Fifteen data points shared with public; qualitative
information to follow April 7
BOSTON – March 31, 2010 – In an ongoing effort to be transparent and
engage the community in its budget deliberations, the Boston Public
Library today published measurements about each library location.
The information is posted on the Boston Public Library’s web site at
www.bpl.org/budget. The
information is quantitative in nature; qualitative information will
follow at the next meeting of the BPL Board of Trustees on April 7.
"We’ve promised the community an open process and an opportunity for
feedback. The data we are publishing today ensures that all
stakeholders have access to the same information as we move
forward,' said BPL President Amy E. Ryan.
The data shared today includes fifteen distinct measures in the
following categories: public use, operations, and geographical
proximity. The public use measures represent data that the Boston
Public Library provides on a regular basis to the City of Boston and
the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, the operational
measures speak to the buildings’ accessibility and capacity, and the
geographical measures show the relationship between BPL locations
and other community assets.
Additional information and other considerations under review by the
BPL include public feedback, partnerships and community assets,
capital projects, and comparative information from other urban
library systems. The data shared is from calendar year 2009 and is
not weighted. Data is assembled from submissions received from
branch staff, from the BPL’s Horizon system (an online catalog and
circulation system), and from onsite reviews.
Key information about the Boston Public Library budget is available
online at www.bpl.org/budget.
From that web page, community members can send recommendations and
share other feedback. The Library is also collecting comments via
email at
feedback@bpl.org and via US Post to 700 Boylston Street, Boston,
MA 02116. >From the same web page, information on upcoming community
and online meetings is also available.
About the BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY:
For more than 160 years, the Boston Public Library has pioneered
public library service in America. Established in 1848, the Boston
Public Library was the first publicly supported municipal library in
America, the first public library to lend books, the first to have a
branch library, and the first to have a children’s room. Today, the
Boston Public Library boasts a Central Library, 26 neighborhood
branches, free wireless internet access, two unique restaurants, and
a robust web site. Each year, the Boston Public Library hosts nearly
12,000 programs, answers more than one million reference questions,
and serves millions of people. All of its programs and exhibits are
free and open to the public. At the Boston Public Library, books are
just the beginning.
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