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read Blog for up–to–date details |
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Our Vision
The expanded Briarcliff Manor Public Library will be the Library that Village residents have long deserved! It will be warm and
welcoming, light and bright, calm and comfortable. Visitors will find great places to read, to browse, and to sit quietly lost in thought.
Upon entering, the traditionally friendly and well-read staff of the Library will be available to serve patrons, by finding books and
information and answering questions.
Patrons may turn right and enter a room devoted to current collections of popular and new materials. They will find the new books and
media they want and have a place to sit, relax and look at current magazines and newspapers. Display areas to highlight new materials
will bring one’s eye to the latest good read or audio book as well as to the newest movies and sound – in whatever new
formats are available.
Further in, they will enter the information center — with reference materials, and computers for both online work and word
processing. Again, staff will be there to provide expert help in locating information and books. Here one will find:
- A centrally located, accessible (but screened for privacy) desk from which the reference librarian can assist patrons in finding
information from a variety of sources including print, multi-media, and on-line
- Quiet reading/research areas away from the circulation desk and main entrance
- Expanded vertical files that contain updated community information on issues relating to senior citizens, health, education, environment
and recreation
- A separate local history area with relevant books and archival information on Briarcliff Manor
- A display area to highlight special collections, thematic materials, current issues and areas of community interest
For users seeking the best in the latest technology, they will encounter:
- A separate, sound-proof, computer lab for computer training classes on the Internet, e-mail, database searching, word processing,
spreadsheets and other areas of interest
- An open area with sufficient public access computers with no waiting to get on the Internet
- Word processing computers which will allow users to create and safely save documents
- Ports to plug in laptops and other portable devices to use the Library’s wireless Internet access
For those with younger children, a left turn from the main desk will bring them into Children and Teen areas. There will be space for
books and materials that are on shelves that are not too high for young hands to reach.
The new children’s room will finally be able to accommodate the needs of Village families as it will be welcoming and
accommodating for a range of ages — from babies to preteens.
- Babies -with their caregivers- will find a cozy spot to look at books and wrestle with stuffed animals
- Older kids can use computers, read, or do homework in an area just for them
- Kindergarteners can actively pick out picture books and play with puzzles
- …the tutoring session and craft program going on simultaneously aren’t disturbing them or being disturbed because they
are in space set aside expressly for them!
The children’s activity room will be utilized constantly:
- Storytime will have a home that does not engulf the entire children’s room
- Crafts programs will accommodate all of the children who wish to attend
- Book groups and programs will be held during regular Library hours, and accommodate children from all of the local schools
Programming for children and families, perhaps movies and special performers, will entertain larger groups in the main program room at
the library.
The children’s "breakout room" will provide a quiet meeting place for:
- Students with their tutors or small informal get-togethers or library-sponsored groups
- Students working and talking about a school project together, who will use the room without disturbing others
- A parent and child seeking a little privacy to read a story together
- A mother who needs to breast feed her young baby in private
Finally, if children don’t need the room and an adult is looking for a quiet spot to work, that person will have a place to retreat!
Computers will be available for a generation of kids who are lost without them! Children of all ages can be using the computers for
everything from:
- Playing fun internet games
- Finding information for homework assignments
- Using the online catalog to find what they need at the library
Kids who grow out of the children’s room will finally have a proper place to call their own! They will be able to be in their space,
making noise and moving around, without disturbing the rest of the library. Teenagers will have:
- Their own spot to go on the computer without feeling old in the children’s room or in the way in the adult area
- A place to spread out and work as a group on a school project without disturbing adults
- A safe and comfortable place to visit when they are just "killing time " or "hanging out " to go on the
Internet, look at magazines, listen to music, chat with their friends, and/or pick out books
The breakout room in the teen area will be used:
- for small meetings with teen library groups
- by tutors and students to have a place to work without everyone walking by
- as a quiet spot to go to work or read without distractions
A trip upstairs will bring one to a great new program room with moveable walls that will make small book discussion groups feel cozy or
large groups listening to a speaker feel comfortable. Patrons will visit the latest art show, receive tax assistance, or attend a career
workshop and get help writing a new resume. Local non-profit groups may want to call this their new home. When not in use, the area
will provide extra seating for visitors who are interested in browsing "the stacks, " since most of the book collection will be
found here on easy to navigate and well–marked shelves.
The Library will continue to grow as it fulfills its mission to serve the community by providing:
- Space appropriate for library services, programs and activities that foster community interaction
- Books and materials for recreational and informational reading, viewing and listening
- the technology and information literacy service addressing the need for skills related to finding, evaluating and using information
effectively
- Lifelong learning services for self-directed personal growth and development
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