Branch manager Alicia Pritchard is happy to show off the new library she is in charge of, in a unique location.

The Brower Park Library is on the first floor of another longtime institution, the Brooklyn Children’s Museum.

“I think it’s a great cultural hub for families. We have the museum, where you can see different artifacts, and you have the library where you can check out books,” Pritchard said.

What You Need To Know

  • The Brooklyn Public Library has opened a branch library at the Brooklyn Children's Museum in Crown Heights

  • The new branch replaces one a few blocks away that had fallen into disrepair. It features books and computers for adults, teens and kids

  • The branch also features artifacts from the museum's collection as part of the "Collections Connections" program that will eventually be in 20 branch libraries around Brooklyn

The new branch replaces an older one that was one and a half blocks away and fell into disrepair. There are books and computers for adults, a special area for teens, a community room and a kids’ section with books, computers and a reading nook.

Museum president and CEO Stephanie Hill Wilchfort says the library is located in former administrative space within the museum, with a separate entrance on Brooklyn Avenue.    

“We thought it was a wonderful idea, two community-based organizations with deep roots in this neighborhood, with deep roots in this community, coming together in one space. It just seemed like a natural fit,” she said.

The museum is represented inside the library through the Collections Connections program, featuring artifacts from the museum’s collection, and books to connect kids and families with them.

The program is currently in 10 branches and eventually will be in 20, sort of bringing a museum to every neighborhood in Brooklyn.  

“One of the ways of doing that is to be working with libraries where there is a branch library in nearly every neighborhood in the borough, and siting collections and siting museum education in those libraries,” she said.

For Pritchard, who did a lot of her growing up in and still lives in Crown Heights, it’s one of those full-circle moments.

“I visited this museum, I loved the doll collection that they had, and yeah, I came here and hang out and learn new things as a child, and now I’m here as a branch manager of the Brooklyn Public Library, Brower Park Branch,” Pritchard said.