Excerpt from Annual Report for the Year Ending June 30, 1987: Document 15; Report of the Examining Committee, 1 April 1986 31 March 1987

The considerable progress already realized in attainment of these goals must be attributed largely to an unprecedented increase of thirty percent in operating support from the City of Boston and the establishment of a capital program for improvements to library buildings throughout the city. All users of the Library will share my deep gratitude to Mayor Raymond L. Flynn for this extraordinary support. In addition, the leadership of Senate President William M. Bulger helped gain a major increase in support from the Commonwealth to help the Library improve the research resources which are used by citizens from all parts of the state.

Of the many achievements of the past year to be found throughout this report, one which I consider most meaningful is the restoration of children's services at the Library. Two years ago, more than half the community libraries were functioning without a children's librarian. This situation, dictated by unavoidable budget cuts of the past, was particularly tragic for a library which had been in the vanguard of services to children for over a century. As of the end of this year, children's librarian positions have been reestablished in all twenty-five neighborhood libraries. The appeal that books hold for children is remarkable in our age, when one considers the competition. Television, complex video games, skateboards, computers, sports, and brightly colored plastic toys all vie with the printed word for the attention of the young. And yet, nearly children and young adults now have active borrowing privileges at the Boston Public Library.

In conjunction with the plan outlined above, the Trustees commissioned a professional feasibility study to determine the potential effectiveness of a major fundraising campaign. Forty corporate and civic leaders interviewed for the study considered the Library an invaluable cultural resource; they were enthusiastic about the long - range plan and felt that private sector support was both essential and appropriate to the revitalization program. With the heartening results of that study in hand, the Trustees decided on October 28, 1986 to embark on what will be this institution's first major capital campaign. Known as The Campaign for the Library, this endeavor aims to generate over the next five years. Its goal is not only to restore the Library's services and facilities, but also to equip the institution so that it will be able to meet the demands of the approaching century.

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