Brookdale Library

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Brookdale Library
Brookdale Library 2018.jpg
Brookdale Library
General information
Address6125 Shingle Creek Pkwy
Town or city Brooklyn Center, Minnesota
Coordinates 45°3′58″N93°18′38″W / 45.06611°N 93.31056°W / 45.06611; -93.31056 Coordinates: 45°3′58″N93°18′38″W / 45.06611°N 93.31056°W / 45.06611; -93.31056
Opened1981
This 1925 deposit station at the Howe Store in Brooklyn Center was a predecessor of a freestanding Brooklyn Center Library Howe Store.jpg
This 1925 deposit station at the Howe Store in Brooklyn Center was a predecessor of a freestanding Brooklyn Center Library
Brooklyn Center Library interior, 1965 Brooklyn Center Library.jpg
Brooklyn Center Library interior, 1965
Teen area at Brookdale Library, 1980 Brookdale Library 1980.jpg
Teen area at Brookdale Library, 1980
Brookdale Library entrance, 1980 Brookdale Library entrance 1980.jpg
Brookdale Library entrance, 1980

Brookdale Library is a branch of Hennepin County Library serving the community of Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, United States. The library opened in its current location, 6125 Shingle Creek Parkway, in 1981. As the first structure in Hennepin County to be built in compliance with Minnesota's Sustainable Design Guide (now known as B3 Guidelines), [1] it is one of three Hennepin County structures with a library, county courthouse, licensing and records services office, and social service and community corrections offices. [2] Initially, the library's space was 31,400 square feet (2,920 m2), including three meeting rooms. As the building abuts a swamp and nearby Shingle Creek, native plants were included in the landscaping, using trees, shrubs and plants that thrive in Minnesota's weather and support native animals and insects. A library in Brooklyn Center was part of Hennepin County's long-range library construction program which was published by the 1969 Minnesota State Legislature, authorizing three libraries: Southdale-Hennepin Area Library (Edina, opened in 1973); Ridgedale Hennepin Area Library (Minnetonka, opened in 1982); and Brookdale Library. [3]

Contents

Building expansion

Twenty years after it was built, the building was in need of several updates. The original design planned for future expansion to the facility. [4] A $29.6 million renovation started in May 2002, and was part of the 2001-2005 Hennepin County Capital Improvement Plan. The library's tab for the 18-month long remodeling was $18 million. Upon reopening, the library's new footprint is 53,155 square feet (an increase of 22,000 square feet). The updates included 144 public access computers, a cyber café-styled teen zone, and space for an additional 50,000 books (making the collection about 150,000). [5] The library is organized around "information neighborhoods", which marries collection materials with the right mix of technology, worktables, and chairs. Throughout, daylight filters in from large windows. Dedicated spaces are available for quiet study, meeting rooms, and a conference room.

Previous library service

Preceding the building of its first library, Brooklyn Center had service from a Hennepin County Bookmobile. Brooklyn Center Junior Chamber of Commerce members believed that a library was an essential community resource, and met with Helen Young, Director of Hennepin County Library, to learn about what was required to launch the library. The first library in the village of Brooklyn Center (as it was then known), at 5601 Osseo Road (subsequently named Brooklyn Boulevard), opened on December 29, 1965. It was the first public library built in the United States which received funds from the 1964 Library Services and Construction Act. [6] The $250,000 price tag was funded in part by the Federal Library Services Act ($60,000) and by bonds sold by the village of Brooklyn Center ($190,000). Designed by Cerny and Associates, it was 12,718 square feet (1,181.5 m2). Books, staff, and furniture were all provided by Hennepin County.

By agreement of the city council, in January 1969, Brooklyn Center's library was sold to Hennepin County for $185,505 and the library's land was sold for an additional $34,745. [7] By the summer of 1973, plans were published to replace it with a new Hennepin County Library structure, similar to the Southdale Hennepin Area Library which opened in July 1973. [8] The library relocated to 6125 Shingle Creek Parkway in August 1981. The Girl Scouts purchased the building on Brooklyn Boulevard, and it became the headquarters of the Greater Minneapolis Girl Council (now Girl Scout Council of Greater Minneapolis). [9]

Art at the library

Ray King's "Northern Cascade" descends from the ceiling of the rotunda, playing with light reflecting from specially treated glass circles arrayed on a three-dimensional spiral-like structure. [10] Depending on the viewer's perspective, time of day and quality of light, the whimsical installation evokes kaleidoscopes of iridescent light, prisms and reflections.

