The Bronx Library Center – NYPL`s first green library – fulfills multiple public roles by serving both the neighborhood and the community at large. The Center provides important cultural and social amenities to an underserved part of the City with expanded circulating and reference collections; state-of-the-art information technology; and a full range of education, business, and technology training for all ages, including literacy and English language proficiency programs. The Bronx Library Center also houses the Latino and Puerto Rican Cultural Center, with extensive bilingual collections, educational and cultural programs, and multi-media exhibits. A 150-seat auditorium, conference rooms, and computer labs are located on the lower concourse level. The project was the first publicly funded building in NYC and the first library in the New York Public Library system to receive LEED certification.The new Bronx Library Center replaces the former Fordham Branch Library. The facility provides expanded circulation and reference collections, cutting-edge information technology, a full range of education, business and technology training for all ages, literacy classes, and English language proficiency programs. The BLC also houses the Latino and Puerto Rican Cultural Center, with extensive bilingual collections, educational and cultural programs, and multi-media exhibits. Key design concepts include maximizing natural light, minimizing internal circulation, providing clear lines of sight, establishing an appropriate planning module for efficient stack layout, and providing an adaptable open plan. Each floor is conceived as a rational, rectangular public space surrounded by service, circulation and smaller program spaces fitting into the irregularities of the site. Planning follows a basic daylight strategy: services at the relatively enclosed western side, books and other collection items in the middle and most of the seating in the glazed day-lit areas at the perimeter. Individually designed public stairs provide different types of processional experience between floors. They make circulation through the building an important part of the visitors experience, and highlight the connections between the various parts of the library collection distributed throughout the building. The design includes many sustainable features such as high-performance curtainwall, extensive daylighting, energy efficient mechanical and lighting systems and controls, and environmentally friendly materials with high recycled content. The project received LEED Silver Certification from the United States Green Building Council. It is the first publicly funded building in New York City and the first library in The New York Public Library system to receive LEED certification.
