All the free services you can use at the public library (BPL)
As an artist, it’s incredibly important to find new and exciting ways to gather inspiration. The easiest route is typically pinterest, but due to their algorithm there’s a high possibility that whatever you see, someone else has seen. One easy way to circumvent this and find new references that most people haven’t seen is utilizing your public library.
The Boston Public Library system has 26 locations all across Boston. My personal favorite is the Central Library in Copley Square. (It’s the first large free municipal library in the United States!)
As a Boston resident, you can access a variety of additional free services in addition to the typical book/DVD rentals. These services include free museum passes (The New England Aquarium, MFA, Museum of Science, etc.), Kanopy (movie streaming), various clubs (Chess, Introductory Language lessons, and Bike Repair Workshops), and access to their special collections! Also, every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. there’s a live broadcast of Boston Public Radio at the GBH Boston Public Library Studio!
If there’s a book/dvd you want, but you can’t make it to the branch that has it, you can have it shipped to the branch nearest to you!
You picked up a book from the Copley branch, but you don’t have time to drop it off there? Doesn’t matter! You can drop it off at your nearest branch!
Did you forget to return your book when it was due? It doesn’t matter—there are no late fees!
Are you trying to choose which items to borrow? Be greedy. You can check out up to seventy-five physical items (books, DVDs, CDs, etc) at a time!
If you don’t know where to start, the BPL has a physical ‘passport’ you can ask for. This passport has every BPL location across Boston along with connection routes so you can visit a few branches within a day. It’s also an awesome way to visit different places you wouldn’t normally go! (Also, if you get every location stamped by a librarian at each branch you’ll get an awesome prize.)
It’s okay if you don’t know where anything is. That’s the best part of the library. I recommend just going in and grabbing a bunch of random stuff to look at. It’s incredibly important to gather inspiration from unlikely places!
Bianca Lobodin is a current senior and is interested in the role design plays in storytelling.