Books for children in library

In April of 1890, the Brookline Public Library (est 1857) opened a reading room especially for children. According to the library (so take this with a grain of salt, as perceived influence is always hard to verify) this reading room was not only one of the first in the country, but also instrumental as a national model of library services for kids. Nine years later, the library would add a children’s reference room, also staffed with its own librarian. The room pictured above is neither, as a new building was built in 1910 on the same Washington Street, before this picture was taken.

Below, the reading room for adults.

The building received an addition in 1971.

Read more on the Brookline Public Library’s history here. See more of the Library’s historic photographs here, as part of the Digital Commonwealth project.

 

 

Taking advantage of some intriguing photos provided by the Brookline Public Library, it seemed like a good day to take a look at the building’s many incarnations.