Case Study: Boston Public Library

Screenshot: Boston Public Library

As the first city and public library to implement SchoolRooms™, Boston Public Library (BPL) now provides 24x7 access to a wide variety of K-12 resources in one integrated interface for hundreds of thousands of students, parents, and educators where they need it - when they need it. Since October 2006, SchoolRooms has been available both remotely and in BPL's 27 branches through its Web site www.bpl.org.


>> About Boston Public Library
Established in 1848, BPL was the first publicly supported municipal library in America, the first public library to lend books, the first to have a branch library, and the first to have a children's room. Today, the BPL has 27 neighborhood branches, free Internet access, two unique restaurants, an award-winning Web site www.bpl.org, and an online store featuring reproductions of the BPL's priceless photographs and artwork. Each year, the BPL hosts nearly 5,000 programs and events, answers more than 1 million reference questions, and serves millions of people in its National Historic Landmark McKim Building in Copley Square. All of its programs and exhibits are free and open to the public.


>> Key Features

  • Full SchoolRooms subscription
  • Federated Searching; integration of electronic databases and other multi-media content
  • Best of Web™ product
  • Integration of Horizon Library Catalog
  • Integration and spotlight of library programs and events
  • Integration of other online services provided by BPL; for instance, the sign-up for a library card online service
  • Plans to integrate historical digitized collections from BPL (such as the prestigious John Adams collection) into the SchoolRooms product to provide "content in context"
  • Plans to customize site with the integration of Massachusetts state standards content (MA History, Geography, etc.) using teams of Boston teachers and librarians

>> Visit the Site
http://bpl.schoolrooms.net


Quote & Contact Information
"We are very excited to be the first to launch SchoolRooms on a citywide basis. SchoolRooms helps leverage the many resources available to the K-12 community - books, the Internet, and electronic databases - by making them all available in one place, all organized around school subject areas. We think this new resource can make a big difference to students and parents." - Bernie Margolis, president

Ken Peterson
Coordinator of Services to Libraries
Boston Regional Library System