Pratt Institute Libraries is the

academic library An academic library is a library that is attached to a higher education institution and serves two complementary purposes: to support the curriculum and the research of the university faculty and students. It is unknown how many academic librar ...

system of

Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York. It has a satellite campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The school was ...

. The main library is located on the main campus in Brooklyn, NY, with a branch library in Manhattan. The collection focus includes the arts, architecture, design, information science and allied fields. Holdings include 200,000 printed volumes, over 600 periodicals, rare books, digital images resources including Pratt Institute specifi
Digital Image Collection
and the Institute's archives. It has the distinction of being the “first free public library in Brooklyn” and its Brooklyn building is a

New York City designated landmark The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...

History

The library at Pratt Institute opened in 1888 in the Main Building on Pratt's campus in the Clinton Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn. The library moved into a new building located on Ryerson Street in May 1896. Originally called the Pratt Institute Free Library, it was open to anyone who lived or worked in Brooklyn. Branch libraries of the Pratt Institute Free Library included the Astral Branch—located on the ground floor of the

Astral Apartments The Astral Apartments is an apartment building located at 184 Franklin Street in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, New York City. The Astral was built in 1885–1886 as affordable housing for employees of Charles Pratt's Astral Oil Works. It is a block-long br ...

(another

Charles Pratt Charles Pratt (October 2, 1830 – May 4, 1891) was an American businessman. Pratt was a pioneer of the U.S. petroleum industry, and he established his kerosene refinery Astral Oil Works in Brooklyn, New York. He then lived with his growing fam ...

initiative), and the Long Island Branch at 571 Atlantic Ave. By 1940 the Pratt Libraries closed to the public, partly because the

Brooklyn Public Library The Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) is the public library system of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is the sixteenth largest public library system in the United States by holding and the seventh by number of visitors. Like the two othe ...

was able to support the needs of the community. Some scenes from the 1978 adult film ''

Debbie Does Dallas ''Debbie Does Dallas'' is a 1978 pornographic film starring Bambi Woods. The plot of the film focuses on a team of cheerleaders attempting to earn enough money to send the title character to Dallas, Texas to try out for the famous "Texas Cowgirl ...

'' were filmed in the library.

Architecture

The building was designed by William B. Tubby, with interiors by

Tiffany & Company Tiffany & Co. (colloquially known as Tiffany's) is a high-end luxury jewelry and specialty retailer, headquartered on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. It sells jewelry, sterling silver, porcelain, crystal, stationery, fragrances, water bottles, watc ...

. The three-story brick building was designed in a

Renaissance Revival Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range o ...

style. A feature of the interior is a marble staircase and pillars. The floors of the book stacks are made of glass and the stacks are a design by

Library Bureau The Library Bureau was a business founded by Melville Dewey in 1876 to provide supplies and equipment to libraries. The Library Bureau quickly became a one-stop vendor for supplies and equipment a library might need. By 1900, its lengthy, well il ...

, which include oak shelves and copper-plated iron supports. Early renovations included the addition of a Children's Porch in 1912 to provide direct access to the Children's Room. The North Porch was added in the 1930s by architect

John Mead Howells John Mead Howells, (; August 14, 1868 – September 22, 1959), was an American architect. Early life and education Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the son of author William Dean Howells, he earned an undergraduate degree from Harvard Unive ...

. Renovations in the early 1980s by architects

Giorgio Cavaglieri Giorgio Cavaglieri (August 1, 1911 – May 15, 2007) was an Italian architect and a leading figure in the historic preservationist movement in New York City. He is best known for his 1960s restoration of the Jefferson Market Library in Greenwi ...

and Warren Gran included the removal of the Children's Porch to another building on campus, an underground extension including additional stacks, study areas, and classroom with an outdoor mall above, and the addition of a climate-control system. In 1981 the library building in Brooklyn was officially designated a New York City Landmark by the

New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...

Notable librarians

* Mary Wright Plummer - Founder of the Pratt Library School, director of the Pratt Libraries beginning in 1895, and director of ALA for the 1915-16 year. * Isabel Ely Lord - Author, editor and Head Librarian for Pratt Institute from 1904 until 1910, and director of the School of Household Sciences and Arts at Pratt. *

Anne Carroll Moore Anne Carroll Moore (July 12, 1871 – January 20, 1961) was an American educator, writer and advocate for children's libraries. She was named Annie after an aunt, and officially changed her name to Anne in her fifties, to avoid confusion with Ann ...

- Librarian at Pratt Library from 1896-1906, and early advocate for children's libraries. * Josephine Adams Rathbone - President of the American Library Association in 1931–32, "chief instructor" in the Pratt Institute Library School from 1895-1911, and vice-director of the Pratt Institute school from 1911-1938.Brand, Barbara B.
"Pratt Institute Library School: The Perils of Professionalization."
In Suzanne Hildenbrand (Ed.), ''Reclaiming the American Library Past: Writing the Women In'', pp. 251-278. Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing, 1996. * Edward Francis Stevens - Head of Applied Sciences Reference Department at Pratt Institute Free Library from 1903-1910, and Librarian at Pratt Library and Director of Pratt School of Library Science from 1911-1938. *

Wayne Shirley Wayne may refer to: People with the given name and surname * Wayne (given name) * Wayne (surname) Geographical Places with name ''Wayne'' may take their name from a person with that surname; the most famous such person was Gen. "Mad" Anthon ...

- Director of Pratt Library, Dean of the Pratt Library School and co-founder of the ALA American Library History Round Table. *

Rice Estes Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera ''Zizania'' and ''Porteresia'', both wild and domesticated, ...

- Director of Pratt Institute Libraries from 1955-1972, and husband of librarian and

Newbery Award The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished contr ...

winning children's author

Eleanor Estes Eleanor Estes (May 9, 1906 – July 15, 1988) was an American children's writer and a children's librarian. Her book ''Ginger Pye,'' for which she also created illustrations, won the Newbery Medal. Three of her books were Newbery Honor Winners, ...

References

External links

{{authority control Libraries in Brooklyn New York City Designated Landmarks in Brooklyn University and college academic libraries in the United States