TivoliToo's "Readalot the Dragon" invites the library's young readers to cozy up near the friendly blue dragon with a book chosen from the shelf inside the curled dragon's tail or from the book nooks along either side of the sculpture.

Christopher T. Tully's "Jungle Animals Climbing" features a blue spotted hippo, a pink elephant with polka dot spots, a rhino, several tall birds with long lemon-yellow legs, and other magical creatures in the 30-foot-tall (9 m) sculpture. [11] Topping it all off, children's puppet programs are offered in the ceiling-high puppet theater.

Programming at the library

Supporting the cultural plurality of the neighborhood, the library's holdings include materials in Hmong, Laotian, Russian, Somali, Spanish, and Vietnamese. [12] Almost 25% of Brooklyn Center's residents are foreign-born. [13] Celebrating the vibrancy of the neighborhood, library programs range from “Día de los niños: ¡Basta!, arte y piñata/ Children's Day: Basta!, Art to Piñata” to “Opera Viva! Through the Eyes and Ears of Mozart” for children. Art exhibits at the library have included a curated program on the Laotian Diaspora. [14]

Patrons attend baby and family storytimes, benefit from job search assistance, get help at the eReader Drop-In Clinic, polish computer skills with a variety of course offerings, or participate in the Teen Geekery Club. [15] Job seekers can get tailored assistance at the library through a variety of classes each month.

Related Research Articles

Hennepin County, Minnesota County in Minnesota, United States

Hennepin County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Its county seat is Minneapolis, the state's most populous city. The county is named in honor of the 17th-century explorer Father Louis Hennepin. The county extends from Minneapolis to the suburbs and outlying cities in the western part of the county. The county’s natural areas are covered with extensive woods, hills, and lakes.

Brooklyn Center, Minnesota City in Minnesota, United States

Brooklyn Center is a first-ring suburban city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. In 1911, the area became a village formed from parts of Brooklyn Township and Crystal Lake Township. In 1966, Brooklyn Center became a charter city. The city has commercial and industrial development. The majority of land use is single-family homes. The population was 33,782 at the 2020 census, and the city has become the most ethnically diverse community in the state.

Southdale Center Regional mall in Edina, Minnesota, U.S.

Southdale Center is a shopping mall located in Edina, Minnesota, a suburb of the Twin Cities. It opened in 1956 and is both the first and the oldest fully enclosed, climate-controlled shopping mall in the United States. Southdale Center has 1,297,608 square feet of leasable retail space, and contains 106 retail tenants. The mall is owned by Simon Property Group and the anchor stores are Macy's, Dave & Buster's, AMC Theatres, Juut Salon Spa, Hennepin Service Center, and Life Time Athletic.

Hennepin County Government Center Government building in Minneapolis

Hennepin County Government Center is the courthouse and primary county government administration building for Hennepin County in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is located in downtown Minneapolis, the county seat of Hennepin County. Before its construction, the Hennepin County government offices were housed in the Minneapolis City Hall-Hennepin County Courthouse. The building was opened in 1974 and occupied in stages in 1975.

Ridgedale Center Shopping mall in Minnesota, United States

Ridgedale Center, colloquially known as Ridgedale, is an enclosed shopping mall in Minnetonka, Minnesota, a western suburb of the Twin Cities. It is directly located off I-394/US 12 between Ridgedale Drive and Plymouth Road. Ridgedale Center comprises 1,105,337 square feet (100,000 m2) of leaseable retail space, and contains approximately 140 retail tenants. It is currently jointly owned by Brookfield Properties and CBRE Group, and managed by Brookfield. The anchor stores are JCPenney, Nordstrom, Macy's, and Dick's House of Sport.

Shingle Creek Crossing, formerly Brookdale Center, is a regional shopping mall in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. It became the third enclosed shopping mall in the Twin Cities, after Southdale Center and Apache Plaza. The mall opened in phases beginning with Phase One in March 1962 which included anchor stores Sears and JCPenney. Phase Two opened in 1966, adding Dayton's as the third anchor. Donaldson's became the fourth anchor in September 1967. Brookdale Center was part of "The Dales", what was referred to as the four "Dale" centers circling the Twin Cities, originally developed by Dayton-Hudson Corporation. The others are Southdale Center in Edina, Rosedale Center in Roseville and Ridgedale Center in Minnetonka. After a long decline, the mall closed in 2010 and was demolished in 2012 before being redeveloped into the Shingle Creek Crossing development.

