Boston Public Library

The Boston Public Library is a landmark of the Back Bay Boston neighborhood still accessible in 2287.

Background
Boston Public Library was the main public library in Boston and was the United States' second-largest library, home to many books and historical records. The library offered lectures, readings, and recitals, in addition to art and architectural tours. This was the largest repository of historical documentation in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and a well-visited location before the Great War. Curator Givens led a crew to the library to preserve all the knowledge that was left, but decades of neglect, water damage, looting, and vandalism had ruined most of the books stored here. The relentless super mutant attacks increasing daily eventually killed the team.

Certain municipal buildings (like this library, hospitals, and police stations) have book return terminals where overdue books can be dropped off in return for book return tokens. The book return terminals offer various prizes as well as dispense these tokens.

Layout
The library is O-shaped with an open patio in the center. The whole place is inhabited by protectrons and Mk 1 turrets. It is also filled with super mutants of varying strengths depending on level. A booby trap with a three-grenade bouquet can be found inside near the entrance connected to the library from Copley Station. There is also a tripwire and single grenade bouquet at the back entrance (with the intercom). The Sole Survivor's actions can trigger additional waves of super mutants to attack the library's defenses.

Copley Station
The library can be accessed through the front door (which is Advanced locked) or through Copley Station which runs under the library. The entrance of the station leads down to the main subway platform. Going toward the back and hooking back around the subway cars take one to an open car containing a cooking station and connects to another car containing a chemistry station. A stairwell on the east side of the platform leads up to the actual library.

Boston Public Library
At the front entrance, there is a hallway straight ahead and a large records room littered with super mutant corpses to the east. This large room connects to a smaller computer room containing Curator Givens, as well as a pavilion filled with broken terminals and display cases. The pavilion opens to a central courtyard containing a fountain to the south and the Copley station entrance to the east.

Down the hallway at the entrance is a busted floor that leads to the central courtyard. Further down, at the end of the hallway is a room containing a chemistry station. The hallway curves leading to the Copley station entrance, going past a few more media rooms.

Notable loot

 * Intelligence bobblehead - In the mechanical room (northwestern side of the building, second floor, the room has a closed but unlocked door on approach) (Unless you are wearing power armor, which alters your compass orientation; in that case, the control room is in the northeast corner). On the large computer.
 * Stealth Boy and bottlecap mine - In the supply room off the northern room that contains the Intelligence bobblehead behind a Master-locked door.
 * The key can be found in the previous room in the northeast corner next to a terminal.
 * Massachusetts Surgical Journal issue #8 - Only obtained as a prize from the book return terminal in the southwest corner. Requires 50 book return tokens, equivalent to 10 overdue books. It's on the 2nd floor beside the entrance from Back Bay.
 * Six overdue books:
 * Three in the mechanical room; on the left side of the room upon entering, on the ground near the two sleeping bags and ammo box.
 * One in the women's restroom in a stall.
 * One in the main reading room on a shelf by the terminal (face the terminal and turn to the immediate west).
 * Enter the building through Back Bay (western) entrance. Head down the hall directly in front of the player, then through the first hole in the wall on the left. Continue through this room through the doorway into the next room. The book is on the first desk one comes to.
 * Vault-Tec lunchbox on a table in the southwest room, near the overdue book machine (look right/east when facing the machine). Another lunchbox can be found in the underground station, in a baby carriage. One may wish to overturn the baby carriage as when the lunchbox is opened the prize may fall through the ground. Another lunchbox can be found on the floor of the cafeteria to the left of the main entrance.
 * Three more overdue books - In a Pulowski Preservation shelter to the southeast of the building's exterior.

Related quests

 * Public Knowledge

Appearances
Boston Public Library appears only in Fallout 4.

Behind the scenes

 * The location is based on the real world Boston Public Library McKim Building in Copley Square. The libraries share many architectural features, and the main hall looks nearly identical to the Bates Hall of the library.
 * Nathan Purkeypile designed the building kit and lighting for the Boston Public Library.

Bugs

 * One can get stuck inside the room in the bottom level after coming down the ramp. (The room connected to the open patio area) There's a room with junk piled in the door. It can be entered through the right hand side of the doorway, but it is not possible to leave without loading a previous save.
 * The game can freeze while receiving the Surgical Journal. It will not be possible to exit the book terminal and one will have the "Item Obtained" overlay stuck on their screen indefinitely.
 * Possible fix: Press the Enter key instead of the activate key.
 * The intercom at the door may respond like an NPC (e.g. with 'Huh?" or "Yeah?") instead of starting the dialog informing player that the library is currently closed. This precludes the player from entering the library as an ally of the robots, and the robots will be hostile.
 * Partial fix: Enter the console command . This makes player an ally of the robots, who will not attack.  Player must still pick the lock, and it appears that the Super Mutant attack will not occur until after the player opens the storage room door in the back room, to the right of Curator Givens' corpse.