Brooklyn public library

Variant names

Hide Profile

Collecting area: Brooklyn history.

From the description of Repository description. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 155457439

The Brooklyn Ephemera Collection contains a wide variety of material, mainly memorabilia, donated to the Brooklyn Public Library in the 1960s during a program conducted by the Library to encourage local interest in the history of Brooklyn. Since most of the items are unrelated, the chief value of the collection is to provide a kaleidescopic glimpse of the social and cultural past of the borough.

From the description of Brooklyn ephemera collection, 1754-1941. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 155456201

The Brooklyn Library and the Mercantile Library Association were predecessors of the Brooklyn Public Library.

From the description of Records, 1865-1980. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 155457008

The formation of the Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) system was approved by the New York State legislature in 1892 and was officially organized in 1897, just one year before the consolidation of New York City. The BPL system was originally planned as a network of small libraries with the first branch library opening in 1897 at the former Public School No. 3 in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. From 1901 to 1923, the BPL system grew rapidly when steel magnate and industrialist Andrew Carnegie provided funds ($1.6 million) for the construction of 21 new branch libraries throughout Brooklyn. Carnegie libraries, as they were generally called, were unique in that they were designed to meld beautiful architecture with functional design. Further, to receive Carnegie's funding, a library or library system had to both provide the land on which the library would be built and must also be able to pay for operational and maintenance costs following construction.

Around the same time as when the Carnegie libraries were being built in Brooklyn, the BPL system also embarked on the establishment and construction of a grand central library. In 1908, BPL hired Brooklyn-born architect Raymond F. Almirall (1869-1939) to design the new central library building. Construction on a classical style Beaux-Arts building progressed until funding difficulties halted construction in 1913. Though the foundation of the building had been dug and the frame of one wall was in place, funding problems prohibited further work on the construction of BPL’s central branch. It wasn’t until 1938, when a new architecture firm, Alfred Morton Githens and Francis Keally, was hired to redesign a new central library, incorporating Almirall's original foundation and framing (that still stood) as the basis for the new design. On February 1, 1941 the new Modern Classical style Central Library finally opened to public.

As of 2010, the BPL system consisted of 60 locations including the Central Library, the Business Library (located on the border of the Brooklyn Heights and Downtown Brooklyn neighborhoods), and 58 branch libraries located throughout Brooklyn (18 of which are Carnegie libraries). The BPL system also ranked as the fifth largest library system in the United States, with the Central Library seeing over one million visitors at its Grand Army Plaza location on the northern edge of Prospect Park.

Sources: Brooklyn Public Library. "BPL History." Accessed December 30, 2010. http://www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/history.jsp DeCandido, GraceAnne A. "Brooklyn Public Library." In The Encyclopedia of New York City, edited by Kenneth T. Jackson, 160. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press; New York: New-York Historical Society, 1995. Morrone, Francis. An Architectural Guidebook to Brooklyn. Salt Lake City, Utah: Gibbs Smith, 2001.

From the guide to the Brooklyn Public Library publications, 1898-1965, (Brooklyn Historical Society)

