Off the Shelf
Off the Shelf is your destination for all things BOOKS. If you’re interested in reading recommendations, author interviews or the literary world's secrets, Brooklyn Public Library's bibliophile staff is at your service.
In the Spirit of Collaboration: Virgil Abloh at the Brooklyn Museum
A few weekends ago, after a beautiful Saturday morning of yoga on the Brooklyn Museum stoop, I had the chance to make it out to their special exhibition: Virgil Abloh: “Figures of Speech.” It celebrates the life and work of the late fashion designer, architect, DJ, artist and entrepreneur Virgil Abloh, well-known for his fashion brand Off-White, among many other projects.
BPL Book Bingo! 23 Books for 2023
Each time a new year rolls around, it seems the age-old resolution to “read more books” does too. This year, we challenge you to not only read more books but to read 23 books for 2023! And, we've developed a list to guide your reading and encourage you to step outside your comfort zone. So, in 2023, we challenge you to read:
Make Winter Fun with Brooklyn Public Library
Struggling with the post-holiday blues? Brooklyn Public Library offers a variety of free activities that can help you stay busy, engaged and warm this season—here are just a few!
An Open Book: Our New Audio Tour of Central Library
An Open Book By design, BPL’s Central Library has always been an open book. Now patrons can step into a multi-storied journey through the building designed to mimic the pristine pages of a new book with our recently-launched Central Library Audio Tour. From the Art Deco styling of the limestone façade to the aborted subway platform many floors below, you can take our audio tour with you as you wander around our historic building.
Protect Yourself! Resources for NYC Library Privacy Week
Once again it's Library Privacy Week here in New York City! This is the time of year when New Yorkers can take advantage of an extra concentration of classes and other resources at library branches throughout the city, as well as virtually.
The Surprisingly Local Roots of Classic Thanksgiving Dishes
As I flipped through cookbooks for Thanksgiving prep, I encountered one that shifted my perception on our world and its history: The Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen by Sean Sherman and Beth Dooley.
Department Spotlight: Government & Community Relations
Over the summer, I hosted some family members who were visiting New York City for the first time.
What We’re Reading on the 10th Anniversary of Hurricane Sandy
Bound by the Atlantic Ocean and the Hudson Estuary, the land on which New York City sits has always been a place defined by water. But it wasn’t until the devastation of Superstorm Sandy, which hit New York 10 years ago this week, that many of us began to understand what being surrounded by water means for our city’s safety and future.
Halloween BookMatch! Costume-Based Reading Recommendations
What are you going to be for Halloween?! Much like an astrological sign, a Halloween costume can reveal an awful lot about a person—so in the spirit of spooky season, step into Off the Shelf's office and we'll advise what book pairs best with your holiday attire. Psst! Don't see your costume on the list? Try the Library's free BookMatch service to receive personalized book recommendations for your friends, your family and even your most fiendish foes!
Reproductive Injustice: the Overturning of Roe v. Wade & What that Means for US
Words Hold Power: Reclassifying Library Materials
“Oppressive language does more than represent violence; it is violence; does more than represent the limits of knowledge; it limits knowledge...it must be rejected, altered and exposed.” -Toni Morrison, Nobel Lecture December 7, 1993
Author Interview: Max Gross
I’m always excited when an author agrees to participate in an interview for Off the Shelf, so when Max Gross, author of rave-reviewed The Lost Shtetl, agreed to sit for an interview and join the New Utrecht branch for a discussion of his debut novel, let’s just say I was exceedingly happy.
Books to Help You Get Moving
If there is one thing I really hate, it's moving. Naturally, I seem to move almost every year.
Summer Reads for City Wanderers
With the summer solstice now behind us, the days are going to start getting shorter, bit by bit. But don’t despair—there are still plenty of brightly lit evenings ahead! Taking a long, meandering walk is one of the great pleasures of living in a big city, and the extra daylight means this is one of the prime times of year for aimless urban ambling.
The Secret to Limitless Urban Gardening
I first became interested in gardening in middle school. My friends and I found ourselves at a farmers market one day after school and we immediately noticed the rows of plants in black plastic pots. Right away I was fascinated by all of the tiny green sprouts and I couldn’t believe how many different varieties of plants they had that I was used to seeing in recipes.
Summer Solstice Reads: How to Handle 15 Hours of Daylight
The summer solstice is upon us once again. I’ve always loved the solstice. Who doesn’t love the start of summer and all it entails: ice cream cones, flip-flops, the smell of sunscreen on the beach? But this year, the solstice feels even more fitting to the timeline in which we are existing. The longest day of the year?
Happy Birthday, BPL!
