of angels) appears with the Grail. As Sir Galahad gazes upon it, crown, sceptre, and robe fall from him. He no longer needs them. He thanks God for having let him see that which tongue may not describe, nor heart think. Having now beheld that which is the source of all life and knowledge and power, his spirit can no longer remain in the narrow confines of his body. The Grail itself is borne heavenward, and is never again seen on earth.*<img src="http://i.imgur.com/DLK2BiD.jpg">
Image by the author.
Everyone tells you Boulder will be so beautiful.
You think there's plenty beauty right here.
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/boston_public_library/sets/72157656058375889/">Beauty of a different sort, of course</a>A large auditorium. A proscenium stage.
You've been here before. It wasn't lit up the way it looks in <a href="https://companyone.org/">Company One's</a> pictures. Just your standard lecture hall then. You stayed for a series of sessions run by <a href="http://www.massmouth.org/">MassMouth.</a>
You can't remember anything about that day except that their activities piqued your interest.
But you never could think of any stories to tell.
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/Hq0oNP5.png">
From companyone.org
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/EOS0zZa.jpg">
From Company One Facebook page.
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pg/companyone/videos/?ref=page_internal">Check out a live, recorded post-show chat with the playwright!</a> Space usage--in action!
*"The Kirstein Business Library & Innovation Center (KBLIC) invites media creators, innovators, job seekers, entrepreneurs, nonprofits, investors, coders, and makers to our new space. Business-minded individuals can enjoy an inviting and modern space with over 5,000 square feet of printed resources, flexible seating, innovative technology to conduct business research, and dedicated areas for collaborating on projects with colleagues or developing a new career skill. Drop by KBLIC for access to and courses in the latest video editing and production technologies. Visitors will be inspired with a fresh vibe, cool color pallet, and a variety of comfortable work tables and seating options"*
[[Innovation Center]]Another somewhere you've never been. You can only imagine.
Which is what everyone else is here to do anyway.
*"For aspiring media creators, the InnoLAB is the perfect space to design and produce video and record audio. Patrons can create polished projects with access to software such as Final Cut Pro, LogicPro, Ableton, Adobe Photoshop, and Illustrator and enhance their work through the use of a green screen and mixing board. Visitors can also explore and use the InnoLAB’s 3D printer."*
-Central Library Renovation Reopening: Supporting and Empowering Entrepreneurs
*Software in the Innovation Center
Adobe Creative Suite 6 Master
Acrobat DC: Used to create, edit, print, manage, comment, review, and sign PDF documents
After Effects: Used to create motion graphics and cinematic visual effects
Animate: Used to design interactive animations with cutting-edge drawing tools and publish them to multiple platforms
Audition: Used to record, edit, mix, and restore audio compositions
Bridge: Allows you keep your digital images organized. You can rank and share images easily
Dreamweaver: Used to create websites and applications that work on multiple browsers
Encore: A professional DVD-authoring tool that allows you to publish your work to DVDs, Blu-Ray Discs, and Web DVDs
Fireworks: Used to create, edit, and optimize web graphics.
Flash Builder: A development environment for building games and applications
Illlustrator: Used for creating scalable vector artwork for use in print and web
InDesign: Publishing application for print publications, interactive PDFs, digital magazines, and epubs
Media Encoder: Used to create output for web, broadcast and cinema
Blender: A free and open source 3D creation suite
Comic Life 3: Turns your images into a comic
Balsamiq: Used to easily create interfaces, websites, software and mobile apps using wireframing
Final Cut Pro: Video editing software
Office for Mac
XMind: Graphic way to group concepts by association
Please remember that patrons are limited to one two-hour session in the Innovation Center per day.*
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/Uar4a9j.png">
Floorplan of community learning space. Image from bpl.org
*Central Library Renovation: Community Learning Center
Posted on November 24th, 2014 by Michael Colford in Central Library Renovation, Library Services, Major Projects
As part of the second phase of the Central Library renovation, the mezzanine level of the Johnson building will become home to a new Community Learning Center.
This area will have seating for small-group tutoring, a series of small conference rooms for conversation circles and other collaborative work, an updated public classroom, and library collections including world languages and literacy. This space will also feature a gallery of artwork from the library’s own print collection.
Central Library Renovation: Community Learning Center
Posted on March 24th, 2014 by [email protected] in Central Library Renovation, Library Services, Major Projects
Bienvenido a la Biblioteca!
The Community Learning space on the renovated Mezzanine level of the Johnson Building will be a lively, open, and welcoming conversation spot for patrons who are learning English, preparing for citizenship exams, or who enjoy reading, studying, and practicing foreign languages. The library’s World Language books, test preparation materials, and literacy collection will be arranged in the surrounding space to support literacy programs, small group tutoring, and conversation circles.
