Brooklyn Public Library New Lots Branch

1949 - present

In 1949, the New Lots Library officially became part of the Brooklyn Public Library. The branch secured its current location on New Lots Avenue between Barbey Street and Schenck Avenue in 1957. The New Lots Avenue address previously housed a public elementary school that closed in 1944. Originally, the New Lots Library was a community library organized in 1942 by the East New York YMCA’s Women’s Club. The library moved in 1957 and offered a safe space for children in the community to be in after school. Today, the site continues to serve as a community site offering free programs and resources to all ages. For instance, the site has the New Lots Learning Center attached to the library which helps adults develop literacy skills.

Photograph looking down New Lots Avenue at the Southeast corner of Schenck Avenue, prior to the building of the New Lots Library. The New Lots Church is the building in the photograph.
Photograph taken outside the New Lots Library.
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Details

Category
Library
Audience
All Ages
Founder(s)
Women’s Club of the East New York YMCA
Corporate Body
The Brooklyn Public Library
Tags
literacy, vocationaleducation, adulteducation, communitycenter

Location

  • 665 New Lots Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11207, USA
    ? - ?

References

  1. Brooklyn Public Library. "New Lots Library." Brooklyn Public Library. Accessed March 30, 2023. https://www.bklynlibrary.org/locations/new-lots#:~:text=The%20predecessor%20to%20New%20Lots,storefront%20on%20New%20Lots%20Avenue.
  2. Grizer, Mel. "New Lots Library," East New York Oral History Project. Accessed March 30, 2023. http://eastnewyorkoralhistory.org/index.html.
  3. Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy, The New York Public Library. "Brooklyn: New Lots Avenue - Schenck Avenue" New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed April 13, 2023. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47dc-dc04-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99
  4. Brooklyn Public Library. Photograph of the New Lots Library, Brooklyn, New York. Accessed April 5, 2023. https://www.bklynlibrary.org/sites/default/files/2021-03/new-lots-history-1.jpg
  5. Yeancades, Carmen. "Schenck Park (Schenck Playground)," East New York Oral History Project. Accessed April 13, 2023. http://eastnewyorkoralhistory.org/index.html.