Hennepin County Library

Hennepin County Library is a public library system serving Hennepin County, Minnesota, US. The current iteration of Hennepin County Library was formed by the merger of urban Minneapolis Public Library and suburban Hennepin County Library on January 1, 2008. The system has 41 library locations, deposit collections at nursing homes and correctional facilities, mail service to the homebound, and extensive outreach services. The library is a department of Hennepin County Government. The library headquarters are in the Ridgedale Library in suburban Minnetonka. The library system has an eleven-member advisory Library Board appointed by the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners. It is a member of the Metropolitan Library Service Agency, a consortium of eight Twin Cities library systems.

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Mike Opat American politician

Michael Joseph Opat is an American politician from the U.S. state of Minnesota. He serves on the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners, the governing body for the largest county in Minnesota, with more than 1.25 million residents and an annual budget of $2.4 billion. Opat represents District 1, an area that includes more than 170,000 residents and encompasses six suburban cities: Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Crystal, New Hope, Osseo, and Robbinsdale. In his time on the County Board, Opat has led, among other initiatives, policy and governance changes at Hennepin County Medical Center, numerous advancements in public infrastructure including the revitalization of the Humboldt Greenway, reconstruction of Highway 100 in the northern suburbs, construction of the new Brookdale library, the construction of Target Field and expansion of the Twin Cities area transit network, including the planned Bottineau Light Rail line along County Road 81 through the northern part of the county.

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References

  1. ↑ City of St. Paul, “Setting an Example: The Brookdale Library,” p. 41, July 2008, "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-05-02. Retrieved 2015-05-06.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ↑ Regents of the University of Minnesota, Minnesota Sustainable Design Guide, “Hennepin County Library, Courts and Service Center” http://www.develop.csbr.umn.edu/msdg/MSDG/case/brookdale/brookdale.html
  3. ↑ Hennepin County Breaks Ground for Brookdale-Hennepin Area Library and Service Center,” Fact Sheet, Hennepin County Library, Archives of Hennepin County Library
  4. ↑ Gustafson, Mary Jane, “Bids Approved; Regional Library Construction Begins this Month,” Brooklyn Center Post, 10/25/1979, Archives of Hennepin County Library
  5. ↑ “Brookdale Library Selected as ‘Heart of the Community,’” Brooklyn Center Buzz, Summer 2006, p. 1, Archives of Hennepin County Library
  6. ↑ “Library Building News,” Minnesota Libraries, 12/1965, Archives of Hennepin County Library
  7. ↑ “Hennepin County Buys BC Library,” Brooklyn Park Post, 9/6/1973, Archives of Hennepin County Library
  8. ↑ “County Library Expansion Okayed,” Suburban Sun, 8/29/1973, Archives of Hennepin County Library
  9. ↑ Gustafson, Mary Jane, “Girl Scouts Buy Brooklyn Center Library,” Brooklyn Center Post, 6/4/1981, Archives of Hennepin County Library
  10. ↑ Ray King. "Northern Cascade". NORTHERN CASCADE | Brookdale Resource Library | Brooklyn Center, Minnesota
  11. ↑ Tully, Christopher, “Christopher Tully Studios: Whimsical Sensical Sculpture,” "About the Artist". Archived from the original on 2015-02-07. Retrieved 2015-05-06.
  12. ↑ Hennepin County Library, “Language Collections,” http://www.hclib.org/about/locations/language-collections
  13. ↑ Aslanian, Sasha, “Liberian Roots, Local Politics: Mayoral Hopeful Tests Diverse Suburb,” Minnesota Public Radio, 10/26/14, http://www.mprnews.org/story/2014/10/26/brooklyn-center-mayoral-candidates
  14. ↑ Tarbox, Christiaan, “Brookdale Library to Host Laotian Diaspora Exhibit,” 3/25/15, http://post.mnsun.com/2015/03/brookdale-library-to-host-laotian-diaspora-exhibit-2/
  15. ↑ Hennepin County Library, Events/Brookdale, http://www.hclib.org/programs/events-calendar?location=bd&rows=5 Archived 2015-04-18 at the Wayback Machine

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