Norman B. Leventhal Map Center at the Boston Public Library

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The Norman B. Leventhal Map Center at the Boston Public Library is ranked among the top 10 map centers in the United States for the size of its collection, the significance of its historic (pre-1900) material, and its advanced digitization program. It is unique among the major collections because it also combines these features with exceptional educational and teacher training programs to advance geographic literacy among students in grades K-12 and enhance the teaching of subjects from history to mathematics to language arts. The collection is also the second largest in the country located in a public library, ensuring unlimited access to these invaluable resources for scholars, educators, and the general public. The Leventhal Map Center, created in 2004, is a nonprofit organization established as a public-private partnership between the Boston Public Library and philanthropist Norman Leventhal. Its mission is to use the Boston Public Library’s permanent collection of 200,000 maps and 5,000 atlases and a select group of rare maps collected by Mr. Leventhal for the enjoyment and education of all through exhibitions, educational programs, and a website that includes thousands of digitized maps at maps.bpl.org. The map collection is global in scope, dating from the 15th century to the present, with a particular strength in maps and atlases of Boston, Massachusetts, and New England.

About the Boston Public Library

Boston Public Library has a Central Library, twenty-four branches, map center, business library, and a website filled with digital content and services. Established in 1848, the Boston Public Library has pioneered public library service in America. It was the first large free municipal library in the United States, the first public library to lend books, the first to have a branch library, and the first to have a children’s room. Each year, the Boston Public Library hosts thousands of programs and serves millions of people. All of its programs and exhibitions are free and open to the public. At the Boston Public Library, books are just the beginning. To learn more, visit www.bpl.org.

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Norman B. Leventhal Map Center at the Boston Public Library

700 Boylston St.

Boston, MA 02116

Directions/Transportation/Parking

By subway:

Green Line to Copley Station.

Orange Line to Back Bay/South End Station. Walk down Dartmouth Street to Copley Square.

By car:

Interstate 93 (from north or south): Take Storrow Drive exit. Take Copley Square exit off of Storrow Drive. The exit deadends at a signal light. The cross street is Beacon. Take a right on Beacon Street. While on Beacon Street, you will cross Berkeley, Clarendon, and Dartmouth Streets. The next street is Exeter. Take a left onto Exeter (it is a one-way street). While on Exeter, you will cross Marlborough Street, Commonwealth Avenue, and Newbury Street. The next cross street is Boylston. The Library is on the corner of Exeter and Boylston Streets. The Leventhal Map Center is located on the first floor of the McKim building, just off of the courtyard.

Mass Pike (Interstate 90): Come all the way into the city on the Mass Pike. Take the Copley Square exit (the sign will read: Prudential Center, Copley Square). The exit road will split, follow the Copley Square (right) lane. You will exit the tunnel onto Stuart Street. You will be on the right hand side of the street. Move to the lane furthest left. Take the left at the next light, Dartmouth Street (approximately 500 feet from the tunnel exit). The Library is on the left of Dartmouth Street, after the next light (approximately 500 feet). The Leventhal Map Center is located on the first floor of the McKim building, just off of the courtyard.

For more information

Website : http://maps.bpl.org/weareone

Email : maps@bpl.org

Phone : 617-859-2387

Twitter : @bplmaps Follow bplmaps

Facebook : NBLMC?fref=ts