Borrowed & Returned

Asylum seekers continue to arrive in New York City. We look at how one faith-based organization is responding to the continuing crisis in the hope that these personal narratives offer a window into the experience of migrants in Brooklyn today. For a transcript of this episode in English and links to resources, visit: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/seeking-asylum  

Last year, New York City began to see an increase in the number of migrants seeking asylum. The library is a small part of the city-wide response to help those seeking refuge. This episode, we'll talk about library and city efforts with Manuel Castro, the Commissioner at the Mayor's Office for Immigrant Affairs. Links to resources and the epiosde transcript are here: https://www.bklynlib...

Did you know there are some public libraries that loan out snowshoes? And cement mixers? And Santa suits? This episode, we try to calculate what your public library is worth, and ask how you can give back to support public libraries. Read the transcript and find more resources here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/whats-your-library-worth

With tablets, Legos, and coding, these fourteen teams from library branches across Brooklyn met at Central Library to compete in the final championship of Brooklyn Robotics League — resulting in what is surely one of our loudest stories ever.  Read a transcript and check out our book list here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/go-robots-go  

We love love at the library, so for Valentine's Day this year, we're devoting the episode Romance Novels! We'll learn how Romance covers hint at what's between them, and chat with writer Nichole Perkins about how the genre is diversifying. Read the transcript and check out our book list here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/happily-ever-after  

La Hora Mágica has been the heart of Sunset Park’s storytime programming for a decade now, highlighting songs and stories in Spanish and English for speakers of all different languages. Read the transcript here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/la-hora-m%C3%A1gica  

Dyker Heights, Brooklyn is a destination this time of year, with houses decked out in lights drawing visitors from all around the world. And inside Dyker Library, a strong community gathers to sing, play mahjong, do yoga, and so much more.  You can find a transcript of this episode here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/dyker-singers-dyker  

From “the most expensive pigeon roost in the world” to one of the world’s most unique libraries, Brooklyn’s Central Library has many stories to tell. We’ll dive into the history of Central Library, hear from Brooklynites starting small businesses, and one patron’s path from homelessness to determined author. Find the transcript and book list here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/rebroadcast-...

This Thanksgiving, meet the people who run Central Library's café and get a peak into their kitchen on the Library's third floor, where fourteen students speaking seven different language meet every day. This episode is a collaboration with Emma's Torch, a workforce development program that empowers refugees through the culinary arts and job placement services. Read the transcript h...

In honor of Veterans Day, we are bringing you four stories of service, from veterans who served in World War II, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf, and Iraq. Three voices come to us from interviews collected at BPL for the Veterans History Project at the Library of Congress. Check out our book list and transcript here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/stories-service  

To honor the tenth anniversary of Superstorm Sandy, we are returning to an episode we produced in 2019 about the impact of the storm on our library system, and how libraries can become information centers, shelters and community spaces in the wake of natural disaster. Check out our book list and transcript here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/rebroadcast-weathering

Will you visit your library this summer? To kick off a season of reading, we thought we'd have some fun! How many Brooklyn and library trivia questions can you answer correctly? Want to learn more about topics brought up in this episode? Check out the following links! Listen to our new podcast for kids! Page Flippers Take on the World is a wacky library show where kids save the day by reading...

Book bans and challenges have been on the rise in the past few years. When BPL launched a free eCard to give out-of-state teens access to our eBook collection, including many banned titles, we saw an incredible response. We look at the impact of that initiative, and our own history of censorship over the past 125 years. Check out our book list and transcript here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podc...

From defunct recording technology to vinyl’s comeback, we've been through a lot of media changes over the last 125 years. And we're still not done changing! We talk about audio's next great frontier with the world's first two  podcast librarians. Read the transcript and check out our listening list here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/library-sounds

In 1996, we were one of the first libraries in the nation to connect our patrons to the internet. Today, we're extending our WiFi reach down the block, loaning hotspots, and archiving hyperlocal websites for the future.    Read the transcript and check out our book list here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/world-wide-web  

A lot had changed since Melvil Dewey came up with a classification system to organize all known and not-yet-known knowledge into a string of numbers and search terms. And yet, hundreds of thousands of libraries use the same system to this day, often preserving out-dated and offensive terms. In this episode, we take a look at what has changed—and what hasn't—in our library catalog.   Read our...

Libraries weren't always located in their own stately buildings. Many of our branches used to operate out of pharmacies, laundry rooms, storefronts, and more! In celebration of our first new branch in nearly forty years—Adams Street Library, located in a former factory in DUMBO—we're bringing you stories of new libraries in old places.    Read our transcript and check out our book list h...

On October 5th, 2021, all three public library systems in New York City eliminated late fines. The change was 125 years in the making, and it made us think: why did public libraries start charging late fines in the first place? And how will the library have to adapt now that we're truly free and truly for all?   Read our transcript and check out our book list here: https://www.bklynlibrary.or...

In this season of Borrowed, we’ll take a look at what the library was like 125 years ago, the radical ideas that founded public libraries across the country, as well as our missteps along the way. 

The story of Canarsie in reverse, from the racial unrest in the 1990s, to the anti-integration school boycotts in the 1960s, the community of Canarsie's Black residents in the 19th century, all the way back to Brooklyn's first residents, the Native Lenape people, who gave the neighborhood its name.  Read our transcript and check out our book list here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcas...

In the early 1900s, if you walked around Sunset Park, you might have heard Finnish being spoken on the streets. That's because the neighborhood was home to the largest concentration of Finns in New York City, and though most have since gone from Brooklyn, they left behind their co-operative spirit. The Finns built the first non-profit co-operative apartment buildings in the nation, many of wh...

Brooklyn is constantly changing. This episode takes a look at the changes on just one street in one neighborhood: Eighth Avenue in Sunset Park, which many call Brooklyn's Chinatown. In the early 1990s, BPL and the Museum of Chinese in America collected oral histories about Sunset Park. We dive back into that archive, with help from Professor Tarry Hum, urban planner and former Sunset Parker....

At the start of World War II, 200 women were employed at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. That number ballooned to 7,000 at the height of the war, but afterward—women workers were gone as rapidly as they appeared. We tell the story of this unique moment in history, using oral histories from women who worked at the yard during the war, and an interview with author Jennifer Egan, who helped create the collec...

In the middle of the 20th century, a ten square block area in North Gowanus was home to the largest Mohawk settlement outside of Canada. We hear about the Mohawk women who built that community while their husbands and fathers were building skyscrapers. And, we go back hundreds of years in Gowanus and tell the story of the original inhabitants of Brooklyn: the Lenape people, who gave the neighborho...

We're launching a mini-series about four neighborhoods that made Brooklyn the vibrant, diverse borough it is today! “Building Brooklyn” will take you to Gowanus, the Navy Yard, Sunset Park, and Canarsie to discover some of Brooklyn’s most unique and over-looked stories.  Episode transcript: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/building-brooklyn-coming