Fiscal Years 2012 2013 Brooklyn Public Library ANNUAL REPORT
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Brooklyn Public Library ANNUAL REPORT Fiscal Years 2012 2013 A NEW Brooklyn Public Library In 2013, Brooklyn Public Library As we embark on the next era launched an exciting new brand. of service for the Library, our The mark is clean, current and logo symbolizes our renewed reflects a new way of thinking commitment to providing the about the Library. Brooklynites best possible service to the have long been coming to BPL public. And by rolling out to begin new journeys, such as our brand across all 60 of opening new businesses, learning our libraries, we will provide English and finding jobs. Our a strong visual identity for the tagline, Start Here, embodies institution as a whole, raising the Library’s role as a place where awareness of the Library system 2012 2013 everyone can begin achieving and its ties to every neighborhood their goals. in our borough. 2 Brooklyn Public Library ANNUAL REPORT 2012 2013 Letter from the Chair ...........................................................................4 Letter from the President & CEO .......................................................5 FY2012/2013 Highlights .....................................................................6 Facts & Figures .................................................................................. 22 Table of CONTENTS FY2012 Donor List .............................................................................31 FY2013 Donor List ............................................................................ 35 How to Help BPL .............................................................................. 40 FY 2013 Board of Trustees ............................................................... 42 3 The past two years at Brooklyn opened Workforce1 Career Centers Central Library and gathered Public Library (BPL) have been at Sunset Park and Central libraries. food, clothing and other supplies marked by a groundswell of new Since opening, they have placed to distribute to impacted areas. activity throughout our Library over 3,000 jobseekers. Though six of our libraries system. We have undertaken sustained significant damage, we many historic institution-building Our 60 neighborhood libraries are have since repaired and reopened initiatives, co-locating community at the heart of their communities, all of them, and many now look services, transforming our physical gathering spaces for people young and function better than they did spaces and expanding community and old. Maintaining and improving before the storm. access to our resources. our libraries is one of our greatest priorities and challenges. In In recent years, we have The new Shelby White and Leon November 2012, we were thrilled repositioned BPL as a center Levy Information Commons at to open our first newly built branch of community, knowledge and Central Library exemplifies in two decades. Constructed with innovation in the digital age. our commitment to connecting sustainable materials, Kensington We hope you will join us as we Brooklynites to the latest in Library is the borough’s first continue to unlock new worlds Letter from the technology and digital learning eco-friendly library and a model of information and opportunity CHAIR opportunities. In addition to basics of what a modern library branch for all Brooklynites. like surfing the web and editing can and should be. resumes, patrons come to this technology-rich space to learn how BPL’s critical role in its neighborhoods Sincerely, to create podcasts, build websites was strikingly evident during the and edit digital photography. aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, when thousands of Brooklynites We have also tackled major issues turned to their local libraries for Anthony W. Crowell facing the communities we serve. support and resources. In the days During the depths of the recent after the storm, BPL dispatched Chair recession, BPL formed a ground- Bookmobiles to act as charging Brooklyn Public Library breaking partnership with New stations, opened Red Hook Library Board of Trustees York City’s Department of Small as a Warming Center for residents Business Services to help meet the without power and heat, hosted increased need for job placement Federal Emergency Management services. In the fall of 2011, we Agency (FEMA) representatives at 4 Brooklyn Public Library ANNUAL REPORT 2012 2013 We are so grateful to the thousands Commons at Central Library. Techies (T4) internship program of people who have supported Featuring a training lab, public has engaged nearly 1,000 Brooklyn Public Library in recent meeting rooms and seating and teenagers, providing them with years, including our Board of outlets for 70 laptop users, the