One of the many perks of living in Kings County is its extensive public library system (one of the largest in the country, in fact). However, many Brooklynites who work long hours, weird hours or otherwise prohibitive hours can find it hard to get to a local branch when it’s open.
The main BPL branch serving Bushwick, located on Bushwick Ave at DeKalb Ave, has two more hours than it previously did: instead of closing at 6pm on Tuesdays, it now closes at 8pm. Those two hours will make a huge difference to anyone commuting back to the neighborhood from a 9-5 job. The library’s other operating hours have remained the same; they’re posted below, and are also listed, along with lots of other helpful info about library scheduling, on the branch’s website.
The extension of BLP hours comes after a long and brutal struggle for library funding in New York City fought over several years, and takes effect this week.
If you’re used to university library hours, which are nearly round-the-clock during midterms and finals at some schools, the BPL’s new hours might not seem like much (they’re not going to be serving midnight breakfast, either—Bushwick residents still have to rely on Mr. Kiwi’s for that).
But on a macro level, the extended hours are huge. Across the borough, each and every one of the system’s 60 branches are now open at least six days a week for a minimum of 48 hours a week, and five branches are now open daily. The schedule change has added 218 hours total to the BPL’s offerings—which is significantly more than the average college or university can say they serve up to their reading public.
So take advantage of that free wifi and enormous lending system, and take pride in being a patron of the BPL!
