Public Employee Press

A Green Library Grows In Brooklyn

By GREGORY N. HEIRES

For workers at the Kensington Branch Library in Brooklyn, the move to a new state-of-the-art facility was a long time coming.

Their old building, once a catering hall known as "the Manor," had its historic charm - plus crumbling walls, broken tiles, faulty air conditioning, poor ventilation and a leaky roof,

"It was dark and dreary," Supervising Librarian William Lownes said. "I worked there for eight years. It was tough."

It was even tougher for Ceil Toffel, the recording secretary of Brooklyn Library Guild Local 1482, as she spent 19 years there - virtually her entire career.

"This is a like a palace!" she said, standing with Lownes in the brightly lit ground-floor atrium beneath a huge skylight at the new branch. "Arriving in the morning and seeing the sun coming through the windows, you want to be here."

"I love the openness," said Library Circulation Supervisor Gladys Russo, who initially felt a little down because she missed the familiarity of the old building, where she had worked for 11 years.

Better services and working conditions

The new library project was in the works for decades, said Local 1482 President Eileen Muller, but it kept getting postponed because of budget problems. Finally, the plan to build a new $15 million facility on the empty lot at 4207 18th Ave. got off the ground in the last decade. The union pushed for the project because it would improve services for the public and working conditions for members.

"The patrons really love the new building, which is so open and bright," Toffel said. "We have more computers in the children's room on the second floor. The kids are really happy about that."

Kensington is the first of the library system's 60 branches that is classified as an environmentally friendly green facility. The branch is LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified because of its energy savings, water efficiency, reduced carbon dioxide emissions and high indoor environmental standards, such as good air quality.

The lighting system cuts electricity use by bathing the library with natural light during the day, and computer-controlled louvers under the skylights adjust to eliminate the glare that often disturbs readers. Ground-source pumps help heat the building, reducing reliance on fossil fuels.

"The books are dancing off the shelves," said Office Aide III Deborah Cudjoe, who says the new building and new location have increased the traffic at the branch.

Although the budget for part-time help is up slightly, she said that Kensington could use additional full-time staff. "It's bigger and it's more work," she said.

Young Adult Librarian Charles Moran said he had looked forward to the new workplace ever since he heard of the plan when he was hired in 2004.

Moran noted that Kensington is Brooklyn's first new branch in 25 years. Library workers now encourage patrons to check out books on their own, using the four self-checkout machines, rather than at the circulation desk. The 18,500-square-foot library has 24 new computers, three iPads for children, more than 40,000 books and DVDs, and improved services for seniors and immigrants.