Borrowed

If you ask Hannah Jean what would be her greatest wish, she will say running Brooklyn Public Library. Last month, she got to do just that.  Read the transcript and check out our book list: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/meet-our-almost-six-year 

Meet the Luddite Club, a group of library-loving, flip-phone-toting teenagers in Brooklyn who come together every week out of a shared sense that social media and smart phones just aren't working for them.  Read the transcript and check out additional resources here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/teens-are-offline    Listen to Undiscarded: Stories of New York: https://undiscarded.org/ 

Este episodio es sobre los solicitantes de asilo en la ciudad de Nueva York. Estamos compartiendo estas narrativas personales con la esperanza de que escucharlas devuelva la humanidad a esta crisis.  Para leer el episodio en inglés y más recursos: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/buscando-asilo 

Asylum seekers continue to arrive in New York City. We look at how one faith-based organization is responding to the continuing crisis in the hope that these personal narratives offer a window into the experience of migrants in Brooklyn today. For a transcript of this episode in English and links to resources, visit: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/seeking-asylum 

Last year, New York City began to see an increase in the number of migrants seeking asylum. The library is a small part of the city-wide response to help those seeking refuge. This episode, we'll talk about library and city efforts with Manuel Castro, the Commissioner at the Mayor's Office for Immigrant Affairs. Links to resources and the epiosde transcript are here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/place-refuge 

Did you know there are some public libraries that loan out snowshoes? And cement mixers? And Santa suits? This episode, we try to calculate what your public library is worth, and ask how you can give back to support public libraries. Read the transcript and find more resources here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/whats-your-library-worth

With tablets, Legos, and coding, these fourteen teams from library branches across Brooklyn met at Central Library to compete in the final championship of Brooklyn Robotics League — resulting in what is surely one of our loudest stories ever.  Read a transcript and check out our book list here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/go-robots-go 

We love love at the library, so for Valentine's Day this year, we're devoting the episode Romance Novels! We'll learn how Romance covers hint at what's between them, and chat with writer Nichole Perkins about how the genre is diversifying. Read the transcript and check out our book list here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/happily-ever-after 

La Hora Mágica has been the heart of Sunset Park’s storytime programming for a decade now, highlighting songs and stories in Spanish and English for speakers of all different languages. Read the transcript here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/la-hora-m%C3%A1gica 

Dyker Heights, Brooklyn is a destination this time of year, with houses decked out in lights drawing visitors from all around the world. And inside Dyker Library, a strong community gathers to sing, play mahjong, do yoga, and so much more.  You can find a transcript of this episode here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/dyker-singers-dyker 

From “the most expensive pigeon roost in the world” to one of the world’s most unique libraries, Brooklyn’s Central Library has many stories to tell. We’ll dive into the history of Central Library, hear from Brooklynites starting small businesses, and one patron’s path from homelessness to determined author. Find the transcript and book list here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/rebroadcast-work-progress  Take our new audio tour of Central Library: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/central-tour 

This Thanksgiving, meet the people who run Central Library's café and get a peak into their kitchen on the Library's third floor, where fourteen students speaking seven different language meet every day. This episode is a collaboration with Emma's Torch, a workforce development program that empowers refugees through the culinary arts and job placement services. Read the transcript here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/family-meal 

In honor of Veterans Day, we are bringing you four stories of service, from veterans who served in World War II, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf, and Iraq. Three voices come to us from interviews collected at BPL for the Veterans History Project at the Library of Congress. Check out our book list and transcript here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/stories-service  

To honor the tenth anniversary of Superstorm Sandy, we are returning to an episode we produced in 2019 about the impact of the storm on our library system, and how libraries can become information centers, shelters and community spaces in the wake of natural disaster. Check out our book list and transcript here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/rebroadcast-weathering

Will you visit your library this summer? To kick off a season of reading, we thought we'd have some fun! How many Brooklyn and library trivia questions can you answer correctly?Want to learn more about topics brought up in this episode? Check out the following links!Listen to our new podcast for kids! Page Flippers Take on the World is a wacky library show where kids save the day by reading the right books and asking the right questions. Visit the library this summer! Take a look at our calendar for Summer Reading events for kids, or check out one of the 125 essential Brooklyn books on our list. Or, you can take a literary walking tour of the borough with our audio guide.Watch KRS-One's full presentation at BPL's 2008 Summer Reading Kickoff. And check out the Mali Magic program, with videos, documents and more about the rescued, ancient Malian manuscripts.Check out our 125 essential Brooklyn books, for readers of all ages, in honor of our 125th anniversary. 

Book bans and challenges have been on the rise in the past few years. When BPL launched a free eCard to give out-of-state teens access to our eBook collection, including many banned titles, we saw an incredible response. We look at the impact of that initiative, and our own history of censorship over the past 125 years.Check out our book list and transcript here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/books-unbanned 

From defunct recording technology to vinyl’s comeback, we've been through a lot of media changes over the last 125 years. And we're still not done changing! We talk about audio's next great frontier with the world's first two podcast librarians. Read the transcript and check out our listening list here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/library-sounds

In 1996, we were one of the first libraries in the nation to connect our patrons to the internet. Today, we're extending our WiFi reach down the block, loaning hotspots, and archiving hyperlocal websites for the future.  Read the transcript and check out our book list here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/world-wide-web 

A lot had changed since Melvil Dewey came up with a classification system to organize all known and not-yet-known knowledge into a string of numbers and search terms. And yet, hundreds of thousands of libraries use the same system to this day, often preserving out-dated and offensive terms. In this episode, we take a look at what has changed—and what hasn't—in our library catalog. Read our transcript and check out our book list here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/decolonizing-dewey-02549 

Libraries weren't always located in their own stately buildings. Many of our branches used to operate out of pharmacies, laundry rooms, storefronts, and more! In celebration of our first new branch in nearly forty years—Adams Street Library, located in a former factory in DUMBO—we're bringing you stories of new libraries in old places.  Read our transcript and check out our book list here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/new-libraries-old-places