Open for Business
Brooklyn libraries reopen for browsing
BY BEN BRACHFELD
Brooklyn’s bibliophiles
are rejoicing this week after
the Brooklyn Public Library
system partially reopened
its doors to the public for the
fi rst time since the onset of the
COVID-19 pandemic.
Thirteen of the system’s 60
branches, including the newly
renovated Central Branch
at Grand Army Plaza, reopened
to the public on Monday,
meaning visitors can once
again browse the library’s collections,
use its computers,
and consult with librarians,
in addition to the pick-up and
drop-off services BPL has offered
since last year.
The 13 branches open for
“expanded services” include
Brownsville, Canarsie, Central
Branch, Clinton Hill, Coney
Island, Crown Heights,
Flatbush, Fort Hamilton,
Greenpoint, Kings Highway,
Midwood, Mill Basin, and
Red Hook. Other branches are
open for the more limited pickups
and drop-offs, while some
remain closed.
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BPL spokesperson Fritzi
Bodenheimer said that the library
is hoping to have all its
branches reopened by July,
and that the branches initially
chosen for expanded services
were picked so as to cover a
large swath of the borough.
The library is also launching
new outdoor programming
at select locations across the
borough. That includes a new
“laptop loan” initiative allowing
guests to use the library’s
laptops outside the buildings.
The library will also bring
some of its collections and services
onto the street so guests
can browse, read, and check
out books, and access services
like library card signup without
going into a building.
BPL last year launched
Bklyn Reach, which expands
branches’ Wi-Fi signal up to
300 feet outside the branch
building in any direction.
“We were thinking all during
the pandemic, if we can’t
have people come into the library,
or come in the way
they’re used to it, we thought,
how can we bring our services
out,” Bodenheimer said.
Library honchos haven’t
offi cially decided whether the
outdoor programming will be
made permanent or if it will
only be around for this summer.
“But certainly as long as
the weather is good, I think we
can go for it,” Bodenheimer
told Brooklyn Paper.
The library has pivoted to
outdoor and virtual programming
since closing branches
in March 2020 at the beginning
of the pandemic, like
movie screenings and storytime.
It’s also at times moved
some operations outside the
building, putting on pilot programs
like outdoor tech support,
and reading rooms last
year at the Flatbush and Red
Hook branches. Bodenheimer
said that the library has
hosted 9,000 online programs
attended by over a million people
during the pandemic.
Visitors will still have to
wear masks and maintain six
feet of social distance, and are
being asked to limit their time
inside branches to an hour
“just to allow as many people
as possible to access our resources,”
Bodenheimer said.
Bodenheimer said that
while she’s proud of the work
BPL did during the pandemic,
it was no match for the in-person
services that are now returning.
“People are just so happy
to be able to browse a book,”
Bodenheimer said. “There’s
something about the joy of just
being able to browse on a shelf
that just can’t be replicated
online. It’s just great, we’re so
happy to see our patrons.”
The Brooklyn Public Library’s Crown Heights branch.
Photo by Ben Brachfeld
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