Field Notes

Updates about the Library Field project, and some stories we think you'd like to read.
A woman writing in a notebook while sitting on a tree stump in the Library Field

Germinating Events: Stump Speeches and Elemental Exploration

February 27, 2026
Shannon Mattern
We’ve already begun to activate the Library Field as a site of knowledge creation through our fall hikes and spring stewardship workshops, and we’re eager to add some more formal programming  — events that likewise take advantage of our wooded setting — in Spring and Summer 2026.  While the “stump...

Library Field report 2025

January 16, 2026
Nate Hill
From July through November of 2025 we led participants from METRO member institutions on a 15-stop, 2 hour hike at the Library Field as part of our ongoing participatory design process. This report is a review of the input we received, and it offers some insight into what our next...
featured hike stops at the library field

Go for a hike with us!

August 20, 2025
Nate Hill
Help us build the vision for the Library Field! (Note that registration for these past events is CLOSED. If you'd like to join us for an orientation hike, please review our event listings, and sign up for the next available spot.) Join METRO staff for a guided 45-minute hike, where...

Summer 2024 Community Engagement Report

December 11, 2024
Nate Hill
Tremendous thanks to BKS Studio for their assistance this summer with the first phase of community engagement work as we bring this project to life. Despite a short timeline and some sweltering hot summer days, we had a lot of fun convening library workers from our region for a variety...
A floral patterned substrate; layered atop are a grid of color and an archival library card

Library Field Syllabus

September 11, 2024
Shannon Mattern
Previous posts have described our recent Library Field "Outdoor Imaginings," hosted with Seattle-based librarian-consultants BKS Studio. Throughout the summer these sessions migrated from Greenpoint to Ward Pound Ridge to Zoom, and allowed us to explore with a range of METRO members how you might use a shared outdoor program space...
green tomatoes

Outdoor Imaginings

July 15, 2024
Nate Hill
Help us imagine the future of the Library Field Project. Get involved today! This summer the Metropolitan New York Library Council (METRO), alongside our consulting team BKS Studio, is hosting a series of community gatherings aimed at bringing together a diverse and creative group of cultural institution workers from New...