Brooklyn Public Library

first-time ASB host
see brooklynpubliclibrary.org

Four SI students spent Alternative Spring Break at the Brooklyn Public Library. The students raved about the abundant hospitality shown to them by the BPL staff throughout the week and were privileged to library branch and city tours, various programs and special workshops and many activities that maximized their special skills and interests. The BPL staff even organized a little farewell party for them at the end of the week, complete with a tasting of authentic Brooklyn Junior's cheesecake!

Dai-yun Ho was in the History and Biography Department, where she shadowed librarians at the reference desk, had tours in several branches and departments, and got a taste for acquring books online and researching the value of old books in the BPL's collection.

Lei Wang did reference work at the Multilingual Center, including searching for Chinese language websites that might be of interest to the Chinese-speaking community in Brooklyn.

Anne Lundquist worked with the Brooklyn Collection and created a finding aid on immigration to Brooklyn. The finding aid incorporated photographs, newspaper articles, books, and websites, and greatly enhanced her knowledge about Brooklyn, its people, its history, and its library system.

Jolie Valentine worked at the reference desk in the Children's Department for a couple of hours each day and she attended two children's author events. She also visited a local elementary school to observe the BPL outreach program for school children in action.

• “[A]fter seeing how energetic and optimistic the librarians are (though they usually have low salaries), I start considering working in a public library as an option.”
• “It is the most diverse staff and user group I have ever seen in a library. The library of course has its own problems as every other library does, but the optimistic aura is incredible.”
• “Everyone—librarians, archivists, security guards—was so welcoming, enthusiastic, and proud of their jobs and of Brooklyn.”
• “One of our supervisors assigned Brooklyn trivia questions for us to research, so I learned the difference between a knish and a pierogi.”

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