Info free technology training to help Trustees, elected officials, Commons is at the forefront of our enhance BPL’s service to the public. foundations, donors, staff, efforts to promote digital literacy All of these important initiatives volunteers and interns. You across the borough and connect are designed to advance the have helped us make vast our patrons to the technology they Library’s mission while adapting improvements in our buildings want and need. to the changing needs of and spaces, which in turn twenty-first-century library improves the quality of the I am also pleased to report that our patrons. Thank you for helping services we offer. Passport Application Acceptance us to remain a vital source of Facility, which opened in May 2011, information, education and In January 2013, we released a has been a resounding success, recreation for Brooklyn’s 2.5 Strategic Plan outlining our key processing over 21,000 passport million residents. Letter from the goals for the years ahead. Our applications in its first two years of priorities include promoting operation. In response to the strong Very truly, PRESIDENT children’s literacy, lifelong learning, demand for these services, in June & CEO access to Library resources and 2013, we expanded the facility and creative expression; presenting an began offering longer hours on inclusive environment and spaces Saturdays and Sundays. We further Linda E. Johnson that meet the needs of our patrons; increased access by opening an and developing a responsive additional passport center at President & Chief Executive Officer culture of service within our Kings Highway Library. Brooklyn Public Library institution. By focusing on these areas, we will ensure that the As we launched these new Library continues to thrive and projects, we have remained remains an important and relevant focused on growing our signature institution for all Brooklynites. programs. Tens of thousands of Brooklynites sign up for BPL’s In alignment with these goals, last Summer Reading program year we opened the Shelby White annually, and since its inception, and Leon Levy Information the Today’s Teens, Tomorrow’s 5 EDUCATIONAL Brooklyn Public Library promotes educational enrichment in every community. Each year, Summer Reading encourages patrons of all ages to explore new books and library resources. Many of our programs for children Enrichment and teens, including events for early readers and Today’s Teens, Tomorrow’s Techies (T4), provide opportunities for Brooklynites to learn and grow. Summer Reading FY2013 01 Brooklyn Public Library ANNUAL REPORT 2012 2013 BIG BROOKlyn PLaydate FY2012 MYLIBRARYNYC BPL’s First Five Years program invites babies and toddlers to Central Library New York City Public Libraries for fun games and activities that in partnership with NYC Schools encourage literacy. Today’S TEENS, TOMORROW’S TECHIES (T4) New York City Public Libraries FY2013 in partnership with NYC Schools Teens who participate in T4 attend workshops to learn about technology, and then use their new skills to help patrons at the Library. Educator Card FY2013 This pilot program launched Multicultural INTERNSHIP in 2013. Sponsored by the NYC PROGRAM Department of Education, FY2012 these cards extend borrowing privileges to students and Students who volunteered through the educators at all three NYC Multicultural Internship Program worked library systems. behind the scenes with librarians to develop programming and resources. mylibrarynyc.org 7 MYBPL MOBILE APP POWERUP! BUSINESS PLAN COMPETITION FY2012 Participants in BPL’s PowerUP! Business Plan Competition—like FY2012 winner Nidhi Jalan of Masala Mama—attended classes at the Library to learn about what it takes to open a small business. WORKFORCE1 FY2012 BPL partnered with the NYC Department of Small Business Services to open Workforce1 centers at Central and Sunset Park libraries, to assist thousands of Brooklynites in finding jobs. FY2013 A new online catalog was introduced to enhance the search experience for patrons. SELF-CHECK MACHINES We also launched an app for (far right) FY2012 smartphone users, for on-the-go account and catalog access. Self-check machines installed throughout the system helped patrons borrow materials easier and faster. Apple, the Apple logo, and iPhone are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc. Google Play is a trademark of Google Inc. 8 Brooklyn Public Library ANNUAL REPORT 2012 2013 Assemblymember Helene Weinstein and former BPL Board Chair Anthony Crowell assist a young patron at a self-check machine. Ensuring that our Brooklyn communities have access to the latest materials and resources is a top priority at BPL. Our PowerUP! Business Plan Competition, in partnership with Citi Foundation, helps Brooklynites realize ACCESS their dreams of starting a