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The Bronx Library Center, a branch of the New York Public Library, is located at 310 East Kingsbridge Road in the Bronx, New York City, situated just off Fordham Road, and several blocks away from Grand Concourse. The library opened in January 2006, replacing the Fordham Branch Library, which had served the Bronx previously. At , it serves as the central library for the Bronx, and is the first "green" library in New York City with LEED Silver certification; it also has three times as much space as its predecessor. This building cost an estimated $50 million and is characterized by the sloping curve of its roof and the extensive glass curtain wall on its east façade. The library serves a diverse and growing population, predominantly of Hispanic and African-American background. The building was designed by the New York City-based architecture firm Dattner Architects, led by architect Richard Dattner. == History == For more than 75 years, the Fordham Library Center at 2556 Bainbridge Avenue, served the borough before the new center opened in 2006. The library was part of a public library system built in the United States, supported by donations from wealthy businessman Andrew Carnegie. As part of the Carnegie library system it followed the philosophy of being accessible and free to all people with an emphasis on access and service to working class Americans. The library opened in 1923 and saw multiple expansions and renovations over the decades to continue serving a rapidly growing community. As immigrants (primarily of Irish, Italian and Jewish heritage) moved into the Bronx from Manhattan, they used the library to learn to read and write English and become acclimated to American culture.〔Glenn Collins, "(New Bronx Library Meets Old Need )" (Jan. 16, 2006), ''New York Times''.〕 Compared to main branch libraries in the other outer boroughs, the Bronx building was significantly smaller taking up only three floors at a total of roughly 27,500 square feet.〔Jon Minners, "(Borough Waits (and Waits) for New Main Library )" (June 17-30, 1999), ''Norwood News'', Vol. 12, No. 12.〕 A renovation in 1956 proved to be the last; it would take nearly 50 years before enough money was raised to build a new, bigger, much needed building. The Fordham Library Center officially closed its doors to the public in November 2005. Two months later the Bronx Library Center opened right around the corner. It was the goal of the New York Public Library and the architects who designed the new library branch in the Bronx to continue the tradition of the accessible library model established by Carnegie. It would remain a welcoming place of learning for a new generation of immigrants primarily from the Caribbean and Latin America with Spanish being the new dominant language.〔 A bigger piece of land was needed to accommodate the new building. Fortunately, one was available around the corner from the old Carnegie library: it had held a Con Edison building that closed its doors in 1999; the building components were mostly recycled to be reused or sold for scraps to help pay for demolition. After a long fund-raising push in the late 1990s, with contributions from New York State Legislature and allocation of funds by former mayor Rudolph Giuliani, the New York Public Library acquired the site for the new library in 2001.〔Heather Haddon, "(Bronx Library Center No Longer a Fairy Tale )" (January 26, 2006), ''Norwood News'.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Bronx Library Center」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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