Reading Room
The Boston Public Library's Special Collections and the Leventhal Map & Education Center's collections are free and open to all. We invite you to view materials, and to partner with our staff to preserve our collections to keep them accessible for future generations. Here's how:
- Create a reading room account, bring a photo ID on your first visit, and show your BPL card on each visit.
- Massachusetts residents can obtain a BPL card on arrival; please bring a photo ID and proof of residency. Non-Massachusetts residents can obtain a BPL research card on arrival in the Special Collections reading room; please bring a photo ID with you.
- Anyone under the age of 13 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian with a reading room account.
- Anyone who is not actively conducting research will be asked to remain outside the reading room.
- Request all material through your reading room account.
- You can request up to 20 items at one time.
- Only use materials in the Special Collections or Map Center reading room, under staff supervision.
- Wash and dry your hands before handling items.
- Store all bags, coats, food, and drinks in lockers.
- If needed, you are welcome to bring in a laptop (without a case), phone, headphones, cameras, and associated cords.
- If a reference book or limited loose papers are necessary for research, consult with reference staff before or upon arrival.
- If taking notes by hand, use the pencils and paper supplied in the reading room.
- Follow all care and handling guidelines given by staff.
- Always keep items in plain view on the table. Do not pick up materials or put them on your lap, chair, or other surfaces.
- Do not mark, trace, lean on, or otherwise damage any item during use.
- Use two hands to safely handle photographs, fragile objects, or brittle paper.
- Use one item at a time.
- When using boxes, remove one folder at a time and keep all pages in the order in which they were found. Use an out card as a placeholder to mark where the folder belongs.
- If comparing copies or editions or consulting with reference books, up to 3 items may be used at one time. Please talk to reading room staff if you need this for your research.
- Return all special collections material to the reading room staff and check out with staff before exiting the reading room.
- If you no longer need to review materials, cancel your appointment and notify reading room staff so they can return your materials to the secure stacks.
- Staff will automatically reshelve any items on hold after 7 days. You can submit new requests to have materials retrieved again if needed.
The Boston Public Library is committed to fostering a respectful and safe environment where everyone can access our collections. If a researcher is refusing to follow guidelines given by staff, endangering materials, or disturbing staff or other researchers, staff may ask them to leave.
Access
Boston Public Library carefully stewards our collections for both current and future generations. Some collections or items may not be accessible if their condition does not permit safe handling or if materials are on display in an exhibition, have restrictions, are undergoing conservation treatment, in need of cataloging or processing, or otherwise deemed not available for reading room use.
When using archival collections, please partner with our staff to maintain the privacy of living individuals. Our archivists do our best to identify and restrict personally identifying information (PII) such as social security numbers that may threaten the safety and privacy of living individuals documented in our collections. However, should you find PII, especially in minimally processed or unprocessed collections, please do not photograph or otherwise reproduce this information. Let the reading room staff know if you encounter any information that may need additional review to protect others' privacy.
Copyright
The copyright law of the United States (
Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under
certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be "used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research." If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use," that user may be liable for copyright infringement.
In most cases, the Boston Public Library does not hold the copyright to the items in our collections. As such, we cannot grant or deny permission to use copies or photographs of these items. It is the sole responsibility of the user to make their own determination about what types of usage might be permissible under U.S. and international copyright law. Provision of a copy from the BPL should not be construed as explicit permission to use it for any particular reason.
Data Collection and Privacy
Your reading room account collects personal information including the user information on the registration form, the materials and scans you request, any related correspondence, and your movement in and out of the reading room. This information is stored indefinitely on a PCI-compliant server hosted by Atlas Systems, a third-party vendor. Library staff may use this information for administration and maintenance of collections or library operations. The Library is committed to patron privacy and will not share data with a third party unless required by law and/or in response to a security event.
The Special Collections reading room and surrounding areas have surveillance cameras. Cameras are monitored by library and/or security staff; footage may be maintained indefinitely for security purposes. The Library is committed to patron privacy and will not share data with a third party unless required by law and/or in response to a security event."
