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The
Cambridge Public Library in
Cambridge, MassachusettsCambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
is part of the
Minuteman Library NetworkThe Minuteman Library Network, founded in 1984, is an organization of 41 public and academic libraries in eastern Massachusetts that share resources, patrons and services. The Network has over 1,171,000 titles and 622,000 members...
. The library includes a headquarters and several branch buildings throughout the city.
In fiscal year 2009, the city of Cambridge spent 1.38% ($4,893,254) of its budget on the library -- some $45 per person.
Main building
The main branch of the Cambridge Public Library is an historic
libraryIn a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
building at 449 Broadway. It was built in 1888. Its land and full construction funding were provided by Frederick H. Rindge, a Cambridge native and
philanthropistA philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
. It was added to the National Historic Register in 1982.
A $90 million expansion and renovation of the library, led by the Boston architectural firms William Rawn Associates and Ann Beha Architects, opened on November 8, 2009. The new addition more than triples the square footage of the building, and is the first building in the USA to make use of European Double-Skin Curtainwall technology.
Architectural drawingAn architectural drawing or architect's drawing is a technical drawing of a building that falls within the definition of architecture...
s and construction photos are available
here. During most of the construction, the library collection had been relocated to the Longfellow School.
Branches
Six smaller neighborhood branch libraries are scattered throughout the City of Cambridge. These are:
- Boudreau Branch, 245 Concord Avenue, West Cambridge
- Central Square Branch, 45 Pearl Street, Cambridgeport
- Collins Branch, 64 Aberdeen Avenue, West Cambridge
- O'Connell Branch, 48 Sixth Street, East Cambridge
- O'Neill Branch, 70 Rindge Avenue, North Cambridge
- Valente Branch, 826 Cambridge Street, East Cambridge
History
In fiscal year 2008, the city of Cambridge spent 1.39% ($4,689,660) of its budget on the library -- some $44 per person.
Further reading
External links