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The Boston Campus

Boston is the birthplace of the American ideals that are important to library and information professionals — the rights to freedom, liberty, justice, and information! Those who founded and built Boston were among the architects of the great documents designed to protect and advance our freedoms, such as The Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, and the Constitution.

By many accounts, Boston is the nation's best college town — and it is also an international library capital. We have the largest number of libraries of any region in the world, and Simmons students get to use these great resources every day. The Boston Athenæum is one of the world's most distinguished independent libraries and a national treasure.   Since 1807, the Athenæum has connected the public to great works of science and learning and cultivated a stimulating forum where scholars, bibliophiles, and community interest groups exchange ideas and inspiration.

In 1848, the Boston Public Library (BPL) became the first publicly supported large, urban library in the nation, introducing the revolutionary concept of book borrowing.   Today, the BPL and Athenæum are joined by an astonishing array of libraries, both historic and high-tech, including the Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology library systems; the Mary Baker Eddy Library for the Betterment of Humanity; the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, which oversees the maintenance and development of library services for all residents of the Commonwealth, including a robust program of regional services and statewide electronic services; and the Massachusetts Historical Society, which houses the 250,000-page Adams Papers Collection of letters and manuscripts.

GSLIS shares strong bonds with all these institutions, working with them to cosponsor forums, provide continuing education, and place interns and graduates in jobs. The Boston tradition of idealism and equality — coupled with the city's incredible resources — delivers a truly unparalleled experience to everyone in the GSLIS community.