With sky high windows and large, endless space, 125th Street Library oozes a certain kind of gothic cathedral feel, inviting that kind of hushed mentality as though you’ve entered into a sacred space.  A few streets away from the 125th St. stop on a busy Lexington Avenue, this library is looking toward the future.

While the first and second floors accomodate story time, play time, and everything in between, it's the third floor that lies promise. Off limits to the public, tucked behind a barricade, another set of stairs, and a few doors, this floor was formerly used as apartments for library custodians and their families. Having been left untouched for the last forty years, the giant rooms look desolate, almost haunted. But there’s so much beautiful, untapped space and resources here. Library Manager Velma Morton told me her hopes of efficiently utilizing all of this area: "I'd love to turn it into a teen center, a place for after school programs like BridgeUp, and maybe even adult classes. The teens need their own space, too." 

Fortunately, due to the City's investment in capital funding,  her dream can now become a tangible reality. Part of this funding goes toward five major projects that will happen over the next decade: full renovations to five Carnegie branches in high needs areas. These branches are Melrose, Hunts Point, Fort Washington, 125th Street, and Port Richmond. The renovations will cost about $20 million per branch. Much like Hunts Point, which suffers from an escalating infrastructure crisis and also only uses two of its three floors, 125th Street holds hope for new renovations.

125th Street Library is all about serving the needs of its ever-evolving community, even if that means going rogue from the NYPL curriculum. Because neighboring organizations offer courses on Word, Excel, and other similar programs, Velma and her team decided to take matters into their own hands and offer what other places do not. After receiving feedback from their patrons, they began to offer social media classes, diving into everything from how to use Instagram to navigating Facebook. And they've seen great success: these classes have begun to attract every age group, from teens looking for the latest apps to parents hoping to interact more with their kids.

The Library also connect with Home Base, an organization for formerly incarcerated women and their children. The library offers story times for all ages but also strongly cater to toddlers. In their Tales for Tots program, children ages 18 months to three years enjoy stories, songs, sing-alongs, and easy crafts that tie into a picture book or theme for the program. 

As 125th Street Library looks toward the new year, Velma envisions new classes, programs, and hours for its patrons. Whether its helping the semi-tech crowd coming with questions and new devices or children returning for their daily play time, staff are eager and prepared to give the community an escape, a necessity, and a dream.