One of the areas not to be missed on a Boston visit is Copley Square. Hopefully the next few posts will give you a feeling of what it is like. On one side of the square is the beautiful Boston Public Library. I learned that this beautiful building was the first publicly supported municipal library in the United States, the first large library open to the public in the United States, and the first public library to allow people to borrow books and other materials and take them home to read and use. It had never occurred to me before to imagine a world without a library.
Around the top of the library is the inscription:
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF THE CITY OF BOSTON BUILT BY THE PEOPLE AND DEDICATED TO THE ADVANCEMENT OF LEARNING.
Today this image reminds me to be thankful for wonderful libraries the world over. I think I’ll stop by ours today.
“No possession can surpass, or even equal a good library, to the lover of books. Here are treasured up for his daily use and delectation, riches which increase by being consumed, and pleasures that never cloy.” ~John Alfred Landford
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