The newly designed space will have three study rooms perfect for tutoring sessions and small group conversation.
Godetevi la vostra nuova libreria!*You've reached the second floor.
[[Teen Central]]Somewhere you've been before, arranged in a way you've never seen. The Dartmouth Street entrance. A right after emerging underground from the Copley T stop.
*A New Entrance: the Boylston & Exeter Streetscapes of the Central Library Renovation
Posted on August 3rd, 2016 by mschuler in Central Library Renovation Reopening
Tags: Central Library renovation
"Visitors will now be able to take a seat, perch, or hold informal group meetings inside and outside the library, at an exterior group of benches or at the communal “Civic Table” with its differing heights for children and adults, providing a welcoming area for gathering and hanging out.
After dark, a system of catenary lights interspersing the tree line illuminates this “outdoor room” on Boylston Street. In addition to creating a community space, the Civic Table brings elements of the Library outside, inspired by the large tables inside the Central Library and wired to support digital access. The landscape also helps visually extend the Library onto the street, as the pavers form a pattern that mirrors those inside the new building entrance.
While this new streetscape meets the current needs of today’s Boston, it also preserves the history of the Johnson building by repurposing its materials. The granite plinths that once guarded the windows of the building and enclosed small inaccessible gardens have been reimagined as sidewalk pavers. In a nod to their past, one edge of the plinth pavers aligns with the outside edge of the former gardens. The square pavers that once marked the entrance to the Johnson building on Boylston Street have been re-laid in their original pattern, continuing a type of granite carpet from curb to interior.
Thanks to this new welcoming and warm landscape, the Central Library is now more intimately connected to the streetscape and the city of Boston."*
On Friday, May 19th, the independent writing organization you used to take classes from--<a href="https://grubstreet.org/">Grub Street</a>--will be hosting <a href="http://www.bpl.org/programs/calendar.htm?trumbaEmbed=view%3Devent%26eventid%3D123399652">The Boston Write-In</a>:
*"All are invited to tell their story and/or to hear the stories of their city. Share an immigration, migration, or refugee story of your own or someone you know. Add your thoughts about what we can do locally to write a better future for all people in Boston."*You'll admit it. You came here in your mid-twenties to find copies of the next installments of the <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=AHpEoxYiK9AC&lpg=PP1&dq=vampire%20academy&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false">YA vampire romance novels</a> you adored. For their world-building, you swear. And the way they seemlessly interweave the exposition of their particularly brand of Romanian-influenced mythos into the text. But you've digressed.
You're not here to talk about written texts.
You're here to tell the people about what all can be done here in Teen Central.
*"Teen Central features a Media Lounge for gaming, the Lab (a digital makerspace for media creation, coding, and more), diner-style seating, space for quiet study, moveable book shelves, and plenty of books. The Media Lounge houses two eighty-inch monitors for playing Xbox 1, Play Station 4, Wii U, online games, and Netflix and for showcasing digital creations. The Lab gives teens the opportunity to learn, create, code, and more with software including Anime Studio, Manga Studio, FL Studio, Adobe Creative Suite, and Comic Life."*
-BPL, Teen Services
Enter [[The Lab]]
Enter [[The Lounge]]
*"The Lab offers teens five PC computers and five Macs with twenty different software programs for teens to use for learning, creating, and developing content. Lab software includes Anime Studio, Manga Studio, Adobe Creative Suite, Comic Life, Autodesk, FL Studio, Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, and more. The Lab is open during Teen Central hours for teens to who want to use these resources and also offers programs and classes in the different software programs."*
-BPL, Teen Services*"The Media Lounge houses two eighty-inch monitors for playing Xbox 1, Play Station 4, Wii U, Netflix, online games, or showcasing digital creations as well as carpeted floor and soft furniture for sprawling and relaxing."*
-BPL, Teen ServicesFunny. It was food that got you here.
You've stepped outside the realms of physical space, beyond the walls and courtyards and stacks and steps of the library's reach.
You are now in cyberspace.
<a href="http://www.thecateredaffair.com/bpl/explore-bpl/virtual-tour/">The Catered Affair invites you on their very own virtual tour of the BPL</a>
Further exploring their website, you note that there are 14 event spaces for rental in the stately McKim Building, built in 1895, and only 6 event spaces on offer in the Johnson Building.
[[Beyond beyond]]"The library presented a dignified face to the world passong on Main Street. The library--always situated by the main entrance in all Edison's plans--gave an impression of illectual effort within and lent support to the notion that learning was essential to invention."
