New Rochelle Public Library

rdf:langString New Rochelle Public Library

rdf:langString New Rochelle Public Library

rdf:langString New Rochelle Public Library (NRPL) is a public library located in New Rochelle, New York. Chartered in 1894, the NRPL is a school-district library with its own operating budget and a Board of Trustees with seven elected members. The library has served the residents of New Rochelle from its main library building in the downtown business district since 1979. The current main library, constructed in the center of the downtown business area as part of a major neighborhood revitalization project, opened to the public on September 19, 1979. Missing from this is a statement on who owns the land and the building . The building was designed by architects Pomeroy, Lebduska Associates of New York and Fred W. Lyon Associated Architects of New Rochelle. It offers 67,000 square feet of space spread over three floors. The main section of the building (60% of the total structure) was refurbished from a former parking garage, with the resulting low ceiling heights offset with the creation of a wide, central skylit area. This innovative design resulted in an 'Award of Excellence for Library Architecture' from the American Institute of Architects and the American Library Association in 1980. Norman Rockwell's painting The Land of Enchantment hangs in the children's reading area of the main library branch. In 2007, the New Rochelle Public Library circulated 345,238 items, answered 216,451 reference questions and loaned 98,383 items to other Westchester libraries. The Huguenot Children's Library is located in the former Mahlstedt residence, adjacent to the "Twin Lakes" on the campus of New Rochelle High School. Formerly the "Huguenot Branch" of the Public Library, the present day children's branch is the only library in New York State to be created and supported entirely through private funds.

rdf:langString New Rochelle Public Library