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THE PUBLIC LIBRARIES OF NYC

THE PUBLIC LIBRARIES OF NYC. Ellen Mehling, MLS October 13 th , 2009 Rick Block’s Fall 510 class LIU @ NYU. About me. One of my jobs is at Queens Library’s Central Library (Jamaica) I do outreach and staff the reference desk at the Job Information Center (JIC)

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THE PUBLIC LIBRARIES OF NYC

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  1. THE PUBLIC LIBRARIES OF NYC Ellen Mehling, MLS October 13th, 2009 Rick Block’s Fall 510 class LIU @ NYU

  2. About me • One of my jobs is at Queens Library’s Central Library (Jamaica) • I do outreach and staff the reference desk at the Job Information Center (JIC) • I never pictured myself working in a public library

  3. HISTORY OF PUBLIC LIBRARIES IN THE U.S. (and NYC) What does Scotland have to do with public libraries in the United States?

  4. ANDREW CARNEGIE • Very successful Scottish industrialist (Carnegie Steel Company) • Big believer in education and “free” public libraries • Donated big bucks to establish libraries in the U.S. and elsewhere

  5. CARNEGIE LIBRARIES • “Carnegie libraries” were established in many places, including Scotland, Canada, Australia and Fiji • A.C. funded about 2,500 libraries in the U.S., in 47 states • He funded many other things, including: CIT (now part of Carnegie Mellon University), Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland, and NYC’s Carnegie Hall

  6. CARNEGIE LIBRARIES IN NYC • A total of 67 Carnegie libraries were built in NYC: 39 in the Bronx, Manhattan & Staten Island, 21 in Brooklyn, and 7 in Queens • Some were later demolished, usually because the neighborhoods grew • Some are still in use: including Woodhaven (Queens Library) Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Carnegie_libraries_in_New_York_City

  7. ??? ??? HOW MANY LIBRARY SYSTEMS ARE IN NYC? HOW MANY PUBLIC LIBRARIES IN NYC?

  8. HOW MANY LIBRARY SYSTEMS ARE IN NYC? THREE HOW MANY PUBLIC LIBRARIES IN NYC? 211 (NYPL – 89, BPL – 60, QL – 62)

  9. THE LIBRARIES • Most U.S. cities, even big ones, have one library system, NYC ended up with three • New York Public Library (NYPL, covering Manhattan, Staten Island and the Bronx) • Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) • Queens Library (QL) • The small public libraries in various neighborhoods each became part of one of these three systems

  10. THE “USUAL STUFF” AT ALL THREE SYSTEMS (quickly) • Books, newspapers, magazines, journals (different languages and formats) • CDs, DVDs, games • Website with online catalog, account info, databases, calendar, and more • Reference materials • Computers • Classes (including computer, arts/crafts, ESL, literacy…) • Materials and programs for various age and interest groups and in different languages • Info on local resources and events • Current event programming • Book discussion groups • Cultural programs

  11. BROOKLYN • Was once a city unto itself; integrated into New York City in 1898 • Highest population of any borough, 2.5 million people • Over 37% of Brooklyn residents are foreign-born; 46% speak a language other than English • Languages spoken include English, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Hebrew, Haitian Creole, French, Yiddish, Hindi, Bengali, Polish, Italian, and Arabic

  12. BROOKLYN PUBLIC LIBRARY • Established in 1896 • Between 1901 and 1923, Andrew Carnegie donated $1.6 million to help establish 21 branches • It is currently the fifth largest library system in the U.S. (by circulation)

  13. BPL VINTAGE PICS Gerritsen Beach Branch, 1960s (note spelling error on sign) Prospect Branch (now Park Slope) date unknown

  14. BROOKLYN PUBLIC LIBRARY • 60 locations: Central Library, Business Library and 58 neighborhood branches • A branch within ½ mile of each resident • Materials in more than 50 languages • More than 5 million items in collection: circulation over 16 million annually

  15. BPL’S CENTRAL LIBRARY • At Grand Army Plaza (Flatbush Ave. & Eastern Parkway) • Current location opened in 1941, landmarked in 1997 • Has a café and had a restaurant (“Parkview”) until July 2009 • Building is shaped like…

  16. BPL’S CENTRAL LIBRARY …an open book(entrance is on the spine)

  17. BPL’S BUSINESS LIBRARY • In downtown Brooklyn (Cadman Plaza) • Business and investment resources • Is older than BPL itself – dates back to 1852 (then the Brooklyn Athenaeum and Reading Room for young men only) • Known as the Business Library since 1943

  18. BPL FUN FACTS • Refer to their users as “customers” (as does Queens Library) • Answer more than 3 million reference questions each year • Have a bookmobile, a ‘kidsmobile’ and a ‘Bibliobus’ (materials in Spanish, the first of its kind) • Brooklynology, a blog about Brooklyn history, from BPL’s Brooklyn Collection http://brooklynology.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/

  19. BPL – sampling of programs & services (Summer/Fall 2009) • Database classes • Photo contest • Philosophy discussion group • Writers’ Circle meeting • Qigong exercise class • Exhibitions: • Brooklyn Connections: history projects created by Brooklyn eighth-graders, using materials from the Central Library • Partners in Art and Life (artwork by Brooklyn artists who are couples) – through November 5th, 2009 For more info: http://www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/events/exhibitions/2009/

