SEE: $38M Renovation Unveiled At Brooklyn's Central Library

BROOKLYN, NY — As Brooklynites head back inside the borough's Central Library the next few weeks, they might notice things look a little — or a lot — different than the last time they were able to roam the halls.

While most of the branch was barred from visitors amid the coronavirus crisis, library officials wrapped up a massive $38-million renovation of the historic building, transforming and rearranging some of its most-used spaces for the public.

The upgrade, the first phase in a larger renovation project at the library, was unveiled for the first time Thursday.

“The most extensive renovation in Central’s history honors its past and looks with great excitement toward its future,” Brooklyn Public Library President Linda E. Johnson said. “...We’ve efficiently and artfully reclaimed significantly more space for the public, where millions of patrons will soon be able to browse books, log onto computers, refine their resumes, register to vote, and much more."

The construction project, which began in 2019, included rearranging many of the library's sections to prioritize services most important to patrons and make public spaces once used only by staff, according to library officials.

That included moving check-in and check-out services from a set-back grand lobby to the Major Owens Welcome Center by the front doors. The welcome center — named for a former Brooklyn librarian who went on to represent the borough in Congress — includes a new exhibit honoring his life.

Also on the first floor, library officials transformed an office space once used for its passport services into a "New & Noteworthy" book gallery meant to feel like a local bookstore.

The renovation also included moving and rebuilding the library's Business and Career Center, which now can be accessed by its own stairway above the co-working space on the first floor.

Downstairs, a 10,000-square-foot space once used only by staff to process books has been transformed into the Civic Commons, or the new location for passport and other city services. The space has its own entrance on Flatbush Avenue.

"We were using this big space and we didn’t need it for [processing books] anymore, so we said, 'How can we hand this space back over to the public?'" said Central Library Director Christine Schonhart, adding that a large part of the library's processing had been outsourced to a Queens facility.

Thursday's unveiling comes more than two years after library officials began construction for the first phase of the renovation in January 2019.

Large parts of the project were wrapped up while the library stood largely empty over the past year, according to officials. The Central Branch, like all Brooklyn branches, has been open for only grab-and-go service since reopening to the public last July. It will welcome back in-person services next week.

"The silver lining of the pandemic hitting was when we closed down, we were still able to do a lot of the renovation work without interrupting the public or the staff," Schonhart said.

The renovation was funded by a number of private donors and both city and state officials, including Mayor Bill de Blasio, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, the New York State Assembly and the state Department of Education. It was designed by architect Toshiko Mori.

“Beyond housing some of the world’s greatest cultural and educational resources, the Brooklyn Public Library is THE resource hub for Brooklynites,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said of the upgrade. “With this new investment, the Brooklyn Public Library can better serve the public, making it easier than ever before for New Yorkers to engage civically, cultivate their small businesses, and expand their careers in their own backyard.”

A second phase of the renovation, slated to start in 2022, will include updating the collection wings, creating a new teen center and expanding the adult learning and literacy center.

Check out more photos of the newly-renovated spaces below: