Brooklyn Public Library Director Looks to Public-Private Partnerships for Branch Improvements

Brooklyn Public Library head Linda Johnson seeking to sell some property to raise money for repairs. (New York Daily News, 10/16/2011)

Excerpt: Many of the library's 60 branch buildings were gifts from tycoon/philanthropist Andrew Carnegie over 100 years ago - and they're showing their age. There are $235 million in overdue repairs - and with only about $15 million a year available, the number keeps growing as conditions get worse.

"We end up spending money on the libraries that are in the most deplorable condition rather than on the libraries that are the most highly used," Johnson said. "We never do anything except for deal with emergencies."

Money could be raised by selling off air rights on library property or selling a free-standing building and moving the branch into the first floor of a new privately-constructed building nearby. But the main obstacle is that the city owns the branch buildings - and under current rules any money garnered from selling them would go to the city's general fund, and the library wouldn't see a dime.

Johnson said she's trying to work out a deal with Bloomberg administration officials that could be a model for the city's other library systems if it works out.