The 2017 Boston Common Tree Lighting on Thursday, November 30, from 6 to 8 PM, marks the centennial of the devastating explosion in Nova Scotia's Halifax Harbor, when two ships loaded with munitions collided. Many Bostonians went north to help with the relief efforts and, in gratitude, Nova Scotia sends one of its towering trees each year for the holiday display and tree-lighting on the Boston Common.The Perkins School for the Blind, which makes services available through the South End library, has taken the occasion to create an online exhibit that tells the story of the Halifax Explosion and the role its third director, Edward E. Allen, played in the blindness relief efforts. The Halifax Explosion online exhibit, which is based on extensive Perkins Library's archives, is accessible at www.perkins.org/history/halifax. 

 A recent Local/Focus installation in the Tremont Street window of the South End branch detailed many services and materials that can be obtained for free from the Perkins Braille and Talking Books Library, which is part of the National  Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. They, in turn, are part of the Library of Congress and the Perkins Library is the main Massachusetts NLS Library. For help in getting services from the Perkins School at the South End branch, contact head librarian, Anne Smart at 617 536-8241. 

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