Crafting Workshop Works for Brooklyn Library

There is much talk in class about tailoring the library's offerings to meet the needs of the community and about making libraries relevant to single adults in their 20s and 30s. A branch of Brooklyn Public Library has succeeded on both fronts.

Image via http://yoursecretadmiral.tumblr.com

BPL's Greenpoint branch hosts a crafting workshop called Greenpoint Hand Skills. Meeting the first Saturday of every month, the workshop attracts the artistic 20 and 30 somethings who in recent years have been increasingly making up the surrounding community. Greenpoint Hand Skills has proven to be so popular that the workshops, which are limited to 12 to 15 adults, fill up quickly.

"Adults can be an especially difficult demographic to crack program-wise, especially 20 and 30-year-olds (unless they're parents), which is what I think makes the success of the Hand Skills program so impressive," said Robert A. Simic, neighborhood library supervisor, to Library Journal.

The branch manager and program coordinator of the Greenpoint library, Kure Croker, enlisted Kim Grassie Konen and Julie Schneider to create and run the workshop. Both Konen and Schneider are closely affiliated with Etsy, the hugely popular online marketplace for handmade and vintage goods. Konen and Schneider are sellers on Etsy, and Konen is employed at Etsy headquarters.

On a volunteer basis, Konen and Schneider conduct Greenpoint Hand Skills, leading classes on knitting and the making of zines, bracelets, change purses, ornaments, and much more. They buy the supplies for the classes but are reimbursed by the library or by the group Friends of the Greenpoint Library. 

Branch manager and program coordinator Croker ties the Greenpoint Hand Skills program into the library's collection by curating a selection of titles that match the theme of each month's workshop. The coordinated efforts of Croker, Konen, and Schneider, which include word of mouth and publicizing Greenpoint Hand Skills through social media, have made the program a success.

Speaking to LJ, Schneider said, "Greenpoint Hand Skills carries on a tradition of sharing creativity and knowledge in a community setting that can be traced through history with things like quilting bees, knitting circles, potlucks, and DIY skill shares. As such, it fits right in as a piece of the DIY and maker movement that is carrying handmade skills and pursuits into this present digital age."

To keep up with what Greenpoint Hand Skills is doing, or to find out about upcoming workshops, check it out on Facebook and Flickr.

Support Brooklyn Public Library by Buying T-Shirt

The Brooklyn Public Library has collaborated with clothing company Brooklyn Industries on a fund-raising effort called the "Support Our Shelves" campaign. Now through May 7, 2012, when you buy the Brooklyn Public Library Graphic T-Shirt designed by Brooklyn Industries, a portion of the sale will go to the library for the purchase of new books, DVDs, and ebooks.

A model wears the BPL Graphic T-shirt, designed by BI.

image source: http://www.facebook.com/brooklynindustries

The short-sleeved T-shirt, which comes in light navy for men and black for women, is priced at $28. Twenty percent of the proceeds will go toward the Brooklyn Public Library, according to Brooklyn Industries' website. Be sure to buy yours today, for the limited-edition T-shirt is likely to become a collector's item and, more important, you will be supporting a treasured institution that benefits the local community and communities beyond Brooklyn.

Espresso Machine Brews Books on the Spot

Not too long ago, the book company I work for bought an Espresso machine. No...not the fancy coffee-making apparatus, but an Espresso Book Machine (EBM). Marveling at its size, I was reminded a bit of the old-school photocopiers. But this expansive mass of mechanical marvel prints books on the demand.

An Espresso Book Machine on display at the London Book Fair, 2009.

image source: http://www.guardian.co.uk

This month, the Brooklyn Public Library ordered its own Espresso Book Machine. Printing and binding an entire book in less than five minutes, the machine allows library patrons to hold in their hands obscure titles that they wouldn't otherwise be able to get. It also makes self-publishing possible for those who drop by to use it. "People are doing quite a lot of self-publishing," said Linda Johnson, president of the Brooklyn Public Library, in an interview with 1010WINS. "Because Brooklyn does have a lot of writers, it wouldn't surprise me if that was one of the biggest uses." The Espresso Book Machine is accessible in the Grand Lobby of BPL's Central Library, at 10 Grand Army Plaza.

To read more about the Brooklyn Public Library getting an Espresso Book Machine, check out this CBS New York article.

Bloomberg's Budget Takes $100M from NYC Libraries

Another year, another drastic budget cut proposal for New York's public libraries.

Last week, Mayor Michael Bloomberg presented a budget for fiscal year 2012-13. It proposes that nearly $100 million be cut from the city's three library systems: the Queens Borough Public Library; the Brooklyn Public Library; and the New York Public Library, which serves the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island.

Bloomerg promotes reading while slashing funds for city libraries.

image source: http://www.getcaughtreading.org

Such severe cuts "would mean library closures in every community, most other libraries open only two or three days a week, and widespread layoffs," according to Joanne King, a spokesperson for the Queens Borough Public Library system. King vowed that she and others "will be working with elected officials at all levels of City Hall" to ensure that Bloomberg's version of the budget does not pass.

The efforts of King and her colleagues will be bolstered by those at the grassroots level. Groups including Urban Librarians Unite are already mobilizing to protest Bloomberg's proposed cuts to library funding.

For more details on these cuts, see the Library Journal article below.

Library Journal * February 8, 2012

Bloomberg Proposes Cutting NYC Library Funding by Nearly $100 Million

By Michael Kelly

New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg presented a $68.7 billion preliminary FY12-13 budget on February 2 that, as usual, proposes Draconian cuts for the city’s three library systems.

Bloomberg’s budget has almost no chance of passing through the City Council without significant adjustments, but it proposes a total cut of $96.4 million:

• Queens Borough Public Library, cut $26.7 million;

• Brooklyn Public Library, cut $26.9 million;

• New York Public Library, cut $36.0 million;

• NYPL’s four research libraries, cut $6.8 million.

These numbers are based on the latest forecasts that the city’s Office of Management and Budget has made for the city’s contribution for the current fiscal year (FY11-12) compared to what Bloomberg has proposed for FY12-13, plus the midyear adjustments (called Programs to Eliminate the Gap) that Bloomberg is anticipating this year. Officials from Queens and NYPL confirmed the figures.

“It would mean library closures in every community, most other libraries open only two or three days a week and widespread layoffs,” said Joanne King, a spokersperson for the Queens system. “We will be working with elected officials at all levels of City Hall to have the proposal restored,” she said.

Officials at NYPL declined to comment and Brooklyn did not respond to repeated calls seeking a comment.

Last year Bloomberg made a similar proposal only to agree with the council, after numerous protests, to adjust his proposal by $83 million, which resulted in relatively flat funding for the year. The City Council approved a total of $301.4 million for all the systems combined last year. City funding is the largest part of each system’s budget, except for the research libraries.