Through decades of work as an acclaimed journalist, author and activist, Gloria Steinem has shown us the power of sharing stories to bridge generations and build understanding. Preserving the past. Illuminating the present. Nurturing the future. Image Source: Boston Public Library Arts Department

Join us! for the Alan Andres Writing Fellows Reading & Celebration 📚🎉 October 6th, 6:00pm - Boston Public Library in Copley Square Learn more & get your tickets! https://bit.ly/AlanAndresFellows26

On this day in history... 📚🕰️ Aug 31, 1881 Richard D. Sears, a Boston native, won the Inaugural US Men's Single Tennis Championship. The image included here is a part of the Boston Herald-Traveler Photo Morgue, Boston Public Library. Thank you to the Arts Department Boston Public Library

RSVP Today! Registration is OPEN to attend this year's Alan Andres Writing Fellows Reading & Celebration 📚 October 6th, at 6:00pm Rabb Hall at the Boston Public Library. Register for FREE today > https://www.eventbrite.com/e/alan-andres-writing-fellows-reading-registration-1996995411032?aff=web

Alan Andres Writing Fellows Reading

Celebrate the Associates of the BPL's 2026-27 Alan Andres Writer-in-Residence and Alan Andres Picture Book Writer Fellow

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On Women's Equality Day, we recognize Lucy Stone, leading suffragist and abolitionist. Born and raised in Massachusetts, Stone dedicated her life to battling inequality on all fronts. Photo credit: Boston Public Library Arts Department

Meet our 2026-27 Alan Andres Picture Book Writer Fellow, Jade Hawes ✍️ Jade is a clinical mental health counseling intern providing psychotherapy to children and is pursuing an M.S. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from the University of Vermont.

Meet our 2026-27 Alan Andres Writer-in-Residence, Janaea Eads ✍️

Happy Fourth of July! 🎆 Celebrate by visiting the Boston Public Library's major exhibition, Declarations: Printing a New Nation! For the first time ever, the BPL's eight rare printings of the Declaration of Independence are on public display together.

This first-edition copy of The New-England Psalm-Singer (1770), the first collection of music composed and printed by an American composer, William Billings, in the Boston Public Library's Special Collections, was preserved through Associates-funded conservation.

In honor of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the Boston Public Library's Special Collections will present a one-day display exploring foundational texts of American democracy alongside documents from the past 250 years that reflect ongoing struggles for equality.

Thank you to everyone who made our 8th Pierce Performance Series, We Hold These Truths, at the Boston Public Library such a memorable evening.

Join the 2025-2026 Boston Public Library Special Collections’ Surfacing Overlooked Stories fellow Aabid Allibhai’s public talk, "Belinda Sutton's Appeal,” this Monday, June 29, from 6-7 PM at Rabb Hall at the Central Library. Reserve free tickets: https://ow.ly/nREB50Zh9QT

Join us for a charitable shopping promotion at Ralph Lauren (93-95 Newbury St), STARTING TODAY! Mention the Associates of the Boston Public Library at the time of your purchase to ensure that 10% of the purchase price will be donated towards our mission today, June 26, and tomorrow, June 27! 🛍️

Please join us for a charitable shopping event at Ralph Lauren (93-95 Newbury St) on Friday, June 26, and Saturday, June 27! Mention the Associates of the Boston Public Library at the time of your purchase to ensure that 10% of the purchase price will be donated towards our mission 🛍️

Happy Father's Day to all the amazing dads! Here’s a 1925 photo from the Boston Public Library Leslie Jones Collection titled “Father of thirteen needs a lot of shoes” 👞

On Juneteenth, we commemorate the end of slavery in the United States. This broadside from the 1800s resides in the BPL's Anti-Slavery Collection and reflects the voices of abolitionists who called for justice long before emancipation became a reality.

Thank you to everyone who joined the Associates of the Boston Public Library for an evening with board member and recently published author Natalie Lemle, celebrating her debut novel, Artifacts!

The Associates is proud to announce the special guest speakers for We Hold These Truths; former Governor Deval Patrick and Justice Stephen Breyer! The distinguished statesmen will read from the Declarations of Independence throughout the program. Book free tickets here: https://ow.ly/pzJp50Z9WUc

Join the 2025-2026 Boston Public Library Telling Boston Stories Research Fellow, Billy Zeng, to learn more about youth organizing history! Taking place this Saturday, June 13, from 1-3 PM at Grove Hall, this two-hour interactive workshop will showcase Boston youth organizing history.

Applications for the Alan Andres Writing Fellowships, Writer-in-Residence and the Picture Book Writer Fellowship, are due TONIGHT, Friday, June 5, at 11:59 PM!

Join the Associates of the Boston Public Library for an evening with Associates board member Natalie Lemle for a panel discussion on her new book, Artifacts, on June 9 at 6 PM in the Central Library in the Commonwealth Salon. 🎟️ Reserve free tickets here: https://artifacts.eventbrite.com/?aff=bsky

Memorial Day honors the fallen and acknowledges the sacrifices made for the country. This Boston Pictorial Archive photo by Elmer Chickering from the Boston Public Library's Special Collections captures a Memorial Day ceremony held in 1886 at the Boston Common.

"Being selected as the Writer-in-Residence was a true turning point for me. It gave me the boost I needed at a time I needed it. It was also how I met my agent, which is how I sold my novel as part of a two-book deal!" Meet Rhonda, our 2022-23 Alan Andres Writer-in-Residence.

Hear from Yssis Cano-Santiago, our 2024-25 Alan Andres Writer-in-Residence, about how the fellowship helped her complete her manuscript: https://bit.ly/4fevFei Applications for the 2026-27 Alan Andres Writer-in-Residence fellowship close on June 5, 2026, at 11:59 PM. www.writer-in-residence.org

Congratulations to our Alan Andres Writer-in-Residence alumni, @anniehartnett.bsky.social Annie Hartnett (2013-2014) and @rhondadechambeau.bsky.social Rhonda DeChambeau (2022-2023), for their novels being chosen for the 2026 Mass Book Awards Longlists! www.massbook.org/mass-book-aw...

In honor of Mother’s Day, pictured here is George Bellows’ tender 1916 lithograph Mother and Children ("June Again") from the BPL's Art Department. Captured are his wife Emma and their daughters Anne and Jean during a summer in Ogunquit, Maine.

There is just ONE MONTH left to apply for the Associates' Alan Andres Writing Fellowships! Deadline: June 5. 📚 Alan Andres Writer-in-Residence: https://ow.ly/wEfG50YV66I 📖 Alan Andres Picture Book Writer Fellowship: https://ow.ly/PEU250YV66K

Hear directly from our inaugural Alan Andres Picture Book Writer Fellow, Jessica Ruan, about the impact of this program. 🔗 Learn more and apply here: https://www.associatesbpl.org/events-and-programs/picture-book-writer-fellowship/

Please join us for the 8th annual Pierce Performance Series, We Hold These Truths. This evening of music and poetry is inspired by the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and will take place on Thursday, June 25, at the Central Library.

Thank you to everyone who supported the 36th Annual Literary Lights! Thanks to your generosity, the Associates of the Boston Public Library raised over half a million dollars to preserve and protect the Boston Public Library's Special Collections. 📸: Maria Alejandra Mata + Olivia Moon