Nearly 8000 Votes Cast
135 Libraries from All Five Boroughs Designed Displays Recognizing New York City’s Art and Cultural Institutions
For images, click here.
Brooklyn, NY — Culture Pass, the library program created in 2018 to provide library cardholders free access to cultural institutions, announced the winner today of a book display contest. Over 135 libraries—representing every borough—participated in the competition, designing displays that paid tribute to New York City’s museums and performing arts venues. Hudson Park Library in Greenwich Village was named the grand prize winner and will receive $1500 to use for branch programming and resources.
Crown Heights and Clinton Hill Libraries were named first place and runner-up within the Brooklyn Public Library system. Bayside and Hillcrest Libraries tied for first place at Queens Public Library; and West Farms Library was declared first runner-up for New York Public Library.
Nearly 8000 votes from the public were cast in the first round. The displays with the most votes were then reviewed by a panel of judges made up of local authors, artists, illustrators, and philanthropists. Since Culture Pass launched in 2018, nearly 137,000 free passes have been distributed to library cardholders. The book display contest—with the theme of arts and culture—paid tribute to the museums, performance venues, historical sites, and arts institutions who have partnered with the city libraries to provide free access and admission.
“Library staff around the city bring so much creativity and ingenuity to their work, day in and day out, but they don’t get many chances to stand in the spotlight. We’re so excited to be able to celebrate our staff and branch communities through this contest and promote the Culture Pass program with such an incredible array of diverse and dynamic book displays," said Brendan Crain, Culture Pass Program Manager.
You can see the winning Hudson Park Library display until the end of the year. To learn more about the Culture Pass Program and how you can use your library card to get free admission to over 70 cultural institutions, click here.
About Brooklyn Public Library
Brooklyn Public Library is one of the nation’s largest library systems and among New York City’s most democratic institutions. As a leader in developing modern 21st century libraries, we provide resources to support personal advancement, foster civic literacy, and strengthen the fabric of community among the more than 2.6 million individuals who call Brooklyn home. We provide nearly 65,000 free programs a year with writers, thinkers, artists, and educators—from around the corner and around the world. And we give patrons millions of opportunities to enjoy one of life’s greatest satisfactions: the joy of a good book.
About The New York Public Library
For 125 years, The New York Public Library has been a free provider of education and information for the people of New York and beyond. With 92 locations—including research and branch libraries—throughout the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island, the Library offers free materials, computer access, classes, exhibitions, programming and more to everyone from toddlers to scholars, and has seen record numbers of attendance and circulation in recent years. The New York Public Library receives approximately 16 million visits through its doors annually and millions more around the globe who use its resources at www.nypl.org. To offer this wide array of free programming, The New York Public Library relies on both public and private funding. Learn more about how to support the Library at nypl.org/support.
About Queens Public Library
Queens Public Library is one of the largest and busiest public library systems in the United States, dedicated to serving the most ethnically and culturally diverse area in the country. An independent, non-profit organization founded in 1896, Queens Public Library offers free access to a collection of more than 5 million books and other materials in multiple languages, technology and digital resources, and more than 87,500 educational, cultural, and civic programs a year. It consists of 66 locations, including branch libraries, a Central Library, seven adult learning centers, a technology lab, and two teen centers.