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
creatorOf Repository description. New York State Historical Documents Inventory
creatorOf Photographs, [ca. 1940-1960]. New York State Historical Documents Inventory
creatorOf Brooklyn photograph collection, [ca.1880-1980], 1940-1960 (bulk) New York State Historical Documents Inventory
creatorOf Mortgage forms, 1859-1867, 1860 (bulk). New York State Historical Documents Inventory
referencedIn Edmund Blampied Collection, 1914-1989 : Harold J. Baily, collector. Hofstra University Library, Joan and Donald E. Axinn Library
creatorOf Map collection, 1776-1972. New York State Historical Documents Inventory
referencedIn Houghton Library printed book provenance file, A-D Houghton Library
referencedIn Downtown Brooklyn Development Association records, 1929-1971 Center for Brooklyn History (2020-)
creatorOf Brooklyn Public Library publications, 1898-1965 Center for Brooklyn History (2020-)
referencedIn Huntington Free Library. Scrapbook of Brooklyn news from the Eagle, 1937-1940. Cornell University Library
creatorOf Photograph album, 1969-1970. New York State Historical Documents Inventory
creatorOf Records, 1865-1980. New York State Historical Documents Inventory
creatorOf Brooklyn Public Library. Letter, 1940, to Lewis Mumford. University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Van Pelt Library
referencedIn Nirenstein National Realty Map Company Records., undated, 1909-1983. Archives & Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Center.
referencedIn Otto Dreschmeyer Brooklyn slides, 1965-1968 Center for Brooklyn History (2020-)
creatorOf Brooklyn ephemera collection, 1754-1941. New York State Historical Documents Inventory
creatorOf WNYC (Radio station : New York, N.Y.). Collection of broadcast recordings [sound recording], 1938-1970. New York Public Library System, NYPL
referencedIn United States. Work Projects Administration (New York, N.Y.) Libraries, Museums, and Botanical Gardens Section. Guest register, 1940 May 20-May 25. New-York Historical Society
referencedIn Learned Hand papers Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138
creatorOf Brooklyn Public Library. Institutional file. Brooklyn Museum Libraries & Archives
creatorOf WNYC (Radio Station : New York, N.Y.). WNYC collection of broadcast recordings [sound recording], 1938-1970. Municipal Reference & Res Center/Doris
creatorOf Oversized photographs and architectural drawings of the Brooklyn Public Library and its branches, 1905-[ca. 1959]. New York State Historical Documents Inventory
referencedIn Alanson T. Briggs records, 1901-1913, 1901-1910 The New York Public Library. New York Public Library Archives.
referencedIn New York Public Library. Board of Trustees. Agent for Carnegie Sites. Alanson T. Briggs records, 1901-1913, 1901-1910 (bulk). New York Public Library System, NYPL
creatorOf Brooklyn Public Library. Correspondence to Chaim Potok, 1989-1998. University of Pennsylvania Library
referencedIn Gore Vidal papers, 1850-2020 (inclusive), 1936-2008 (bulk) Houghton Library
creatorOf Postcard album - Brooklyn views, [ca.1900-1969] New York State Historical Documents Inventory
creatorOf Scrapbooks, 1900-1977. New York State Historical Documents Inventory
referencedIn Carnegie Corporation of New York. Correspondence, 1899-1943, bulk (1901-1912). New York Public Library System, NYPL
creatorOf Way photo album, [ca.1888] New York State Historical Documents Inventory
referencedIn Brooklyn ephemera collection, 1814-1998 Center for Brooklyn History (2020-)
referencedIn Papers, 1937-1954. New York State Historical Documents Inventory
creatorOf Miscellaneous negatives, [ca.1900] New York State Historical Documents Inventory
creatorOf Theatrical and musical programs collection, 1875-1952. New York State Historical Documents Inventory
referencedIn Correspondence, 1899-1943, 1901-1912 New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Beecher, Henry Ward, 1813-1887. person
associatedWith Boston Athenaeum. corporateBody
associatedWith Brooklyn Academy of Music. corporateBody
associatedWith Brooklyn Botanic Garden. corporateBody
associatedWith Brooklyn Daily Eagle. corporateBody
associatedWith Brooklyn Daily Eagle. corporateBody
associatedWith Brooklyn Dodgers (Baseball team) corporateBody
associatedWith Brooklyn Engineers Club. corporateBody
associatedWith Brooklyn Museum. corporateBody
associatedWith Brooklyn Public Library. Board of Trustees. corporateBody
associatedWith Brooklyn Public Library. Children's Garden. corporateBody
associatedWith Brooklyn Public Library. Poetry and Drama Ensemble. corporateBody
associatedWith Brooklyn Public Library. Public Relations Office. corporateBody
associatedWith Brooklyn Union Gas Company. corporateBody
associatedWith Carnegie Corporation of New York. corporateBody
associatedWith Colón, Jesús, 1901- person
associatedWith Columbia (Ship) corporateBody
associatedWith Conway, Thomas W. person
associatedWith Cutter, Charles A. 1837-1903. person
associatedWith Downtown Brooklyn Development Association. corporateBody
associatedWith Dreschmeyer, Otto person
associatedWith Feipel, Louis N. person
associatedWith Ferguson, Milton James, 1879- person
associatedWith Gilbert Dramatic Association. corporateBody
associatedWith Grand Opera House (New York, N.Y.) corporateBody
associatedWith Greenwood Cemetery (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.) corporateBody
associatedWith Hand, Learned, 1872-1961 person
associatedWith Houghton Library. corporateBody
associatedWith Mercantile Library Association (Brooklyn, N.Y.) corporateBody
associatedWith Montauk Club (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.) corporateBody
associatedWith Montauk Theater. corporateBody
associatedWith New York Public Library. Board of Trustees. Agent for Carnegie Sites. corporateBody
associatedWith New York Public Library. Board of Trustees. Clerk corporateBody
correspondedWith Nirenstein National Realty Map Company. corporateBody
associatedWith O'Dwyer, William, 1890-1964. person
associatedWith Olmsted, Frederick Law, 1822-1903. person
associatedWith Shubert Theater (New York, N.Y.) corporateBody
associatedWith United States. Work Projects Administration (New York, N.Y.) Libraries, Museums, and Botanical Gardens Section. corporateBody
correspondedWith Vidal, Gore, 1925- person
associatedWith Waterman, Ed. person
associatedWith Whitman, Walt, 1819-1892. person
associatedWith WNYC (Radio station : New York, N.Y.) corporateBody
Place Name Admin Code Country
Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
New York (State)--New York
Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) |x Intellectual life |y 19th century
Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
Manhattan Beach (New York, N.Y.)
New York (State)--New York
Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) |x Intellectual life |y 20th century
New York (N.Y.)
Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
Brighton Beach (New York, N.Y.)
Seagate (New York, N.Y.)
New York (State)--New York
Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
New York (N.Y.)
Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
Bay Ridge (New York, N.Y.)
Sheepshead Bay (New York, N.Y.)
Prospect Park (New York, N.Y.)
Prospect Park (New York, N.Y.)
Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
New York (State)--New York
Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
Coney Island (New York, N.Y.)
Prospect Park (New York, N.Y.)
Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) |x Buildings, structures, etc.
Subject
Theater
Education
Brooklyn Borough Hall (New York, N.Y.)
Brooklyn Bridge (New York, N.Y.)
Carnegie libraries
Exhibitions
Fulton Ferry (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
Housing finance
Land use
Libraries
Public libraries
Public libraries
Library administration
Library architecture
Long Island, Battle of, New York, N.Y., 1776
Music
Real property
Sailors and Soldiers Monument (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
Theater programs
Occupation
Activity

Person

Active 1938

Active 1970

Americans

Information

Permalink: http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6z71fd2

Ark ID: w6z71fd2

SNAC ID: 87529658