{"id":22256,"date":"2024-07-17T01:17:02","date_gmt":"2024-07-17T05:17:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/multi.nycnewsnetwork.com\/brooklynbuzz\/?p=22256"},"modified":"2025-02-13T09:40:27","modified_gmt":"2025-02-13T14:40:27","slug":"reviving-sundays-libraries-reopen-to-delight-book-lovers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nycnewsnetwork.com\/brooklynbuzz\/reviving-sundays-libraries-reopen-to-delight-book-lovers\/","title":{"rendered":"Reviving Sundays: Libraries Reopen to Delight Book Lovers"},"content":{"rendered":"

By: Sonia Zinkin-Meyers<\/p>\n

City officials and community members gathered at the Central Library branch of the Brooklyn Public Library to celebrate the first Sunday opening of the branch since November, when budget cuts forced libraries to reduce weekend hours.<\/p>\n

The city\u2019s fiscal 2025 budget,\u00a0approved<\/a>\u00a0in late June,\u00a0includes $58.3 million for libraries, which is enough money for libraries to restore services on weekends and\u00a0resume previously-cancelled programming.<\/p>\n

Reopenings\u00a0<\/a>will happen gradually throughout the summer, with all Brooklyn libraries back open for Sunday service by August 4, said Linda Johnson, president and chief executive officer of Brooklyn Public Library.<\/p>\n

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\"sunday-service_restored-2024-13\"
City Councilmembers Crystal Hudson and Justin Brannan pose with Brooklyn Public Libraries Director Linda Johnson. Photo: Supplied\/BPL, Gregg Richards<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Justin Brannan, chair of the City Council\u2019s Finance Committee and a Brooklyn Council Member,\u00a0described the funding restoration as a \u201chuge win.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe city council really fought hard for us to be here today and we did it because libraries are not just about books,\u201d he said. \u201cLibraries are a neighborhood lighthouse\u2026 an egalitarian city cannot exist without sacred spaces like [libraries] that serve New Yorkers of all ages, all backgrounds, all income levels.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Johnson credited the restoration of library funding to the \u201chard work\u201d of the City Council, Mayor Eric Adams\u00a0and the local community.<\/p>\n

\u201cNearly 30,000 Brooklynites wrote to city officials on our behalf,\u201d she said at the press conference. \u201cWe would not be here today without your tenacity and commitment to preserving library access for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Sunday’s celebration included a drumline performance by members of the Brooklyn United Music & Arts Program.<\/a>\u00a0Johnson, Brannan and City Council Member Crystal Hudson ceremonially unlocked\u00a0the doors to the library at about 1pm, allowing dozens of residents to flood into the main BPL branch to begin reading, browsing the internet or simply cool\u00a0off in the air conditioning.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\"img_8881\"
Signs given out to members of the public to celebrate. Photo: Sonia Zinkin-Meyers\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThe community felt it very much,\u201d when libraries were closed, said Maria McGrath, a librarian at the Macon branch in Beford Stuyvesant.<\/p>\n

McGrath said she was on the receiving end of much disappointment when her branch was closed on Sundays, where many people asked her where they could go instead.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been missing Sundays [at the library],\u201d said Jennifer Halpin, a Brooklyn resident, who was at the opening with her son James, a dinosaur book enthusiast.<\/p>\n

Kathleen Bennett, who visted the library with her son, Kingston, said weekends were the only time she could take her son to the library as she works during the week.<\/p>\n

“Weekends are the only time we can go together,” she said.<\/p>\n

Dawn Coe, who was at the library with her two grandchildren, said she has lived in the neighborhood for decades, and brought her children to the library when they were young as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a perfect day to be at the library,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m reminiscing a bit and enjoying being around the books and with my grandchildren. My endorphins are just firing right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Johnson said she felt the love from the community.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople were saying that they were emotional [at the reopening],\u201d Johnson said. \u201cI get that. Me too!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By: Sonia Zinkin-Meyers City officials and community members gathered at the Central Library branch of the Brooklyn Public Library to celebrate the first Sunday opening of the branch since November, when budget cuts forced libraries to reduce weekend hours. The city\u2019s fiscal 2025 budget,\u00a0approved\u00a0in late June,\u00a0includes $58.3 million for libraries, which is enough money for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5904,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[31,3461,2870,2864],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22256","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-whats-buzzin","category-development","category-education","category-general-news"],"yoast_head":"\nReviving Sundays: Libraries Reopen to Delight Book Lovers - Brooklyn News and Events<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nycnewsnetwork.com\/brooklynbuzz\/reviving-sundays-libraries-reopen-to-delight-book-lovers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Reviving Sundays: Libraries Reopen to Delight Book Lovers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By: Sonia Zinkin-Meyers City officials and community members gathered at the Central Library branch of the Brooklyn Public Library to celebrate the first Sunday opening of the branch since November, when budget cuts forced libraries to reduce weekend hours. 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