Show Some Love to Your Library!

Many years ago, spending time at the library meant thumbing through card catalogues, surfing microfiche for news and picking up beat up books with names printed neatly on due date cards that were then hand-stamped with the return day.  

These days, the library has become a digital powerhouse of knowledge. The Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) has grown and accelerated to fit the needs of the dynamic, creative and diverse neighborhoods throughout Brooklyn. 

In honor of the importance libraries hold for Brooklynites, BPL will be celebrating its second annual "Love your Library" event this Saturday, May 14. The  festival will be held at the Central Library, the largest and most grandiose of the 60 brooklyn branches. 

“The Love your Library program began as a way to encourage public support for the Library,” said Jason Carey, marketing and communications director of BPL.  

The Love your Library festival celebrates the importance of the library in the community. The event will cater to children and families, offering live music and kid friendly activities in the Plaza. There will be books as well as "I Heart BPL" t-shirts and tote bags for sale and spots to make donations. All sale proceeds and donations will support BPL.

Perhaps one of the most important aspects of the event is signing one of the many petitions to protect BPL against budget cuts. Last year's event brought in a total of 10,000 signatures on petitions to save the library's funding.  This year, Carey expects to see even more.

Each spring, the libraries face city budget cuts that threaten to eliminate some of the important services the library offers. This year, a cut of $25.2 million of city funding looms over BPL.  The cuts, to be decided on by June 30 would amount to a 30 percent reduction in the library’s current budget. 

A cut like this will affect things such as the programs for children, teens and adults, as well as layoffs to hundreds of employees. The library will have less to offer the community including fewer books, DVDs and CDs to lend out, and the hours would be reduced throughout the branches. 

In this fiscally unreliable time, the library has so much to offer and is a critical resource for community members. 

“More customers are coming to us as their source of knowledge on job assistance, PRE-GED, literacy as well as their destination for free computers, books and other programs,” said Carey. “The budget cuts would deeply impact our ability to continue to serve the public.

 “I’m hoping the show of support from the public will clearly demonstrate the important role libraries play in the lives of all Brooklyn residents,” said Carey.