The traditional image of the library as a quiet repository for the written word is less true today than it has ever been. Arguably, libraries have never been merely homes for books, but carry with them an aura of intellectualism that reflexively expands. Today, libraries fulfill myriad roles: community hubs, co-working spaces, depositories for local resources, information, and creativity. They offer children's storytimes, de facto babysitting for older kids, job training, ESL classes, discussion groups, safe space for tutoring, elder care, and more.
This month's proposal for The Architect's City hitches a piggyback ride on last week's symposium, organized by New York's Center for an Urban Future in collaboration with The Architectural League of New York, sharing architects' and designers' takes on the future of the branch library in New York City. Attendance at New York's three library systems—Brooklyn, Queens, and New York, which includes the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island—is rising. Citywide, circulation spiked 59 percent in the last decade.
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