Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center at the Boston Public Library

How do public budgets shape civic life? ⚖️

On Thursday, May 28 from 5:30–7:30 pm, join us for an in-person conversation and workshop to learn more about participatory budgeting and People’s Budgets campaigns.

Register here to learn how residents can contribute to their city’s budget processes: https://buff.ly/ZFxR4Zv

What does home look like to you?

Join us in person on Wednesday, May 27 from 4:00–6:00 pm for a community map creation project! In this workshop, led by Dr. Meghan Kelly, we will collectively create map icons related to home and housing for the city of Boston. Register today: https://buff.ly/cnJi5dN

From wagon trails to railroad networks, from tenement blocks to national portraits, maps offer a uniquely rich window into the many dimensions of migration.

This From The Vault program brings together nine maps made between 1846 and 1959 that track the movement of people at every scale, from the overland emigrant heading west to the immigrant neighborhood taking shape block by block. Their makers range from railroad companies and publishers to settlement house reformers and immigrant communities mapping themselves. Together they show that cartography has actively shaped who moves, who stays, and whose story gets told.
This showing is specially curated by our Geohumanities & GIS Assistant, Shaolong (Carlos) Yin!

This drop-in showing will be hosted Friday, May 22 from 2:00–4:00 pm in the Learning Center. No advance registration is required.

Can AI change the way we explore historic maps? Find out on
May 18!

Join us for a free virtual talk with Dr. Katherine McDonough (Assistant Professor in Digital Humanities at Lancaster University) as she explores how machine vision technology is transforming the way librarians, historians, and AI researchers work with digitized map collections—drawing on examples from the US and UK.

Monday, May 18 · 2:00 pm EDT
Co-hosted by BPL Digital Services () and the Leventhal Map & Education Center.
Register now → https://buff.ly/wPU2W5q

Join us this Saturday for a special Open House program with our colleagues in BPL Special Collections. We'll focus on rare documents that tell the story of the American Revolution in Boston and reflect the unique collections held at the Boston Public Library.

Drop in any time from 12:00–4:00 pm. No registration is required.

250 years ago, in the summer of 1776, the Declaration of Independence wasn't a celebrated historical document—it was breaking news.

Our new exhibition, "Declarations: Printing a New Nation," opens to the public today in our gallery at the Central Library in Copley Square. This collaboration with BPL Special Collections brings together eight of the library's rare copies of the Declaration, as well as maps and other historical materials, to tell the story of how the news of independence made its way across North America during this era-defining moment. Admission is free.

For more, see https://buff.ly/QpdvErS

Image 2 credit: Mel Taing

The Leventhal Center gallery will be closed Monday, March 30 through Friday, April 10 as we prepare for our new exhibition Declarations: Printing a New Nation. Learn more about the exhibition here: https://buff.ly/OObzwje

The Leventhal Center is excited to share that we're hiring a new Curator or Associate Curator of Maps & Geography!

This role will help lead the Center’s public work around the study of maps, space and place, and historical geography, while also caring for and expanding our collections. If you’re passionate about digging deep into maps and their stories, we’d love to hear from you.

Apply by Monday, March 30, for full consideration: https://buff.ly/1I0bHuI

Many great picture books take us on a journey. Some even take us on a journey we can map 🗺️

Learn how to use picture books to teach elementary students about the basics of geography, mapping and spatial awareness. Leave this session with a recommended book list and strategies for your classroom.

Register for the workshop here: https://buff.ly/3OQqJGz