Section III:
The Borough of Brooklyn

 

  • Friends of the Library
    In order to make the beautiful new Library broadly accessible to the citizens of Brooklyn who have need of its resources, the Library's Committee on College Relations recommended creating a reader's card (access only) at $50.00 annually and a borrower's card at $75.00. This pricing structure both assures that our collections and services are within reach of serious scholars. Also new this year is a photo ID for Friends eligible for borrowing.

    The Library offers persons with College-issued community resident cards free access to the Library on a day of their choice, so that they can review the collections and services and decide if they would like to join Friends of the Library. Two articles about the Library–"Use the Library! How to Do Web Research" and "Get a Library Card" appeared in the spring 2003 issue of Community Corner, a newsletter the College publishes for persons living in the College community.

  • Community Open House
    Miriam Deutch worked with Director of College and Community Relations Nicole Hosten to ensure the Library's full participation the College's Community Open House, October 20, 2002. Four tours of the new building were offered to community members and people were welcomed to an information table where Library staff answered questions about our services and collections.

  • The Brooklyn Transition Center
    This program has broadened the Library's engagement June 14, 2003 with the Brooklyn community. In 2002 five students from the Center, an alternative high school that prepares students with learning disabilities for the workforce, performed various jobs in the Library. The students assisted the staff by picking up books on tables, sorting books on carts, dusting shelves, and stamping access cards. Their work helped to move the books to the shelvers more quickly and maintained a cleaner and neater Library. Moreover, the Library does a service to these young people by providing a workplace that enables them to feel productive, builds their self-esteem, and permits them to learn how to behave in the workplace. The goal of this program is that these young adults find a job with monetary compensation. The teacher Luis Benalcazar does an excellent job supervising the students and working with the Library staff. The students participating in 2002 were Michael Martinez, Jason Willis, Kennedy Agahiu, Randy Contreras, and Johnny Martinez.