The inscription on the façade of the McKim Building reads:

MDCCCLII FOUNDED THROUGH THE MUNIFICENCE AND PUBLIC SPIRIT OF CITIZENS THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF THE CITY OF BOSTON BUILT BY THE PEOPLE AND DEDICATED TO THE ADVANCEMENT OF LEARNING A.D. MDCCCLXXXVIII THE COMMONWEALTH REQUIRES THE EDUCATION OF THE PEOPLE AS THE SAFEGUARD OF ORDER AND LIBERTY

And over the entrance, simply the words

(posted from an Internet terminal in the adjacent Johnson Building of the Boston Public Library)

TopicLibraries - TopicPersonalHistory - 2002-06-20

(correlates: Knowledge and Public Happiness, MaryLandersForMathias, WardrobeMalfunction, ...)