LaGuardia Hall, the first building to comprise the Brooklyn College Library, rose at the head of the Quadrangle in 1936. In 1959, the College added the Gideonse extension. 2002 saw the completion of a new wing and a renovation of the first two buildings. This is the story of how that building project began, progressed, and finished with a flourish and a profound sense of majesty. The result? The Once and Future Library.

We invite you to page through this video history of the Brooklyn College Library Project and hear those exceptional people who created the new Library speak about it from their hearts, and in their own words.
 
 
Long ago, in a borough not so very far away, Brooklyn College elected to begin a campus
master planning project. Every building was to be assessed and rated in terms of its
general physical condition, and its ability to play its assigned role within the College community. It was 1993, some 60 years after the construction of LaGuardia Hall and almost 35 years since the construction of the Gideonse extension: the Library was overcrowded and in sad physical condition.
 
  Barbra Higginbotham, the College librarian, determined to use the master planning exercise to the best advantage possible.
 

 
 
Barbra Buckner Higginbotham, DLS
Chief Librarian &
Executive Director for Academic Information Technologies,
Brooklyn College, The City University of New York

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  And the fairy tale began. However, instead of a fairy godmother, ours was a godfather
(ah! but this is Brooklyn ...) in the form of President Vernon Lattin, who selected the Library as the first project to flow from the master plan. While the evidence strongly suggested the Library as the College’s first choice, President Lattin might have found an athletic facility, or a new performing arts building, to be equally appealing. But, he chose the Library and thus must be the first hero of our story.
   
 

Vernon Lattin
President, Brooklyn College, The City University of New York
(1992 - 2000)


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Were Brooklyn College a wealthy, privately-funded institution, perhaps President Lattin
could simply have lifted his hand and commanded, “Build.” But our path to success
was to be a longer and more winding one, and the next step was to convince the
University to assign priority to the Brooklyn College Library Project.
Patricia Hassett, Brooklyn’s Vice-President for Finance and Administration,
and Chief Librarian Barbra Higginbotham began making their case to
Deputy Chancellor Lawrence Mucciolo and Vice-Chancellor for Facilities Emma Macari:
without their support, we could not emerge from the forests of Brooklyn to travel
the road to Albany.

 

Deputy Chancellor Larry Mucciolo knew Booklyn College well: he was both an alumnus, and our former Vice-President for Finance and Administration.

 

Larry Mucciolo
Deputy Chancellor, The City University of New York (1986 - 1997)




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Vice-Chancellor for Facilities Emma Macari appreciated immediately the College’s need
for a new Library buidling. She became a staunch and active advocate, both within
CUNY and beyond.
 

Emma Macari
Vice-Chancellor for
Facilities Planning, Constuction, and Management,
The City University of New York

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Lending support for the Library Project from the very beginning was Borough President
Howard Golden, who understood the key role of the College within the borough and
the critical importance of technology to its citizens.
 

The Honorable Howard Golden
Brooklyn Borough President (1977 - 2001)




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In 1996, the University made the Brooklyn College Library Project one of the top
priorities in its capitol budget request, and our quest led us to Albany.

Anointed with the blessing of the University, Vice-President Patricia Hassett
strapped on her armor (for this is a modern fairy tale, and heroines require
artillery rather than rustling gowns) and set off on the road to Albany.
Once there, much jousting occurred before the prize was won.
 

Patricia Hassett
Vice President for Finance and Administration,
Brooklyn College, The City University of New York
(1993 - 1998)

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In the State Department of Budget, the College found a guide and ally in
Charles (Chip) Foster, the program officer for higher education.
 

Charles (Chip) Foster
Program Officer for Higher Education,
New York State Budget Office
As the capitol of our kingdom, Albany presented not one but multiple challenges,
requiring that Brooklyn dispatch a new and powerful heroine,
Assistant Vice-President Ella Weiss.
 

Ella J. Weiss
Assistant Vice-President for College Relations,
Brooklyn College, The City University of New York
(1994 - 1998)


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  The College found strong allies in both the State Senate and the Assembly.
Then State Senator (now Borough President) Marty Markowitz
(also a Brooklyn College graduate) threw his full support our way.
 
The Honorable Marty Markowitz
Brooklyn Borough President
(1979 - 2001)



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In the Assembly we found a true heroine in Rhoda Jacobs,
an alumna of Brooklyn College and a savvy politician.
 

The Honorable Rhoda S. Jacobs
Assistant Speaker Pro Tempore,
New York State Assembly


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It was Ed Griffith who proved to be our knight in shining armor. He marshaled the
Brooklyn delegation, refusing to vote on any other issue, until that of the
Brooklyn College Library Project was put before the Assembly.
To him we owe an enormous debt.
 

The Honorable Edward Griffith
New York State Assembly (1972 - 2000)




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Now, the year is 1996. With funding in hand for The Once and Future Library,
we are free to choose the architects who will design and build our Palace of Print.
From a great sea of famed applicants, the College chose the venerable and talented
firm of Shepley Bulfinch Richardson and Abbott, represented by lead architect and
wizard of design Sandy Howe.
 

Sandy Howe
Architect and Partner, Shelpley Bulfinch Richardson and Abbott




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Shepley did not step alone into the breach. Partnered with them was Manhattan firm
Buttrick White and Burtis, a specialist in the sympathetic restoration of historic buildings,
represented first by Ted Burtis then, after his death in 2001, by Heidi Blau.
 

Heidi Blau
Lead Architect, and Partner, Buttrick White and Burtis
(1986 - 2002)


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Building The Once and Future Library required careful oversight by the College.
Who better to provide it, than Assistant Vice-President for Facilities Steve Czirak?
 

Steve Czirak
Assistant Vice-President for Facilities Planning and Operations, Brooklyn College, The City University of New York


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There was another architect associated with the building of The Once and Future Library,
our advocate, our facilitator, our project manager, Marla Appelbaum. Within the Library,
Marla became one of us: without her, The Once and Future Library would surely be a lesser place.
 

Marla Appelbaum
Architect & Project Manager,
Brooklyn College Library Renovation and Expansion Project


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Like every good and satisfying tale, that of The Once and Future Library concludes with everyone living happily ever after in a building that is truly innovative and forward-looking, while at the same time embodying the best of traditional library values.
 

Barbra Buckner Higginbotham, DLS
Chief Librarian &
Executive Director for Academic Information Technologies,
Brooklyn College, The City University of New York

Click on Image at left to view video

 
 

Brooklyn College Library Oral History Project
Special Edition
Production Credits

Faculty and Staff from:

Office of the President
Office of the Vice-President for Institutional Advancement
Brooklyn College Library
Office of Academic Information Technologies
Morton and Angela Topfer Library Café

1st Unit

Glenford (Kevin) Adams
Federico Brusilovsky
Nick Irons
Sylvie Richards
Suzie Samuel

2nd Unit

Connie DiGeronimo
Michael Golovushkin
Barbra Buckner Higginbotham
Nicole Hosten
Jenny Hou
Bonnie Impagliazzo
Petek Kent-Abbott
Marianne LaBatto
James Liu
Amy McGeeny
Patricia Quercia
Samina Khan Qureshi
Alex Rudshteyn
Jan Scott
Howard Spivak
Sandra Stumbo
Bernice Suphal