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Libraries

Brooklyn College Library

The Brooklyn College Library provides integrated information support for instructional and research programs. The library is one of the most technologically advanced in the City University of New York as well as one of the largest in the New York City metropolitan area. Occupying the library’s 6.5 acres of space are more than 2,300 student seats, 21.5 miles of shelving, 22 group-study rooms, six computer classrooms, and more than 900 computers for student and faculty access in a beautiful, light-filled setting conducive to study and research. Many seats are configured for computer use, and wireless network connectivity is widely available. Laptop loan programs exist for students and faculty alike.

The physical collections total nearly 1.6 million volumes, over 57,000 print and electronic journals, and about 25,000 audiovisual units (sound recordings, videotapes and DVDs). The library’s substantial digital collections include both electronic subscriptions and works of reference as well as nearly 170,000 electronic books. The library’s collections are represented in OneSearch, the discovery and indexing system of the City University of New York. The library also houses the Brooklyn College Archives, the New Media Center, and both academic and administrative computing.

The collections support both graduate and undergraduate study in the humanities, sciences, and social sciences. The library also holds important archival and special collections, among which are the Brooklyniana Collection and the Manuscripts Collection.

Brooklyn College Library faculty members provide extensive in person and online reference service to faculty and students.

Morton ’59 and Angela Topfer Library Café, first floor, Whitehead Hall, 718.951.4672

The Library Café, open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, features 80 PC- and Macintosh-networked computer stations. Each has the latest versions of multiple software packages and Internet browsers. Notebook computers, plug-ins for personal laptops, and high-quality laser printers (in color and black and white) are also available. There are group-study rooms and areas for individual study or reading. Modeled on the style of Internet cafés, the sleek, state-of-the-art facility, with large windows facing a landscaped courtyard providing natural light, is a popular site for computing, study, and student interchange or merely having a sandwich, coffee, or soda.

Walter W. Gerboth Music Library, second floor, Brooklyn College Library

The Music Library is named in memory of its founder and first librarian, teacher and scholar Walter W. Gerboth. It offers facilities for music study, research, and viewing. The collection comprises thousands of scores (including the Douglas Hedwig Brass Ensemble & Trumpet Music Collection and the Emerita Professor Dorothy Klotzman Collection); books about music (classical, popular, world) and dance, many of which circulate for out-of-library use; sound and video recordings; and journals (both in print and on microfilm) and other serials, including critical, scholarly editions of composers’ “complete works” and “monumental editions.” Digital databases—of text, audio, and video files—accessible via the library’s homepage and the “Music” subject page are an important component of the diverse, multimedia collections of the Music Library.

Costas Memorial Classics Library, 2405 Boylan Hall

The library contains a noncirculating collection of more than 4,000 volumes of Greek and Latin texts and books on classical topics donated by the late Professor Procope S. Costas and other members and friends of the Classics Department. The library is open to students and faculty members for research when classes are in session and the library is not in special use.

The Art Gallery at Brooklyn College, 0400 Boylan Hall

The Art Gallery at Brooklyn College is a vibrant hub for artists, faculty, students, and the surrounding communities. Under the direction of the Art Department, through high quality curated exhibitions, we showcase an array of works across media that introduce a rich diversity of professional artistic practices of local and diasporic artists. Our exhibitions support the educational and cultural diversity of the college and Brooklyn residents. We seek to educate our students through experiential learning in the fine arts, including new media, art history, and beyond, expanding their career opportunities and drawing them into the process of exhibition production and design. Through dynamic programming, we foster collaboration across departments and with community stakeholders, to create educational opportunities, and enhance interdisciplinary relationships. The gallery is a place for our campus community and members of the borough of Brooklyn to come together and learn from each other through the unique communicative power of the visual arts.

Meier Bernstein Art Library, 5300 Boylan Hall

Located in an attractive suite of rooms in the Art Department, the art library’s noncirculating collection of over 3,000 art books, as well as textbooks, periodicals, digital materials, and computers with Internet access, may be used for reading, study, reviewing course materials, obtaining information about the art world, looking at pictures, browsing, or passing the time between classes. The library has sponsored artists-in-residence, lectures and studio critiques by guest artists, art historians, critics, museum curators, gallery directors, art magazine editors, and others, including famous people drawn from the New York art world. The library is named for the painter who established the Meier Bernstein Foundation to promote fine-arts education, from which it received most of its funding; additional support comes from the Art Department and its faculty, alumni, and friends.

Centers and Institutes

Africana Research Center, 3105 James Hall, 718.951.5597

Founded in 1969, the Africana Research Center is dedicated to promoting research and the dissemination of knowledge in the field of Africana Studies and related disciplines. The center’s core mission is twofold: first, to augment the curriculum of the Department of Africana Studies by offering programs that speak to the study of Blacks in Africa, the Caribbean, and the United States and in other areas of the African diaspora; and secondly, to serve as a bridge between Brooklyn College and the African diasporan community of New York through research, sponsored programs, and community engagement. Through research and dialogue, the center highlights the importance of the African diasporan community in both historical and contemporary conversations as well as expands the intellectual and personal relevance of the Brooklyn College experience for students. The center is also the repository of a collection of books, a collection of African art, and documents memorializing the history of the Department of Africana Studies.

