Pop-Up Libraries Coming to New Rochelle

All over the United States, “Little Free Libraries” are popping up outside homes, businesses and schools. The concept is simple: Take a book or leave a book. The goal is to promote literacy and the love of reading, and to build a sense of community. Now “Pop-Up Libraries” are coming to New Rochelle: Local non-profits are partnering to create seven colorful library kiosks this summer, with the goal of creating public art that also provides access to literature for the entire community.

New Rochelle’s Pop-Up Libraries project is a collaboration between the New Rochelle Council on the Arts, My Brother’s Keeper New Rochelle and the New Rochelle Public Library, working with internationally acclaimed artist Charles Fazzino and the New Rochelle Dept. of Parks and Recreation. The project is partially funded by ArtsWestchester. Mr. Fazzino will be designing a double-wide kiosk for the Metro North train station, and six additional kiosks will be designed by other artists. The finished Pop-Up Library kiosks will be filled with books provided by local volunteer organizations and installed at public park sites around the city. Sites will be identified by City Historian Barbara Davis, working with the Dept. of Parks and Recreation to ensure representation throughout New Rochelle.

Westchester County artists, designers and students aged 18 and up are invited to submit their proposals to customize and embellish the two-tiered “Pop-Up Library” kiosks. Proposals are due by August 3rd ; a selection panel including representatives of MBKNewRo, NRCA, the NRPL and New Rochelle Parks & Rec will evaluate each artist’s submission and select six artists (or artist teams). Work will be selected based on artistic excellence, innovation, creativity and originality as demonstrated in submitted materials; materials appropriate for out-door installation; appropriateness and relevance of style and theme as relates to literacy/reading/books. Selected artists will each receive a pre-assembled kiosk, made of plywood and pine with a plexiglass fronted door and metal roof, plus a $300 stipend to cover materials. For more information visit the NRCA website at www.newrochellearts.org or email info@newrochellearts.org.

About MBK NewRo

In 2015, New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson and Schools Superintendent Brian Osborne accepted President Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper Community Challenge, making New Rochelle the first MBK community in Westchester County. 120 local and regional organizations have agreed to support New Rochelle’s MBK efforts. New Rochelle is committed to working to ensure that all of its children and young adults, particularly our boys and young men of color, reach all six Milestones in the MBK initiative. The community is also dedicated to seeing that opportunity gaps encountered by many boys and young men of color are closed.

The Pop-Up Library project addresses MBK Milestones 1, 2 and 3:

Milestone 1: All children enter school cognitively, physically, socially and emotionally prepared.

Milestone 2: All students are reading at grade level by third grade.

Milestone 3: All youth graduate high school on time.

“Improving childhood literacy and expanding family access to quality literature have been important goals of MBKNewRo since the initiative’s inception in 2015,” notes Colleen Gardephe, Managing Director of MBKNewRo. “For this reason, we are delighted to participate in this wonderful Pop-Up Library collaboration with community partners to help provide free high-quality books to families throughout New Rochelle,” adds Gardephe.

About the New Rochelle Council on the Arts (NRCA)

The New Rochelle Council on the Arts has a commitment to sponsoring public art and to creating collaborations with other city organizations on projects that enhance its mission. “The NRCA has been a leader in creating public art for New Rochelle, from one of the first mural installations downtown – Steal Away by Jeff Schlanger, which was unveiled at 41 Lawton Street in 2008 -- to the Fleur-de-Lys project in 2014,” says Theresa Kump Leghorn, NRCA President. “NRCA believes public art is important because it enhances quality of life and brings art into the everyday experience of the entire community, while demonstrating civic pride and defining a positive sense of identity.”

The Pop-Up Libraries project is made possible by Arts Westchester with support from Westchester County Government.

Photos used with permission of Little Free Library, LTD.