  20. BPL – in the works New Visual & Performing Arts Library (VPA) in the BAM Cultural District (in the works since 2002) • new and emerging arts and technology • traditional and digital collections • access and training to arts applications and technologies • special archive will house the records and history of Brooklyn's arts communities For more info: http://www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/pdf/about/PlanPublicService_FY05-FY08.pdf

  21. Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island • Combined population of approx. 3.5 million people • Diversity – the three boroughs include urban and suburban neighborhoods, areas of wealth and of poverty, different languages, age groups, educational levels, etc. • The Bronx is only NYC borough not on an island

  22. NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY • Began as a consolidation of the Astor and Lenox Libraries, with money ($2.4 million) from the Tilden Foundation (1895) • Joined with the New York Free Circulating Library in February 1901 • (also in 1901) Andrew Carnegie donated $5.2 million • World famous – many people believe this is the only library system in NYC • Includes four non-lending research libraries, a library for the blind and physically challenged, and neighborhood branches

  23. NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY • Collections have more than 50 million items • …including 20 million books • Only the LoC and the British Library have bigger collections • Research Libraries • Schwarzman Building (42nd Street/5th Ave.) • SIBL (formerly B. Altman’s dep’t store, 34th Street) • Performing Arts (at Lincoln Center) • Schomburg Center for Black Research and Culture (Harlem)

  24. NYPL fun facts • NYPL has their own special police officers • Budget is >$50 million • More than 3000 employees Mulberry Street Branch (opened May 2007)

  25. NYPL Schwarzman Bldg. Fun Facts • Opened in 1911 • Movies that have featured this building include: 42nd Street, The Wiz, Ghostbusters, The Day After Tomorrow and Sex and the City • There are seven levels of stacks below the building, and a three-acre storage area underneath Bryant Park • The lions have had different names over the years; their most well-known names, given to them by Mayor LaGuardia during the Great Depression, are…

  26. NYPL Schwarzman Bldg. Fun Facts Patience and Fortitude

  27. NYPL – sampling of programs & services (Summer/Fall 2009) • Summer Reading promoted by the New York Yankees!! • Yu-Gi-Oh Battle (teens) • Exhibition commemorating the 250th anniversary of Voltaire’s Candide (Schwarzman Bldg.) • MOMA @ the Library presents: Art in New York: From Jackson Pollock to Andy Warhol (Bronx Library Center)

  28. NYPL – sampling of programs & services (Summer/Fall 2009) • Exhibition at Schomburg Center for Black Research and Culture commemorating 50 years since the end of school segregation • Health information class • “Stump the Librarian” (for kids) • Manga drawing workshop

  29. NYPL – recent and upcoming • Opening of Grand Central Branch, April 2009 • Job Search Central at SIBL • Children’s Center at 42nd Street • New circulation/reserve system (as of July 6th, 2009) • Selling SIBL? Selling Mid-Manhattan? • Hubs planned, SI & upper Manhattan? • Extended hours, until 11pm for some locations

  30. QUEENS • Population more than 2.2 million • Most ethnically diverse county in the U.S.; nearly half the residents are immigrants • More than one quarter of Queens’ residents are Hispanic (increased by 61% between 1990-2006) • Almost half of NYC’s Asian population lives in Queens

  31. QUEENS LIBRARY • Formerly known as ‘Queens Borough Public Library’ • Established in 1901 (except for Flushing, which remained independent until 1903) • Many early “branches” were storefronts

  32. QUEENS LIBRARY • Library Journal‘s 2009 Library of the Year • Highest circulation of any library system in the U.S. (more than 21 million items in 2008) • Uses the phrase “Community Library” (CL) instead of “branch”

  33. QUEENS LIBRARY VINTAGE PICS “Old” Central Library, Parsons Blvd., 1935 The QBPL Book Bus at St. Virgilius School, Broad Channel, 1937

  34. QL Programs & Services(selected) • New Americans Program (NAP) - for new immigrants: collections and events/ programs in various languages, English classes, info on becoming a U.S. citizen • Demographer on staff to help determine needs of each neighborhood • Long Island Division – historical/archival records and pictures of Long Island, Queens and Brooklyn

  35. QL Programs & Services(selected) • Seven Adult Learning Centers (ALCs) – classes include literacy and ESL • Two JICs (Job Information Centers; Central and Flushing) • Mail-a-Book service for the homebound (Queens Village CL) • Weekly conference calls with homebound seniors (also QV CL)

  36. QUEENS LIBRARY – in the works • Children's Library Discovery Center at Central Library, coming in 2010 (2011?)

  37. Venues include: schools, libraries, rehab centers, senior centers nursing homes, correctional facilities, parole offices, YMCAs, organizations that serve teens at risk, homeless shelters We also attend community meetings and Special Interest Group (SIG) meetings QUEENS LIBRARYOUTREACHTwo outreach librarians for the whole borough (I am one of them)

  38. QUEENS LIBRARYOUTREACH • Topics of presentations include: • QL services (general) • QL services for seniors • QL services for persons with disabilities • Education/entertainment • Reminiscing (for seniors) • Local history • JIC services • Job hunting (general and focused) • Some are bilingual or even trilingual

  39. For more information: • http://www.nypl.org (NYPL) • http://www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org (BPL) • http://www.queenslibrary.org (QL) • http://www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/pdf/about/PlanPublicService_FY05-FY08.pdf (BPL’s plans) • http://archrecord.construction.com/news/daily/archives/080415NYPL.asp (NYPL’s plans) • Wikipedia pages for NYPL, BPL and QL

  40. Q & A

  41. Thank you and good luck!

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