Library Field logo

Coming soon!


An outdoor library location in New Castle, New York brought to you by the Metropolitan New York Library Council

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

Aarhus Public Libraries building

SDG Lab

Aarhus Public Libraries

Global
A person gardening at the Library Farm

Library Farm

Northern Onondaga Public Library

Regional
children investigating outdoor space at Greenpoint Library and Environmental Center

Greenpoint Library and Environmental Center

Brooklyn Public Library

Local
people engaging with natural space

Nature Library Project

Anythink Libraries

National
concentric rings akin to rings of a tree's growth or a topographical map representing the importance of interconnected engagement across scales a line showing the SDG Lab connected to the outtermost ring representing global engagement a line showing the Library Farm connected to the second innermost ring representing regional engagement a line showing the Greenpoint Library and Environmental Center connected to the innermost ring representing local engagement a line showing Nature Library connected to the second outtermost ring representing national engagement





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.

a digram highlighting overlapping themes of METRO

Spirit of Interrogation

Commitment to networked knowledge

Supportive yet self-guided environment

Perpetually evolving

The Library Field wants to know what you hope from a shared outdoor space organized by New York City and Westchester County libraries.

2024

an organic landform denoting 2024
  • Find facilitator / other consultants
  • Identify focus groups, key stakeholders / categories
  • Find 3-4 locations for events

2025

an organic landform denoting 2025
  • Determine permanent location?
  • Hire engineer/architect?
  • Hire builder?

2026

an organic landform denoting 2026
  • Hire field director?
  • Light construction (bathrooms, covered meeting areas, trail maintenance, parking)?
  • Participatory design and ongoing programming?

What's Next?

an organic landform denoting the opportunity of what's next

Imagine the field

Credits


Photos

  • Anythink Libraries
  • Brooklyn Public Library
  • Aarhus Public Libraries
  • Eugenia Cheskidova
  • Free Forest School
  • Froghouse
  • John Thomas
  • Matt Palmer
  • Northern Onondaga Public Library

Typography

Design