Brooklyn Library to Receive Portion of $5 Million Grant

Brooklyn Public Library got a much-needed gift—just in time for the holidays.

With 60 locations throughout the borough, the library system will receive a portion of a $5 million grant from the Carnegie Corporation.

The other beneficiaries of the grant, which was announced Thursday, are the New York Public Library and Queens Library.

"The gift announced today will enable Brooklyn Public Library to enhance its educational and literacy programs to help all New Yorkers unlock the mystery and wonders of the worlds around them," said Linda Johnson, president and CEO of BPL.

The funds come at an opportune time for BPL's cash-strapped network of libraries, which like many other institutions are struggling to keep up with increased demand during a period of budget tightening on the city level.

However, despite an uncertain budgetary future, BPL  at several branches in September and last May  at its Central Library location at Grand Army Plaza—becoming the first book lending institution in the city to offer the service.

The Carnegie gift announced today marks the latest in a string of awards to public libraries in New York City in recent years.

"There is no greater expression of democracy than a library and no stronger signifier of the potential of our nation to succeed in today’s challenging times," said Vartan Gregorian, president of the Carnegie Corporation and a former head of NYPL in the 1980s.