Lisa Peet

NYC Neighborhood Libraries_groupLibrary leaders, staff, friends, and council members gathered May 20 in a grand celebration atop New York City’s Hearst Tower to for the second NYC Neighborhood Library Awards. This year, the Charles H. Revson Foundation and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation teamed up to make the awards even more impactful, doubling the total award amounts and creating strong engagement with library users along the way. The ten winning branch libraries were selected from more than 13,000 nominations. The five winners, which each received $20,000, are: Langston Hughes Library, Corona (Queens); Mott Haven Library, Mott Haven (the Bronx); New Lots Library, East New York (Brooklyn); Parkchester Library, Parkchester (the Bronx); and Stapleton Library, Stapleton (Staten Island).

Bard College, a private liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, NY, and Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) have partnered to launch a ?microcollege??an innovative undergraduate program for nontraditional students?at BPL?s Central Library in Prospect Heights. Bard at Brooklyn Public Library is designed to give the experience of attending a small, high-quality liberal arts college to students who have confronted barriers to continuing their education. The two-year program will culminate in an associate?s degree.

Increasingly, public libraries have been finding creative ways to join forces with school administrators, librarians, and media specialists on collaborations that meet students’ evolving needs in and out of school. Clear lines of communication on both sides spell success for districtwide collaborations.