Quick: Name a single location Downtown where you can go for a Zen meditation class, tax filing help, story time for toddlers, crayon coloring for adults, and Lego building for all ages? Hint: All of the above are offered free of charge, which rules out psychologist’s office you were probably thinking of. The answer is your local branch of the New York Public Library.
Lower Manhattan has the good fortune to play host to two such outposts: the New Amsterdam Library, on Murray Street, and the Battery Park City Library, on North End Avenue. This is two more than most communities get.
Now’s there’s a way to help your local libraries do more. The fourth annual New York City Neighborhood Library Awards competition is accepting nominations for libraries that go the extra mile to see their communities. The winning branch will be awarded a $20,000 grant to enhance programming and expand services.
Nominations are being accepted now through March 13. To vote for your favorite branch, please browse www.nyclibraryawards.org.
“A library is not a luxury but one of the necessities of life.”
Henry Ward Beecher
