Leon Levy Information Commons

$3,250,000 Grant to Create the Leon Levy Information Commons at Central Library

Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) has received a $3,250,000 grant from the Leon Levy Foundation to establish a new kind of learning hub known as an "information commons." It is the first resource of its kind in any of New York City's three library systems. The Leon Levy Information Commons, designed by award-winning architectural firm Pfeiffer Partners Architects, will be a flexible, technology-rich center for learning, research and training, with a strong emphasis on BPL's wide range of online resources. This gift represents the largest private donation ever bestowed upon BPL.

To learn more about this extraordinary gift, read the official press release.

Leon Levy Information Commons Slideshow

View blueprints and renderings to learn more about this exciting space and how it will transform library service in Brooklyn.

Information Commons Features

The Leon Levy Information Commons will feature the following amenities:

• A 30-seat wireless training center where library staff will conduct information literacy workshops as well as training on the library's extensive suite of online databases, a number of which are only available onsite.
• Seven private study rooms equipped with electronic whiteboards and other technologies to facilitate group and one-on-one research consultation sessions.
• Bar-style seating for laptop computer users to accommodate the thousands of laptop and other mobile device users who use Central Library's wireless network each month.
• Twenty-five PCs equipped with traditional software packages, as well as higher-end, memory-intensive graphic design and video editing programs.
• A centrally-located help desk to provide reference and information services in addition to innovative on-demand training.

Popularized in new and renovated academic libraries during the last decade, the information commons concept allows libraries to take advantage of contemporary information-seeking habits by providing comfortable and exciting spaces in which library users can access, interpret and share information. Additionally, the Commons at Brooklyn Public Library will fundamentally change the way librarians interact with their customers. It will encourage active participation on the part of reference librarians who will work with schools and other organizations to anticipate customer needs, provide training and facilitate research.

Acknowledgments

The Leon Levy Foundation, founded in 2004, is a private, not-for-profit foundation created from the estate of Leon Levy, a legendary investor with a longstanding commitment to philanthropy. The Foundation's overarching goal is to continue the tradition of humanism characteristic of Mr. Levy, by supporting scholarship at the highest level, ultimately advancing knowledge and improving the lives of individuals and society at large.