The Boston Public Library celebrated the opening of its new East Boston branch with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Saturday.
At 15,000 square feet, the library at 365 Bremen St. can hold nearly 20,000 books, CDs and DVDs. It was designed by William Rawn Associates Architects, Inc., and is a capital project of the City of Boston, managed by the Property and Construction Management Department. The project budget was $17.25 million. Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners supported the project with a grant of $7.25 million. The branch was designed for building and energy efficiency, and will achieve LEED certification from the United States Green Building Council.
The library features an open floor plan with dedicated areas for children, teens and adults. The creation of a dedicated space for teens is new for library service in East Boston as is the creation of an early literacy nook in the children’s area, the first in the Boston Public Library system.
Other features include free building-wide wifi, 54 computers available for public use, a flexible multipurpose room and a quiet reading room with materials dedicated to East Boston’s history.