If there is one thing I love it’s a birthday—especially mine (September 2; send books!) and that of my most loved ones. Something about turning a year older and celebrating the day you were born is just so special to me. So it’s with extreme excitement that, my first summer as a librarian at Brooklyn Public Library (BPL being a loved one for me), I get to celebrate the Library’s 125th birthday (BPL, you look great. You don’t look a day over 21.).
Books with a Hook: For Mateys Who Love Our Flag Means Death
How did we luck into such deeply funny, sweet and dramatic queer-pirating adventure as Our Flag Means Death (OFMD)? Pirate movies and shows are known, by and large, for being neither sweet nor queer (not a lot of matey¹-cuddling in Black Sails, alas).
Dear Class of 2022:
You’ve put in all the work, crossed that grand stage, moved your tassel from right to left, and had the big celebration with family and friends. Perhaps a great many of you already know your next steps: offers from colleges or potential employers, maybe a new city or country to explore, maybe staying home for an extended break before the “real world” begins?
A (Folk)Tale as Old as Time: 3 Folklore Retellings
I recently went to see Hadestown on Broadway. If you’re unfamiliar with the musical, it is a retelling of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth. The story goes like this: Eurydice is trapped in the Underworld as a result of a deal she made with Hades.
Author Interview: Elisheba Haqq
Elisheba Haqq is a writing professor at Rutgers University, a registered nurse, and the author of Mamaji, a memoir about the loss of her mother, growing up as part of an immigrant family in Minnesota, and persevering through an abusive childhood. In this interview, she discusses her writing career, explains her research process, and recommends a few of her favorite books.
Read it on the Page, See it For Yourself: What to Read on International Museum Day
Books have a unique power to transport us to faraway places both real and imagined—but they can also bring us fresh perspectives on places that are right down the street! In New York City, we’re surrounded by an incredibly diverse collection of collections: museums of all sorts and sizes, filled with everything from modern art and detailed dioramas to abstract sculpture and period furniture. Whatever you find fascinating, there’s likely an exhibit on it tucked away somewhere in the five boroughs.
Borrow a Telescope: One Teen's Mission to Share the Stars
The Telescope Lending Library launched on a clear night in November 2021, with an outdoor viewing event attended by an enthusiastic mixture of public, library staff and members of th
Poem in Your Pocket: 7 Poems & Their Reverberations
The Academy of American Poets launched National Poetry Month in April 1996. The goal of National Poetry Month is to remind all that in a world awash in text, poetry matters.
PowerUP! to the People
In 2003, the PowerUP! Business Plan Competition launched to support and grow Brooklyn's entrepreneurial spirit and small businesses. Since then, PowerUP! has nurtured 9,000+ individuals with 1,200+ business plans and awarded more than $500,000 to Brooklyn entrepreneurs.
Poem in Your Pocket: 7 Stages of Grief
The Academy of American Poets launched National Poetry Month in April 1996. The goal of National Poetry Month is to remind all that in a world awash in text, poetry matters. Every April since, poetry readers and nonreaders alike can’t help but notice poetry cropping up amongst the blooms of spring—poems suddenly adorning sandwich boards and subway cars, Instagram feeds, drivetime radio and especially in local library displays.
Poem in Your Pocket: 7 Poems by Women
The Academy of American Poets launched National Poetry Month in April 1996. The goal of National Poetry Month is to remind all that in a world awash in text, poetry matters. Every April since, poetry readers and nonreaders alike can’t help but notice poetry cropping up amongst the blooms of spring—poems suddenly adorning sandwich boards and subway cars, Instagram feeds, drivetime radio and especially in local library displays.
Poem in Your Pocket: 7 Poems for National Poetry Month
The Academy of American Poets launched National Poetry Month in April 1996. The goal of National Poetry Month is to remind all that in a world awash in text, poetry matters. Every April since, poetry readers and nonreaders alike can’t help but notice poetry cropping up amongst the blooms of spring—poems suddenly adorning sandwich boards and subway cars, Instagram feeds, drivetime radio and especially in local library displays.
Earth Works: Books, Music, and More for our Planet
In honor of our March 13 concert with the Orchestra of St. Lukes, "Earthworks", we have put together a list of books and more to get you thinking about the intersection between music, nature, and climate change.
Spotlight: Macon Library, a Classic Carnegie Representing the Bed-Stuy Community
Macon Library, located at 361 Lewis Avenue, is one of the best-preserved Carnegie branches in Brooklyn. Opened in 1907, the two-story, Classical Revival-style building retains its original fireplaces, oak paneling, alcoves and wooden benches, along with the warm charm that has welcomed the Bedford-Stuyvesant community for more than one hundred years.
Finding Hope & Recovery Between the Pages
The past several years have been tough for all of us, whether we found ourselves dealing with the pandemic directly, watched the devastation it caused around the world, or felt its impacts on work, school and our social lives.