Aquatic Research and Environmental Assessment Center (AREAC),100 Ingersoll Hall Extension and 123 Ingersoll Hall Extension (office), 718.951.5631

The mission of the Aquatic Research and Environmental Assessment Center is to foster basic and applied research and educational activities in (1) environmental assessment and monitoring, (2) the biology and behavior of marine and freshwater organisms, and (3) biotechnology. For the latter two areas, the current emphasis is on micro-algae (for bio-fuels), behavior of select invertebrates and fish, and aquaculture. AREAC’s greenhouse (fifth floor, Ingersoll Hall Extension) has an aquaponics system and lab space for other faculty and student research projects. AREAC seeks to increase awareness and understanding of the aquatic sciences through education and public outreach. AREAC welcomes students and faculty from the Brooklyn College community, other CUNY campuses, and other universities, to participate in research and educational opportunities at our facility.

Brooklyn College Cancer Center

The Brooklyn College Cancer Center (CommUnity Outreach, Research and Education) BCCC-CURE was established in 2020. The mission of the center is to enhance the lives of patients affected by cancer with a special focus on Brooklyn residents. Through this center, Brooklyn College seeks to expand its fundamental (basic and applied) research on cancer and combine research forces with local (New York City) cancer treatment centers and hospitals, and Brooklyn communities, while delivering first-class educational opportunities to undergraduate and graduate students.

Center for Child and Adult Development, 1107 James Hall, 718.951.5876

The School Psychologist Graduate Program of the School of Education sponsors the center. It serves the community and professionals in the fields of education, psychology, and counseling by providing, through conferences and symposia, current information on educational and mental health practices, and recent research relevant to child and adult development

Center for Computer Music, 118 Roosevelt Hall Extension, 718.951.1418

The Brooklyn College Center for Computer Music (BC-CCM), part of the Conservatory of Music, is both a place and a community of artists and researchers, with a rich history dating back to the 1970s. The mission of the BC-CCM is to explore the creative possibilities of technology in relation to the creation of music, sound art, sound design and multimedia arts. These explorations include composition of new artistic work, pursuit of research projects, and discussions of the role of new technologies in musical culture. The BC-CCM hosts guest artists and researchers, presents workshops, and sponsors conferences. Since 1990, the center has hosted an International Electroacoustic Music Festival, with performances of music, video, film, and live electronic works by artists from around the world. Courses related to the BC-CCM cover techniques of music creation with digital tools and instruments; theories and use of sound processing and synthesis; design and creation of new music and multimedia performance instruments (both software and hardware); audio production; and history and aesthetics of electroacoustic music and sound art.

Center for the Study of Brooklyn, 3114 Boylan Hall, 718.951.5000 ext. 1529

The center’s mission is to connect and support on-campus students, faculty, departments, and programs with off-campus partners to contribute to the public good and cultural richness of the borough of Brooklyn. CSB aims to support existing work by securing funding and in-kind donations, providing visibility, and connecting additional students, faculty, and local partners. The center also aims to further strengthen partnerships with public institutions throughout the borough to enhance student learning and career opportunities and provide community benefits.

Children’s Studies Center for Research, Policy and Public Service,1304 James Hall, 718.951.3192

Established in 1997, the mission of the Children’s Studies Center is to promote a human rights and social justice approach to and participation in local, national, and international research and policy efforts on behalf of children and youth. The center’s work complements the pedagogical approach to the study of children and youth in the Children and Youth Studies Program, which offers a children and youth studies major, concentration, and minor. With a focus on research, policy, and public service, the center works closely with key stakeholders in government, child advocacy agencies, and community-based organizations to formulate and implement strategies that will improve the lives of children and young people.

CUNY Haitian Studies Institute, 1108 Boylan Hall, 718.951.5000 ext. 5187

The CUNY Haitian Studies Institute (CUNY-HSI) focuses chiefly on research and dissemination of primary and secondary documents and findings that advance scholarship on Haiti and people of Haitian origin. CUNY-HSI equally engages in policy analysis work to link scholarship to social actions impacting the lives of Haitian populations and other ethnic communities. The institute collaborates with various individuals and agencies that are serving Haitian communities at the local, national, and international levels. To foster sustainable partnerships, CUNYHSI provides technical assistance to help collaborating entities to build capacity and become more efficient.

Additionally, CUNY-HSI supports the scholarly needs of a growing group of CUNY-based academics, teaching faculty, and students desirous of expanding knowledge about the Haitian diaspora and Haiti. The institute’s research projects and programs complement and enhance the university’s strength in Haitian studies. Moreover, CUNY-HSI helps to shed light on the achievements, challenges, and hopes of people of Haitian origin in New York State and the United States.

