Baltimore County Public Library
| Type | Public Library |
|---|---|
| Established | 1948 |
| Location | Baltimore County, Maryland |
| Branches | 19 |
| Other information | |
| Director | Paula Miller |
| Website | http://www.bcpl.info/ |
Baltimore County Public Library (BCPL), established in 1948, is a public library system located in central Maryland and headquartered in Towson, Maryland BCPL serves Baltimore County, Maryland, which surrounds but does not include the city of Baltimore. Still, occasionally the two library branches share resources and expertise.
BCPL has 19 branch locations. BCPL's Mobile Library Services operates 4 bookmobiles, with the two largest branches at Catonsville and North Point, while fulfilling environmental and sustainable goals. The branches are strategically located around Baltimore County. Baltimore County has no incorporated towns or communities. Yet the unincorporated areas have names and are considered communities by many residents despite having no clear-cut boundaries, meaning that many of these communities have a BCPL branch located within them.
BCPL offers a wide variety of services, with its branches offering a collection of current, high-demand print and non-print items, including books on compact discs, DVDs, and video games, as well as access to online research databases, downloadable audiobooks, ebooks, and much more. All branches provide public computer access, are Wi-Fi accessible, and offer free programs and activities for all ages. Librarians are available at each branch to respond to the information needs of customers who walk-in or phone-in with questions.
In 1948, the BCPL system was established by combining "twelve independent libraries into one system," each of which was "started by a private association to meet public needs," with most of them organizing by the 1940s, but the current branches in Reistertown, Sparrows Point, founded with space provided by the Bethlehem Steel Corporation, Towson, and Relay, opened before 1936, with all the others opening sometime after 1940. This new library system had a Board of Trustees to consolidate these 12 independent libraries. By October of the same year, an administrative office had opened, at its temporary location sitting on Towson's 120 West Pennsylvania Avenue and a county librarian, Richard D. Minnich, was appointed. The following year, the Cockeysville Branch of the BCPL had moved to a space in the "former Zink residence" which was a "small house located near the Cockeysville School" and sitting on York Road.
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