Comments on: A Grassroots Community Library

By: The Changeling

The Changeling — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 14:27:47 +0000

Thank you very much for the update. We appreciate that the BPL has made an effort to provide some library services during this process, and we’re sure that the end product will be worth the wait. Our community eagerly awaits the new Macon branch, and we will definitely turn out for the grand reopening in ’08.

By: Dionne Mack-Harvin

Dionne Mack-Harvin — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 13:58:57 +0000

Hello Bedstuy.com Bloggers, community members and supporters of Brooklyn Public Library-
I am Dionne Mack-Harvin, Executive Director of BPL. I recently came across your thread on building a grassroots community library and wanted to give you an update as well as respond to your questions about the renovation of Macon Library.

Libraries, Iâ€™m sure you will agree, are a critical part of every community. We provide free access to books and technology, and help preserve a communityâ€™s culture and history. We also serve as a safe haven for children and teens, which is why itâ€™s always with great hesitation that BPL closes a library.

Macon, after providing more than 100 years of library service in Bedford-Stuyvesant, was in desperate need of repairs and upgrades. Once we received the funding to conduct a much-needed renovation, we closed the branch in June 2006 to make several enhancements, including:

â€¢ A space for our new African American Heritage House collection
â€¢ A First Five Years reading area for infants and preschoolers, with a new collection of board books, furniture designed especially for little ones, and
computers with software for preschoolers
â€¢ Lighting and ceiling restoration
â€¢ Electrical upgrade
â€¢ New heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system
â€¢ New furniture and paint throughout the library

During Maconâ€™s closure, we have provided bookmobile service at the library from 11AM – 4PM on Mondays and Thursdays. We have also set up a library in partnership with MS 35 at 272 MacDonough St., between Lewis Ave. and Marcus Garvey Blvd., while Macon is closed.

In addition, our full catalog, along with hundreds of eBooks, articles and databases, can be accessed 24 hours, seven days a week from a home computer or another remote location using a BPL library card. Several nearby BPL branches, including Saratoga and Bedford libraries, are also open and ready to meet your needs.

I know that no solution is as good as having your neighborhood library open, but the enhancements made during Maconâ€™s temporary closing will provide you with a more enjoyable library experience and benefit the entire community.

I appreciate your patience and look forward to seeing you when Macon Library reopens in March 2008.

By: Robert

Robert — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 01:00:27 +0000

Not too long ago, the Bedford branch (Franklin & Hancock) was in a similar plight. It was closed seemingly indefinitely. After a whole heap of protests, racial and political insinuations on WHY it was not being pushed to reopen, and even a Times article, it finally was reopened last October I believe. Sometimes protest does work!

I think the library needs to hear that the Macon branch is missed. And what’s more, the community is without a vital source of free literature and learning tools. If we push the right buttons, they will do what is necessary to reopen the branch.

By: marie

marie — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 18:05:28 +0000

While I too am ready for the library to reopen, it’s also reat that they’re rehabbing it! Maybe “bombarding with complaints” isn’t quite the right tone to take…

By: amy

amy — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 03:31:22 +0000

That’s a great idea and I can volunteer some time to help if needed. But we should also keep up pressure on the city to open the branch asap. Would they try something like this in brooklyn heights? I doubt it. Wouldn’t it be powerful to see children (and adults) demanding that it be reopened? I’ll do some research about whom to contact, etc.

By: Aaron

Aaron — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 13:42:34 +0000

There are a bunch books at Food for Thought on Marcus Garvey and Mcdonough. You can sit and read in there. I’m sure he would take more books if you gave them to him

By: Olivia Lane

Olivia Lane — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 04:37:03 +0000

They have a public library of sorts in Bryant Park. I sometimes read there during lunch breaks. Maybe we could have something like that in Von King Park or Fulton Park. It would require volunteer attendants though, so maybe that wouldn’t be too self-sustaining. But if anyone wants to relax in the park all day…

By: anon

anon — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 00:51:17 +0000

i believe the saratoga branch was closed for the longest while also, plus don’t they have a nice garden area.

the best solution is a coffee shop with a cool selection of books where people can lounge and read them.

there are so many bad influences out there for kids – street life, hanging out in cars, etc.

hope a library can be more of a place to breed good nerds.

By: el_nino

el_nino — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 21:04:36 +0000

I recently donated a large box of children’s books to the Bridge Street Head Start school on Stuyvesant. I’m not sure what their plans for them where (my wife was kind enough to actually lug the box over there), but perhaps they might be interested in combining resources with a nascent community library.
And if there’s any word on the status of the Macon branch, please post. Thanks.

By: Nettie

Nettie — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 15:58:00 +0000

I think this is a great idea. I had access to two libraries before I moved and I miss having that. My daughter loves to go to the library and made that long trek with me to the Saratoga branch on foot. This is cool when the weather is nice but what about when school starts and the temps turn cool? In addition to this grassroots solution I think we should bombard the library with complaints. Our children deserve a library too.