Environmental Sciences Analytical Center, 5135 Ingersoll Hall, 718.951.5000 ext. 2647

The Environmental Sciences Analytical Center is equipped with state-of-the-art instrumentation for environmental research and education, and provides analytical services to a wide range of customers. Core facilities include a Perkin-Elmer Dynamic Reaction Cell Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometer (ICP-MS), an Analytical JEOL 200-kV Transmitted Electron Microscope (TEM), and a Philips Multi-Purpose X-Ray Diffractometer (XRD). An environmental geochemistry laboratory is available for both research and teaching activities.

Ethyle R. Wolfe Institute for the Humanities, 2231 Boylan Hall, 718.951.5847

The Ethyle R. Wolfe Institute for the Humanities supports excellence in research, publication, teaching, and all forms of academic discourse on the campus of Brooklyn College. Toward that end, it sponsors a varied series of lectures, seminars, colloquia, conferences, and study groups, often in collaboration with other academic programs and student organizations, with the aim of keeping public conversation at Brooklyn College in touch with advances in the humanities and social sciences. The institute brings leading scholars to campus and sponsors a faculty fellowship each year for research in the humanities.

H. Wiley Hitchcock Institute for Studies in American Music, 415 Whitehead Hall, 718.951.5655

The H. Wiley Hitchcock Institute for Studies in American Music (HISAM), at Brooklyn College supports American music scholarship, pedagogy, and performances. The institute recognizes and seeks to connect diverse local, national, and global musical practices across a broad spectrum of oral, popular, and art music traditions. HISAM represents scholars, performers, and creators who reflect the racial, economic, and gender diversity of the college’s students, faculty, community, and the world. Through a biannual publication, American Music Review, the Poly-cultural America Speaker Series, monographs, collection of oral histories, and forums for public musicology, the staff and faculty of HISAM seek to resist systems of oppression, acknowledge the privileges of whiteness, strive for social justice, and publicly promote antiracism. The HISAM research collection, including books, periodicals, scores, and recordings, is open to students and scholars by appointment.

María E. Sánchez Center for Latinx Studies, 1204 Boylan Hall, 718.951.5561

The María E. Sánchez Center for Latinx Studies, an extension of the Department of Puerto Rican & Latino Studies, serves students, staff, faculty, and the community by stimulating interest in Puerto Rican and Latinx research. The center sponsors interdisciplinary conferences, workshops, lectures, seminars, internships, study abroad opportunities, and undergraduate research assistantships. It encourages curricular development, research on topics related to the Latinx experience, and educational exhibits as well as artistic and cultural expression. The center is in the process of upgrading its working facility for special collections, publications, and research.

Preparatory Center for the Performing Arts

Founded in 1978, the Preparatory Center for the Performing Arts offers outstanding instruction in music, theater, and dance. The foundation of the center’s activities is its highly qualified faculty of professional artist-teachers. In addition to an established reputation as a teacher, each faculty member has distinguished performing credentials.

Roberta S. Matthews Center for Teaching and Learning, 2420 Boylan Hall,718.951.5211

The mission of the Roberta S. Matthews Center for Teaching and Learning is to foster an outstanding educational experience for all students by providing faculty with resources for effective teaching and learning. As a forum for the thoughtful and respectful exchange of ideas and practices, the center encourages high-impact learning and active engagement with students. It supports curricular development, pedagogical innovation, program improvement, planning, assessment, and a campus-wide culture focused on excellence in teaching, through an emphasis on self-reflection among the teaching faculty.

Science and Resilience Institute at Jamaica Bay

The Science and Resilience Institute at Jamaica Bay, hosted by Brooklyn College, is a top-tier research center that promotes the understanding of resilience in the urban ecosystem and adjacent communities. The institute, a partnership among academic institutions, nongovernmental organizations, and community groups, performs the following functions:

  • Conducts research to understand the temporal nature and robustness of the resilience of Jamaica Bay, New York Harbor, Hudson Raritan Estuary, and Gateway National Recreation Area; develop models for studying the fundamental nature of resilient systems; and determine how best to manage ecosystems to ensure resilience and sustainability.

  • Provides technical assistance and guidance to the institute’s governmental partners, including the National Park Service, New York City Parks, and the New York City Department of Environmental Protection.

  • Serves as a center for education and the dissemination of knowledge about processes that affect resilience and contribute to the changes in the urban ecosystem.

Shirley Chisholm Center for Research on Women, 1207 Ingersoll Hall, 718.951.5640

The mission of the center is twofold. It promotes research on women by initiating projects and programs on campus that support the work of faculty, encourage student learning, and provide information and resources to the wider Brooklyn community. It also aims to uphold and preserve the legacy of the late Shirley Chisholm, a distinguished alumna of Brooklyn College, who served in the U.S. Congress and was the first African American woman to seek the presidency.

Urban Archaeological Research Center, 0207 Ingersoll Hall, 718.951.4714

The center supports excavations abroad on sites dating from early Neolithic to medieval times. The center also supports and directs excavations in New York. Evidence is recovered and studied from these and other digs in which members and students participate. The center publishes its findings.