The Brooklyn Apprentices' Library, also known as the Brooklyn Apprentices' Library Association, was the first circulating and free library established in the city of

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, behi ...

. Founded in 1823, it was patterned after the Apprentices' Library of Philadelphia. The library moved from its original location in

Brooklyn Heights Brooklyn Heights is a residential neighborhood within the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Old Fulton Street near the Brooklyn Bridge on the north, Cadman Plaza West on the east, Atlantic Avenue on the south, an ...

to the

Brooklyn Lyceum The Brooklyn Lyceum was the name of both a non-profit organization in Brooklyn, New York that was active from 1833 through 1843, and the structure which housed that institution. The building Brooklyn Lyceum, located at 182-184 Washington Street, w ...

in 1841. In 1843 it merged with that organization to establish the Brooklyn Institute (now the

Brooklyn Museum The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum located in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 1.5 million objects. Located near the Prospect Heights, Crown ...

History

The Brooklyn Apprentices' Library Association began in the summer of 1823 when a group of Brooklyn citizens, including philanthropist Augustus Graham, met at Stevenson's Tavern for the purposes of establishing a library in the city of Brooklyn. The organization was founded with the purpose of aiding youths "in becoming useful and respectable members of society." They adopted a charter and began to collect books, funds, and other resources to achieve that aim. A building site for the Brooklyn Apprentices' Library was found at the intersection of Cranberry and Henry Streets in

, and the

cornerstone The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. Over ti ...

for the library was placed by

General Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (, ), was a French aristocrat, freemason and military officer who fought in the American Revoluti ...

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Man ...

1825. This event was witnessed by a six year old

Walt Whitman Walter Whitman (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among ...

who six decades later wrote about his memory of seeing Lafayette place the cornerstone. He also recalled that Lafayette picked him up and kissed him on that day, and was generally enthralled by the general's charismatic good-natured demeanor. Whitman would later work as a librarian at the Brooklyn Apprentices' Library. In 1841 the Brooklyn Apprentices' Library moved from its original location into the

. In 1843 the Brooklyn Lyceum organization and the Brooklyn Apprentices' Library merged to form the Brooklyn Institute (later known as the Brooklyn Institute of Arts). That organization later founded numerous cultural institutions in Brooklyn, including the

, the

Brooklyn Botanic Garden Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG) is a botanical garden in the borough of Brooklyn, New York City. It was founded in 1910 using land from Mount Prospect Park in central Brooklyn, adjacent to Prospect Park and the Brooklyn Museum. The garden hold ...

, the

Brooklyn Children's Museum The Brooklyn Children's Museum is a children's museum in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City. Founded in 1899, it is the first children's museum in the United States – and according to some, the first one worldwide. It ...

, and the

Brooklyn Academy of Music The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) is a performing arts venue in Brooklyn, New York City, known as a center for progressive and avant-garde performance. It presented its first performance in 1861 and began operations in its present location in ...

among other cultural, scientific, and education programs.

References

{{reflist Libraries in Brooklyn Brooklyn Museum Non-profit organizations based in Brooklyn 1823 establishments in New York (state) 1843 disestablishments in New York (state)