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Schools

PS 32 To Celebrate Grand Re-Opening of New Library Media Center

After more than two years of renovations, the school will now benefit from a slew of high-tech resources.

On Wednesday, February 29 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., students, families, donors and neighbors are invited to attend the grand re-opening of the PS 32 libary media center at , located at 317 Hoyt Street at Union Street. The celebration will include live music by Tomas Rodriguez, a book character scavenger hunt, literacy crafts, Dolly Parton's Imagination Library giveaways, World Pie Pizza and complimentary take-home fiction and nonfiction children’s books donated by Target and First Book Marketplace.

If it sounds like a big deal, it's because it is. This is a party two and a half years in the making.

"Principal Deborah Florio asked me to take over the library space in the fall of the 2009 school year," said librarian Adam Marcus, who spearheaded the remodel. "The library had been defunct for the seven years prior to that. My first goal was to get students to want to be in the library. I set up the space to physically look like no other room in the school, with lots of lamps, plants, and lots of soft comfy furniture. The space had a 'tea lounge’ look and feel."

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The next item on the agenda was to raise funds. "We were able to renovate and expand after the Library Advisory Committee raised $500,000," said Marcus. The renovation increased the space by 75 percent.

"Our collection has increased from under 2,000 books to over 6,000," added Marcus. "We now have 16 iMac computers, six MacBook Pro laptops, and will soon have 20 iPads and an Apple server." To round out the remodel, there is new lighting, furniture, new Flor rug areas, and a ceiling mural that recreates a glass paneled arboretum.

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In addition to the Library Advisory Committee's renovation money, several grants were awarded by The Fund for Public Schools totaling about $24,000 for books and an online catalog. A Library Legacy Grant for $50,000 was promised to purchase the Apple equipment. Other donors include Greenlight Capital, private donations, The Laura Bush Foundation, Target and Councilmember Brad Lander.

"And although we have not received any monetary contributions from her," Marcus noted, "Assemblywoman Joan Millman has been an important help and supporter from the beginning."

Borough President Marky Markowitz has been extended special thanks among donors. His office gave $375,000 in capital funds to the PS 32 libary media center.

“When a child opens a book or uses an e-reader, they also open a door to a brighter future," said Markowitz. "In fact, studies show that students perform better at schools equipped with hi-tech media centers. This renovated library and media center will be a comfortable, inviting space where, as P.S. 32 so astutely describes it, ‘text meets tech.’

"I was so proud to support this project and help provide P.S. 32 with the latest 21st century computers, smart boards and books," added Markowitz. "I congratulate Principal Deborah Florio, the PS 32 Library Advisory Committee, librarian Adam Marcus and everyone involved in putting technology, books and the gift of reading into the hands of our kids.”

If ants in their pants are any indication, those hands are practically clawing through the walls to get at the new digs.

"The kids were crazy about the first makeover of the library," said Marcus. "They would come in before school and at lunchtime in large numbers. Since the library has been closed from the start of this school year, they are now hyper-excited to get back in and use the space."

And how does Librarian Marcus feel now that the renovation is complete?

"When I met with my now mentor, Melissa Jacobs-Israel, a Coordinator of Library Services for the NYCDOE in 2009, we set up a long-range plan to convert the space into a community library for the students, their families, staff, and neighbors of our school. It has been a crazy ride since," he said. "But I am really excited to open up and get back to doing the important work of creating curriculum, collaborating with teachers, raising more money, building our collection and our technology, and reaching out to the community."

Future plans include offering classes and book clubs for adults as well as a new free program called “Diapers to Dormitories,” offering at-risk infants, toddlers, and preschoolers free books and rich literacy experiences, plus support for their parents on an ongoing basis.

The library will be open from 7:30 a.m. each morning, after school Tuesday through Thursday until 4:30 p.m., and on most Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

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