-André Millard, <a href="https://handsonhumanities.files.wordpress.com/2016/12/edisonbusinessofinnovation.pdf">Edison and the Business of Innovation </a>
This refers to Edison's West Orange Laboratory. But you find it resonating with you as you wander the halls and hyperlinks of the Boston Public Library: learning as essential to invention.
And vice versa.
Why else would the Johnson Building and its modernist architecture be home to not one, but two makerspaces?
[[You ponder.]]You wonder at the commodification of these spaces, marvelling at the way High Culture is the greater good to be consumed at a cost, why the more shiny and scientific side seems focused on enabling a greater amount of access--from the college assistance it provides to teens on to the second floor, to the digitization efforts occurring in its basement.
But could the right side exist without the left's cultural capital?
“We’re at a moment where numbers and data have a lot more cultural authority,” declared <a href="https://twitter.com/miriamkp">Miriam Posner </a>, at her invited talk on Big Data and the Digital Humanities given in the spring of 2017 at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Could the culture of the right building be gaining on that stored by the left?
“From this point of view, science--the real game in town--is rhetoric, a series of efforts to persuade relevant social actors that one’s manufactured knowledge is a route to a desired form of very objective power...Here artifacts and facts are parts of the powerful art of rhetoric. Practice is persuasion and the focus is very much on practice.”
-Donna Haraway, Situated Knowledge
You consider the register of languages you've experienced on either side, The high-falutin' descriptions found in lists of mural panels. The technicity in lists of software and hardware available to patrons. The public access
You consider, too, grants from the state.
And the mannifesto of sorts you've discovered:
*
The BPL Compass: Strategic Plan
"The Public Library of the City of Boston built by the people and dedicated to the advancement of learning. The Commonwealth requires the education of the people as the safeguard of order and liberty. Free to all. MDCCCLXXXVIII (1888)"
Carved in stone on the McKim Building of the Central Library in Copley Square
I) User-Centered Institution
The BPL is a user-centered institution with services that anticipate and respond to neighborhood interests and the changing demographics of the City and Commonwealth.
II) Community Gathering
The BPL exists to serve and sustain communities that foster discovery, reading, thinking, conversing, teaching, and learning, in accessible, sustainable, and welcoming facilities throughout the City, as well as with an engaging online presence.
III) Special Collections
The BPL is committed to the ongoing development and preservation of its distinctive special collections, which provide citizens from all walks of life with access to their common cultural heritage.
IV) Center of Knowledge
The BPL is a center of knowledge that serves researchers, lifelong learners, and the intellectually curious through its incomparable collections, digital resources, and access to other scholarly networks.
V) Children and Teens
The BPL fosters the love of reading and skills in critical and creative thinking among children and teens – from early literacy through mature readership – by offering a slate of services that provide academic support and intellectual growth.
VI) Access and Innovation
The BPL provides access to and training in innovative technology, electronic resources, and digital information through its own holdings and its strategic position within the wider world of knowledge.
VII) Sustainable Organization
The BPL depends on sustainability of resources through a judicious stewardship of finances; active employee participation and professional development in an environment of dignity and respect; and partnerships that enrich services, expand outreach, and leverage public investment through private support.
VIII) Fun
The BPL leads the way for people of all ages with recreational reading and media, invigorating programs, user-created content, and opportunities for discovery in settings that are stimulating and engaging.*
[[Where are you?]]You enter Bates Hall.
It's like a room out of Harry Potter.
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/k5W4bUi.jpg">
Image by the author.
You could study here.
Or, if you've a partner and $15,000 to spare, you could get married.*FAFSA Day Massachusetts – <a href="http://www.asa.org/index.html">ASA College Planning Center:</a> Sunday, January 27th at 1pm.
by mdevine
January marks the start of the application process for federal, state and institutional financial aid. FAFSA Day Massachusetts, a College Goal SundaySM program, provides FREE help statewide to students and families looking to kick off this process by completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
The ninth annual FAFSA Day Massachusetts is being held on Sunday, January 27th at 1 p.m. at the American Student Assistance College Planning Center located at the Boston Public Library in Copley Square, as well as additional locations and dates throughout the state. The ASA College Planning Center will be open this Sunday from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. to assist families as part of this statewide initiative.
Families are encouraged to visit www.FAFSADAY.org to register, and to view locations, dates and times. The services are free and available to anyone entering college in 2013; low-income, first-generation students are especially encouraged to attend. Many locations will have services available in various languages.
