Boston Public Library Research Services

Boston Public Library Research Services The Research Services team at the Boston Public Library provides reference and research expertise across multiple subjects and disciplines.

The BPL’s collections of historical newspapers, government documents, and local history resources are extensive and fascinating, and our librarians are available to assist you with using our scholarly and popular resources. Follow this page for highlights from the BPL’s collections, recommendations of research tools, and interesting and quirky historical facts dug up by the Research Services team.

We’ve got a late start to school in Boston this year, with the first day being next Tuesday for the BPS, whereas in some...
09/02/2026

We’ve got a late start to school in Boston this year, with the first day being next Tuesday for the BPS, whereas in some suburban districts, today is the first day of school. The United States Department of Education has resources to assist with Birth to Grade 12” education, which can be found at https://www.ed.gov/birth-to-grade-12-education.
This image of the Stephen Weld School is from the collections of the Boston Public Library and can be viewed online at https://ark.digitalcommonwealth.org/ark:/50959/2227n373s. The school was located in Roslindale at the corner of Rowe and Canterbury Streets. Weld was a landowner in the area.

The famed actor Tim Curry died on August 25, 2026, at 80 years old. He is probably best known for his starring role as D...
09/01/2026

The famed actor Tim Curry died on August 25, 2026, at 80 years old. He is probably best known for his starring role as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in "The Rocky Horror Show," which first appeared on stage in 1973. It was adapted for film in 1975, and that is the version that most people are familiar with. This songbook from the musical can be seen at the Central library at Copley Square for in-library use (call number M1508.O27R6 1974x).

Hearst was busy in Boston in the 1920s. In 1921, the publishers of the Boston Evening American purchased the company th...
08/31/2026

Hearst was busy in Boston in the 1920s. In 1921, the publishers of the Boston Evening American purchased the company that published the Boston Daily Advertiser and the Boston Evening Record. Given that the already published an evening paper, the Record ceased publication. It would seem that the Record name had a soft spot with Bostonians, as by the word Record was being used with the morning Advertiser for years to come. By 1929, it was the Advertiser part of the name that was shunted off to Sundays only. Here is a masthead from before that happened. Naturally, we hold the American, Record, and Advertiser for this period. For more information on the Boston Public Library’s newspaper holdings, check out our guide at https://guides.bpl.org/newspapers.

A poster advertising Harpers Magazine. To see other digitized graphics from the collection of the Boston Public Library...
08/30/2026

A poster advertising Harpers Magazine. To see other digitized graphics from the collection of the Boston Public Library please go to www.digitalcommonwealth.org.

When most people think of a summer home, they think of a modest cabin on a lake or small house near a beach. For the wea...
08/29/2026

When most people think of a summer home, they think of a modest cabin on a lake or small house near a beach. For the wealthy and well-connected however, summer homes are often grand estates in the most picturesque settings. All this month we’ll be taking a look at some of the most lavish historic summer homes in New England.

Our fifth and final stop is another one of the famous Newport mansions in Rhode Island. Located at 367 Bellevue Avenue, The Elms was built for Philadelphia born coal magnate Edward Julius Berwind. It was modeled after the grand châteaux that dot the countryside of France, particularly the Château D'Argenson in Asnières.

The Elms was occupied by the Berwind family until 1961, when Edward’s unmarried sister Julia passed away at age 95. A nephew she willed it to did not want it and attempted to pass it off to various family members, who also did not want it. He finally sold it to a developer who planned to tear it down. Fortunately, the developer was persuaded to sell it to the Preservation Society of Newport County instead.

The Preservation Society of Newport County, The Elms- https://tinyurl.com/3rrhjtyx
Society of Architectural Historians, Edward Julius Berwind House (The Elms)- https://tinyurl.com/55xafmb7
American Aristocracy, The Elms: 367 Bellevue Avenue, Newport, Rhode Island- https://tinyurl.com/49pccw4k

Summer in New England means exploring many of the beautiful beaches along the coast. However, in the 1800s one Massachus...
08/28/2026

Summer in New England means exploring many of the beautiful beaches along the coast. However, in the 1800s one Massachusetts beach became a popular travel destination for an entirely different reason.

Between the summers of 1817 and 1818, locals in Gloucester, MA claimed to see a sea monster off the coast of Cape Ann. An account of the serpent published in the Essex Register described the beast as a serpent-like creature with a horse's head and a body no smaller than fifty-five feet in length.

You can read early accounts of the Gloucester Sea Serpent using the Library's newspaper databases or microfilm collection. - https://guides.bpl.org/newspapers/home

August is an important month when it comes to the history of voting rights in the US.🗳 1920 August 18: 19th Amendment wa...
08/27/2026

August is an important month when it comes to the history of voting rights in the US.
🗳 1920 August 18: 19th Amendment was ratified granting 26 million American women the right to vote. White women only though. "Black women, Latinas, Asian American women, and Native American women were denied the vote through discriminatory state voting requirements like poll taxes and literacy tests."

🗳 1965 August 6: Voting Rights Act was signed into law by President Johnson. "With the passage of this act, literacy tests could no longer be used as a requirement for voting. Additionally, this act gave the federal government oversight of voter registration in areas where fewer than 50% of non-White eligible voters are registered. It also gave the federal government the ability to investigate the use of poll taxes."

Even with these laws and amendments, discriminatory and voter disenfranchisement still happens - a lot! How does your state disenfranchise your voting rights? Find out here: tracker.votingrightslab.org/states

• 19th Amendment: legaltimelines.org/timeline/suffrage/ -_19th-amendment-ratified
• Voting Rights Act: legaltimelines.org/timeline/suffrage/ -voting-rights-act
• Image: "Equal Suffrage" depicts an historically correct image of only White people allowed to exercise their right to vote. Cowell & Ober, 1935–1943. www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonwealth:9z905q90j

The state primary election is coming up next week. On the statewide level, the Republicans have a race for their nomine...
08/26/2026

The state primary election is coming up next week. On the statewide level, the Republicans have a race for their nominee for Governor, while the Democrats have a race for their nominee as U.S. Senator. In Boston, we have a Democratic primary for one Congressional seat, along with a few state senators and a state representative facing challenges in the Democratic primary. For more information about elections this year, check out our research guide at https://guides.bpl.org/voting.
This photograph of then Lt. Governor Francis Bellotti and his wife voting in the 1964 primary is from the Brearley collection held by the Boston Public Library and can be viewed online at https://ark.digitalcommonwealth.org/ark:/50959/rb68zp14g. He was running for Attorney General. He won the primary but lost to Elliott Richardson (future U.S. Attorney General.) He did okay long term, as he eventually won and served in the office between 1975 and 1987.

Today we all said goodbye to Dolly Parton, who died today at age 80. We have several biographies of her from through the...
08/25/2026

Today we all said goodbye to Dolly Parton, who died today at age 80. We have several biographies of her from through the decades, and this great songbook of her greatest hits in the Music Research collection. You can use it in the Central Library at Copley Square; its call number is M1630.18.G7429 2000zx

Two more concerts left!
08/25/2026

Two more concerts left!

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