Two literary-minded Brooklynites have teamed up to bring the printed page to the street. Lauren Comito and Christian Zabriskie have started a movement called Urban Librarians Unite, a library advocacy
organization that will train and dispatch a Volunteer Library Brigade across the city. Before hitting their beats, each volunteer will receive training in reference services, public service, and storytime... but not dancing:
Zabriskie tells us that the program hasn't rolled out yet, and they'll first be offering free training on Saturday, April 13th from noon to 5 p.m. in Greenpoint (they ask that you contact them for further details). Until then, they're working on "getting the carts modified for street use." Once that all happens, in about one month, the plan is to have the librarians out on the street on weekends from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., hitting various spots around the city—"We will be hitting neighborhoods all over the city," Zabriskie told us in an email this week, "We are absolutely going to do some high traffic areas like Times Square, Central Park, farmers markets, Grand Army Plaza, and the Staten Island Ferry."
What can you expect to find on the carts? You won't find any iPads or porn like in regular libraries, they'll be offering up old school print editions of a variety of books (which were both purchased and donated)—everything from subway maps to reference books to NYC-centric architecture and local history books. They'll also offer "bags of books for the kids." And fine, it's not all old school print, they will be offering WiFi, and a virtual library where you can download books for free.
