Caroline Kennedy Visits P.S. 32 Library

Last week, a leading advocate for the NYC public schools, Caroline Kennedy, paid a visit to in Carroll Gardens.

"It was great to show off our library, and to have her come and see what we're doing," said Adam Marcus, the librarian at P.S. 32.

Just a couple of years ago, the elementary school didn't have a library at all, but since then the school has been raising money to renovate the library space and turn it into a state of the art learning center. The school received a $50,000 Library Legacy Grant from The Fund for Public Schools at the Department of Education 20 months ago, and also received $375,000 from the office of Borough President Marty Markowitz.

Kennedy, who once worked in the Office of Strategic Partnerships, toured the facility and watched as Marcus worked with some of the students.

Marcus says the library renovation is slated to begin this summer.

"We want this to be a 21st Century library," he said, adding that he wants to introduce as many multimedia tools as possible.

But the library isn't only for the students, said Marcus. Indeed, the school sees the library as necessary for the community too, especially because of budget concerns and the drastic cuts public libraries are facing. 

"We want to make it open to the community, like a public library," he said.

In the plans: computer classes for families, resume writing courses, family reading nights and after and before school library hours.

If all goes according to plan, the new library will open in January, 2012.