Editing Boston Public Library (section)

===19th century===
In the mid-19th century, several people were instrumental in the establishment of the Boston Public Library. [[George Ticknor]], a [[Harvard University]] professor and trustee of the [[Boston Athenaeum]], proposed establishing a [[public library]] in Boston beginning as early as 1826. At the time, Ticknor could not generate enough interest.

In 1839, [[Alexandre Vattemare]], a French philanthropist, suggested that all of Boston's libraries combine into one institution for the benefit of the public.<ref>McCrann, Grace-Ellen (2005): "Contemporary Forces That Supported the Founding of the Boston Public [[Library]]." ''Public Libraries'', Vol. 44, no. 4, July/August 2005.</ref> The idea was presented to many Boston libraries, however, most were uninterested in the idea. At Vattemare's urging, Paris sent gifts of books in 1843 and 1847 to assist in establishing a unified public library. Vattemare made yet another gift of books in 1849.

[[Josiah Quincy Jr.]] anonymously donated $5,000 to begin funding a new library. Quincy made the donation while he was [[mayor of Boston]]. Indirectly, [[John Jacob Astor]], businessman and philanthropist, also influenced the establishment of a public library in Boston. At the time of his death, Astor bequeathed $400,000 to New York to establish a public library there. Because of the cultural and economic rivalry between Boston and New York, this bequest prompted more discussion of establishing a public library in Boston.<ref>McCrann, Grace-Ellen (2005): "Contemporary Forces That Supported the Founding of the Boston Public Library." Public Libraries, Vol. 44, no. 4, July/August 2005.</ref> In 1848, a statute of the [[Massachusetts General Court|Great and General Court of Massachusetts]] enabled the creation of the library.  The library was officially established in Boston by a city ordinance in 1852.<ref>For context, see: [[List of libraries in 19th-century Boston, Massachusetts]]</ref> Mayor [[Benjamin Seaver]] recommended to the city council that a librarian be appointed. In May 1852 the city council adopted the recommendations of the mayor and Edward Capen was chosen to become Boston Public Library's first librarian.<ref>''International Dictionary of Library Histories,'' Volume 1</ref>

Eager to support the library, [[Edward Everett]] collected documents from both houses of [[United States Congress|Congress]], bound them at his own expense, and offered this collection to help establish the new library. At the time of Everett's donation, [[George Ticknor]] became involved in the active planning for the new library.<ref name="McCrann 2005">McCrann 2005.</ref> In 1852, financier [[Joshua Bates (financier)|Joshua Bates]] gave a gift of $50,000 to establish a library in Boston. After Bates' gift was received, Ticknor made lists of what books to purchase. He traveled extensively to purchase books for the library, visit other libraries, and set up book agencies.<ref name="McCrann 2005"/>

To house the collection, a former schoolhouse located on Mason Street was selected as the library's first home. On March 20, 1854, the Reading Room of the Boston Public Library officially opened to the public. The circulation department opened on May 2, 1854.

The opening day collection of 16,000 volumes fit in the Mason Street building, but it quickly became obvious that its quarters were inadequate. So in December 1854, the library's commissioners authorized the library to move to a new building on [[Boylston Street]]. Designed by [[Charles Kirk Kirby]] to hold 240,000 volumes, the imposing [[Italianate]] edifice opened in 1858. Eventually the library outgrew that building as well; in 1878, an examining committee recommended replacing it with a new one at another location.

In 1870, the library opened the East Boston branch, the first branch library in the United States. With the aim of increasing its reach throughout the city and providing services to residents everywhere, the library opened 21 more branches in Boston neighborhoods between 1872 and 1900.<ref name="BPL - History and Description">{{cite web|title=BPL - History and Description|url=http://www.bpl.org/general/history.htm|access-date=2014-06-24|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140626114123/http://www.bpl.org/general/history.htm|archive-date=2014-06-26}}</ref>

By 1880, the Massachusetts legislature authorized construction of an even grander library building. A site selected was in [[Back Bay (Boston)|Back Bay]] on [[Copley Square]], the prominent corner of Boylston Street and Dartmouth Street, opposite [[H. H. Richardson|Richardson]]'s [[Trinity Church, Boston|Trinity Church]] and near the first [[Boston Museum of Fine Arts]]. After several years of debate over the selection of the architects and architectural style for the new library, in 1887 the prestigious [[New York City|New York]] firm of [[McKim, Mead, and White]] was chosen to design the new library. In 1888, [[Charles Follen McKim]] proposed a [[Renaissance architecture|Renaissance style]] design based on the [[Sainte-Geneviève Library|Bibliothèque Ste-Geneviève]] in Paris. The trustees of the library approved,  and construction commenced. The vast new reading room was called Bates Hall.