The Change the Subject Project: Addressing Bias in the Library Catalog
The Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) is a thesaurus of controlled vocabularies used in subject indexing of bibliographic records by libraries, archives and museums. Subject headings are assigned to items in a library catalog to facilitate users’ search and discovery of resources relating to similar subject matter. In Brooklyn Public Library’s catalog, subject headings are listed as tags under the details tab in the bibliographic record. Users can click the subject heading tags and explore related resources in the library’s collection.
What to Read for Read in the Bathtub Day
Historically, I have not been a bathtub person. I was in fact anti-bath for many years. Apparently, it only takes a global pandemic to make me a bathtub devotée. As with many in the world, these past two years have confined me to my apartment much, much more than I would like.
Groundhog Day: Books You Can Read Over and Over Again
Ah, Groundhog Day. I grew up in Pennsylvania, not far from the home of the notorious Punxsutawney Phil and his yearly weather prediction on February 2. This is a ritual that derives from the Pennsylvania Dutch superstition that if a groundhog can see its shadow on February 2, it will retreat back into its burrow and spring won’t arrive for six more weeks.
The Fashion Show that Helped Launch a Movement
See the Movie, Read the Book: Christmas Edition
Christmas was last week, but that doesn't mean it's over. Just ask any die-hard Hallmark Channel viewer—they've been enjoying holiday flicks since before Daylight Saving Time, and will probably watch more for weeks to come. There's a definite lure to the comfort these movies depict: fireplaces galore, cups of tea and cocoa, fair isle sweaters, hats and scarves (barely worn but ever-present), and true love realized through the magic of Christmas. And guess what? All of that holly-jolly splendor is even better when it takes place in a good book.
Happy Festivus! A Mini Booklist About Families
"I've got a lot of problems with you people, and now you're gonna hear about it!" So began our introduction to the Festivus, a winter holiday invented by Frank Costanza (Seinfeld, 1989-1998) as an alternative to Christmas. It involves a metal pole intead of a tree, The Airing of Grievances—where you tell everyone gathered why they've pissed you off—and the very exciting Feats of Strength (which is exactly what it sounds like).
Keep Your NaNoWriMo Momentum Going
We’re coming down the stretch of National Novel Writing Month, best known as NaNoWriMo, in which experienced and first-time writers alike come together with the goal of converting as many ideas as possible from thought to paper before November ends. Whether you managed to get down 400 words or 40,000, congratulations!
In Celebration of Native American/Indigenous Heritage Month
Native American and Alaska Native Heritage Month started out as a week-long celebration as of 1986, during former President Reagan's administration. Since 1995, November has been designated as the month to celebrate and honor the cultures, achievements and contributions of Native Americans and Alaska Natives. Below are ten books of varying genres you can read to finish out this month, and all year round.
2021 Transgender Day of Remembrance
"Transgender Day of Remembrance seeks to highlight the losses we face due to anti-transgender bigotry and violence… With so many seeking to erase transgender people—sometimes in the most brutal ways possible—it is vitally important that those we lose are remembered, and that we continue to fight for justice." –TDoR founder Gwendolyn Ann Smith
Writing Marathon: Craft Books to Inspire You This NaNoWriMo
We’re halfway through my second favorite time of year: I’m not talking about preparing for Thanksgiving or Christmas or even No-Shave November. I’m talking about National Novel Writing Month, or as it is affectionately abbreviated to, NaNoWriMo. Every year, amateur and professional writers alike start November with one goal in mind: write 50,000 in one month.
A Halloween Tribute to Lois Duncan
Curious about what it was like to grow up a little girl in Brooklyn with an affinity for the macabre, a non-censoring mother and carte blanche use of her library card?
Plot-Driven Audiobook Thrillers for Long Autumn Road Trips
By Sally Z., a BPL Librarians of Tomorrow (Lot) Intern
Words & Riddims: A Book (and Play) List to Survive Another Canceled Carnival
Add to the list of things the pandemic has taken from us: the joys of playing mas on the Parkway on Labor Day.
How We Got Here: Readings on New York Politics
As we wallow in the dog days of summer, the city's political high season is around the corner. This fall, voters will elect a new Mayor and choose almost all of the City Council, as well as other state and local offices.
Books to Bring on a Picnic
The first time I created a list of Picnic Reads, sharing a blanket with friends and family for a day of eating, drinking, fun and frivolity wasn’t that popular. However, things have changed, and if you're going to hang out with your loved ones, an open space outdoors makes the best sense.
Catch the Small Press Flea This Saturday!
This Saturday, August 14th Brooklyn Public Library presents SPF21: Small Press Flea, in collaboration with BOMB Magazine. More than 20 different publishers will join us this year!
