SEE: Brooklyn Library Celebrates 125 Years With BP Proclamation

BROOKLYN, NY — As the Brooklyn Public Library celebrated its 125th anniversary this week, officials looked ahead at two new tools that they say will pave the way for the library system's next 125 years.

Library officials marked the anniversary with a proclamation from Borough President and Mayor-Elect Eric Adams, who stopped by two new spaces at the Central Library on Monday that he says will pave the way for the future.

The new spaces, a 10,000-square-foot Civic Commons and a traveling TechMobile, were funded by Adams and aim to help New Yorkers access city services and technology.

“For more than a century, the Brooklyn Public Library has been a hub of learning, enrichment, and civic participation serving Brooklynites of all backgrounds," Adams said.

"As we celebrate the 125th anniversary of this institution this year, it is also worthwhile to reflect on what the next 125 years will look like...The two new facilities we are unveiling today, the Civic Commons and the TechMobile, point the way forward. These new facilities will help us tackle some of our city’s most pressing issues, such as the difficulty immigrant New Yorkers face in accessing City services, and the shameful digital divide that holds people of all ages back from realizing their full potential."

The Civic Commons — funded by $2 million from the borough president's capital funding —opened earlier this year as part of a $38 million Central Library renovation.

It transformed a space once used only by library staff to process books into a hub for services like passports and IDs and organizations that facilitate participation in public life, including civic events, informational workshops and voter registration drives. The events will launch int he future with partnerships with Brooklyn Voters Alliance, Immigrant Justice Corps, the NYC Department of Health and others, officials said.

The TechMobile is outfitted with Wi-Fi and laptops to loan, built-in desktop computers, an all-in-one printer for copying, scanning and printing, external outlets for charging devices and more, according to the library.

It will be used to bring computer services to those in need and, in the future, will be offered to senior centers for technology classes or to host teen film, photography, gaming and audio workshops.

"We are grateful to Borough President and Mayor-Elect Eric Adams for ensuring that everyone in Brooklyn, now and 125 years from now, has access to millions of books, vital technology, and a staggering array of other equalizing resources," BPL President Linda E. Johnson said.

The Brooklyn Public Library is one of the nation’s largest library systems with 61 locations, an online library and outdoor reading rooms throughout the borough.