Center for an Urban Future Re-Envisions New York’s Branch Libraries; Library Journal, 9/19/14

Lisa Peet, Library Journal; Center for an Urban Future Re-Envisions New York’s Branch Libraries:

"From the Andrew Carnegie–era temples of learning to the small cinderblock “Lindsay boxes” built during Mayor John Lindsay’s administration from 1966–1973, New York City’s 207 library branches are as varied as its population. And like much of the city, they are feeling the crunch of budget cuts and neglect. The Center for an Urban Future (CUF), a New York City-based public policy think tank, published a detailed report September 15 titled Re-Envisioning New York’s Branch Libraries. The 56-page report, funded by the Charles H. Revson Foundation, focuses on the physical and economic challenges facing the buildings that make up New York City’s three library systems: New York Public Library (NYPL), which serves Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island, Brooklyn Public Library (BPL), and Queens Library (QL). It lays out the many design, space, and infrastructure problems that need to be addressed, and explains the difficult processes required for the city’s libraries to secure funding and carry out various building and renovation projects. In addition, the report offers “20 actionable steps that city government and the libraries themselves could take to address these needs.”"