Library Field

New perspectives on the field

The Library Field is an open-air laboratory where METRO’s member libraries and archives will collaborate and develop new public programming concepts that center ecosystemic and sustainable design principles.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, METRO took part in a nationwide initiative studying the implications of moving library programs and services outside of buildings. Cultural institutions all over the country refocused their efforts on safe outdoor programming through environmental education, storywalks, community gardening, nature connectedness work, citizen science projects, and more. Based on what we learned during that difficult time, METRO is opening this permanent outdoor facility in northern Westchester County. With activities situated somewhere between those of a park, a preserve, a museum, and a library, the Library Field is a shared environment that will deepen the community’s understanding of the natural world and the way that we study it, find inspiration in it, and are responsible for its preservation.

METRO’s primary community is our network of member institutions and their workers, but the Library Field provides an experimental space where METRO and our members can work with other partner organizations to serve the broader community in new and unexpected ways.

Prioritizing relationality over extraction invites new ways of understanding

Cultural stewardship

Developing tools, practices, and frameworks that celebrate the dynamism of culture and place while thinking critically about traditional forms of documentation and preservation.

Climate justice

Understanding and mitigating climate change is an essential but insufficient step towards ensuring a safe and vibrant future for all of Earth’s inhabitants.

Cultivating awareness & solidarity

Self-actualization requires developing relationships beyond humans and the constructed world; movement towards building empathy with all things.

Growing through concentric connection with partners both local and global

SDG Lab

Aarhus Public Libraries

Global

Library Farm

Northern Onondaga Public Library

Regional

Greenpoint Library and Environmental Center

Brooklyn Public Library

Local

Nature Library Project

Anythink Libraries

National

The Library Field site won't be publicly accessible until we obtain all the necessary permits and approvals from the town and the county -- but when that happens our hiking trails will be open to the public from dawn until dusk. The entire site is about 26 acres with trails connected to the Sunny Ridge Preserve, which is another 75 acres or more. We do not yet know the timeline for offering public access to this site, but we are working diligently to open as soon as possible!

Our application to the Town of New Castle and Westchester County include plans to build a two-bay maintenance garage and a 2500-sq-ft library building, with special attention and respect paid to the impact on the environment and the history of the site. METRO will develop the site as minimally and non-invasively as possible. This Library will accommodate our staff and offer a specially themed circulating library book selection, an exhibition space, an indoor gathering space, and a programming area. We ultimately intend to integrate the library into the Westchester Library System’s online library catalog and offer access to tools and other non-traditional library materials as well; member libraries can experiment with new lending models alongside us.

METRO

METRO is one of New York State’s nine regional library councils, chartered by the New York State Board of Regents and established in Education Law in 1966. We serve the boroughs of New York City as well as Westchester County, though many of our services have impact far beyond our local service area. Our mission is to create a sustainable culture of creativity, collaboration, and open exchange for libraries, archives, museums, and cultural institutions in the Metropolitan New York region and around the world. We accomplish our mission through leadership, grantmaking, resource sharing, professional learning, research, technology services, creative practice, and more.

Spirit of Interrogation

Commitment to networked knowledge

Supportive yet self-guided environment

METRO’s member organizations include a diverse assortment of public and academic libraries, archives, museums and museum libraries, academic centers, artists, designers, architects, and others. If your organization is interested in joining METRO, you can learn more here.