Brooklyn's Progress
February 2003

The expanded and renovated Brooklyn College Library has formally opened its doors.

The $72 million project was made possible by Governor George E. Pataki and the New York State Legislature, with the key support of  the Brooklyn delegation.  Proponents in this process were State Assemblywoman Rhoda Jacobs, who represents the Flatbush/Midwood area, former State Assemblyman Ed Griffin, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, and State Assemblyman Edward Sullivan, chair of the Higher Education Committee.

Local officials and special guests joined members of the college administration and faculty at the new library for a ribbon cutting ceremony in October. Architects Shepley Bulfinch Richardson and Abbott, of Boston, and Buttrick White and Burtis, of New York City also were present.

The classic neo-Georgian architecture of the original LaGuardia Hall has been imaginatively wed to a sleek technologically advanced facility that will set the standard for academic libraries of the 21st century. The largest in the City University of New York, the Brooklyn College Library holds more than 1.4 million books and contains 6.5 acres of floor space, 21.5 miles of shelving, and seating for more than 2,300 users.

“This is a defining moment in the history of the college,” said Christoph M. Kimmich, president of Brooklyn College.  “Our students now have a first-rate library and increased access to technology that will contribute to a more powerful educational experience.”

Indeed, the new library offers students a variety of new resources and study environments. Here, they can produce streaming video for Intranet distribution,  conduct research in special collections, attend a guest lecture in the 145-seat Tanger Auditorium, or find a quiet space at one of many modern study carrels located throughout the building.

“The ‘Once and Future Library,’ as the campus has come to think of it, goes above and beyond a typical library’s attributes,” said Barbra Higginbotham, chief librarian and executive director of academic information technologies.  “It’s a complex information center that includes the college archives, a new media center, and both academic and administrative computing.”

Mindful that students have different needs, the architects designed an unusual variety of seating areas, including traditional tables and carrels, lounge chairs, laptop work spaces, group study rooms, reading rooms - even window seats.

“It was refreshing to work with a client willing to take chances,” said Sandy Howe of Shepley Bulfinch Richardson and Abbott.  “It made possible boldly innovative solutions that would  preserve, yet enhance, existing spaces while leading to the creation of new modern rooms.”

Futuristic technological capabilities are found throughout the building and include a digital multimedia distribution system, teleconferencing equipment, satellite connectivity, and sophisticated networking capabilities.

A distinctive feature of the library is the state-of-the-art environmental controls that promote a clean, protective environment for the more than 1.4 million volumes, audio and digital collections, and artwork displays.

On the main floor are the circulation desk and exhibition gallery, the reserve reading room, archives and special collections, three electronic classrooms, a 145-seat Tanger Auditorium, and the airy lily pond reading room. 

Throughout the library are exhibitions of materials from the College's special collections and archives including Brooklyn Dodger memorabilia, rare books from Ethiopia, and Civil War letters.

Brooklyn College, founded in 1930, is one of the eleven senior colleges of the City University of New York.  Located on a twenty-six acre tree-lined campus in Flatbush, it enrolls 15,000 undergraduate and graduate students who are representative of the diverse population of Brooklyn and New York City.  The college is nationally known for its core curriculum, which has been hailed as one of the “bright spots” in American higher education and was recently voted “most beautiful college campus in America" by The Princeton Review.  Visit the college Web site at: http://www.brooklyn.cuny.edu/