FAFSA Day, a non-profit program that has served over 10,000 Massachusetts students, is staffed by volunteer financial aid and higher education experts available to provide families one-on-one assistance. The Boston-based nonprofit American Student Assistance, which empowers students and families to make better decisions around planning for, financing and repaying higher education, is a long-time sponsor of the event.
Not only can ASA help with your FAFSA form but they also have great scholarship and grant resources available to people applying to college. Check them out.
Boston College Planning Center, Copley Square
Boston Public Library, lower level
700 Boylston Street
Boston MA, 02116*There is a space down here for the digitization of cultural materials. You've never seen it. You didn't even know that the digital humanities were a thing when you lived here.
*Boston Public Library and Digital Commonwealth Renew Partnership to Digitize State Cultural Treasures
by rlavery
250 Massachusetts Cultural Institutions represented in Digital Commonwealth
Today Boston Public Library announced its renewed partnership commitment with Digital Commonwealth to maintain and expand Digital Commonwealth.org, which provides access to digital resources of cultural heritage organizations throughout Massachusetts. Collections in Digital Commonwealth.org include thousands of images, documents, and sound recordings from member institutions which are openly accessible to researchers, students, and the intellectually curious. Boston Public Library’s development of the Digital Commonwealth repository system provides a means of managing and preserving digital collections to ensure they will be accessible to future generations.
“As part of our statewide responsibilities, we are happy to enter the next phase of our relationship with Digital Commonwealth, partnering to ensure Massachusetts’ shared history and culture are not only preserved but made accessible and discoverable by all,” said Boston Public Library President Interim President David Leonard.
“Our mission is to bring together the collections of libraries, archives and cultural institutions across the state, and make them accessible to all,” said Elizabeth Thomsen, President of Digital Commonwealth. “Our partnership with the Boston Public Library has been essential to the development and support of the Digital Commonwealth and we look forward to continuing to work together.”
Since 2010, the BPL has worked to digitize and preserve collections from 250 cultural institutions in 150 municipalities across Massachusetts, totaling 218,000 items. The BPL’s digital team recently visited Harvard Forest Archives, Northern Essex Community College, Reading Public Library, and the Chelmsford Town Clerk’s Office to prepare items for digitization. Materials recently added to DigitalCommonwealth.org include botanical prints from the Massachusetts Horticultural Society Library, photograph collections from Pine Manor College and the Massachusetts Archives, and glass slides from the Hatfield Historical Museum.
In addition to its role as a partner to Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library serves as Library for the Commonwealth for the entire state of Massachusetts. Anyone who lives, works, or goes to school in Massachusetts can have a Boston Public Library card. Visit www.bpl.org/commonwealth to learn more about Boston Public Library’s statewide services to residents and to other institutions.*These candelabras look as if they could kill.
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/4DFxZub.jpg">
Image from Digital Commonwealth.
But if you survive, <a href="http://www.bpl.org/central/tours.htm"> tour guides will take you through the art and architecture of the McKim Building.</a>
You tried once. But you couldn't stand the man's tangents. So you wandered off.
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/60IX49a.png">
Image by the author.
You're not quite sure.
The floor plan the map the syllabus seemed straightforward at first.
You practice your practice. Creating research.
Researching creation?
An attempt to undo the doing within certain spatial places.
Let us consider this as a post-human space.
“A sustainable ethics for non-unitary subjects rests on an enlarged sense of inter-connection between self and others, including the non-human or ‘earth’ others ...an enlarged sense of community, which includes one’s territorial or environmental inter-connections," <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=WZASAAAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=rosi+braidotti+the+posthuman&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiU25Glw-LTAhVHsVQKHSMoBL0Q6AEIIzAA#v=onepage&q&f=false">quoth Braidotti</a> (190).
consider the maps consider the books consider courtyards wedding unity consider the open access digitization consider elation consider consider consider “The motivation
for the social construction of hope is grounded in a sense of responsibility and inter-generational accountability” again Braidott says (192).
How old are these stones?
How old the horticultural contents captured?
Think of the “[generation] affirmatively and creatively by efforts geared to creating possible futures, by mobilizing resources and visions that have been left untapped and by actualizing them in daily practices of interconnection with others” (191).
Think how many days daily drifting here folks with nowhere else to go.
Where are you, really?
[[What can you see?]]Sometimes words will have to suffice.
Sometimes what was planned.
What could've been
Or should be.
And sometimes you're treated to a subterranean view of the ceiling.
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/8j377NZ.jpg">
image by the author
(you shouldn't be able to see this from where you're standing)
(but you wouldn't know if i hadn't told you so)
“Archaeology, as opposed to history, refers to what is actually there”
-Ernst