Welcome to our bright, new, state-of-the-art library: the Book Hive! Staffed by a professional librarian, stocked with 4,250 books (goal: 15,000) and featuring 9 desktop computers, a white board and more, it has quickly become one of the most popular rooms in the building since its unveiling in November, 2010. With its library-management software to help pinpoint online and offline resources and two technology stations designed for special-needs students, the Book Hive exemplifies PS 9′s determination to challenge and inspire each student according to their individual needs and interests. Please visit the DOE’s PS 9 library website to look at our catalog and find e-resources for you and your children.
The 2,150-square-foot space originally served as a library decades ago but became a junkyard of furniture thick with paint, obsolete technology, and musty books. PS 9 parents decided it was time for a big change, and a steering committee, led by PS 9 parent Rebecca Shulman Herz, which included parents and staff from both PS 9 and MS 571, was created to bring together all the elements needed to make the new school library come to fruition.
A Stunning Transformation
It’s hard to imagine the formerly cheerless space when you walk into the second-story room today. Opposite the door, 60-foot-long row of windows fill the room with light and flooring the color of yellow beeswax and warm white walls make it inviting. New maple furniture, including hexagonal tables, are in keeping with the concept and colors of a beehive.
The library’s designers set themselves the challenge of creating a space with the feel of a million-dollar Robin Hood library on a government budget. The expensive-looking hive concept was developed pro bono by interior designer and PS 9 parent Kiki Dennis, to meet the committee’s objective of a room that emphasizes community. PS 9 parent and graphic artist Chip Rich took the idea and ran with it, creating a Book Hive brand with a distinctive logo and fonts for its signage, bookmarks, bookbags, and stationery.
The Steering Committee collaborated with Melissa Jacobs-Israel in the NYC Department of Education’s Department of Library Services, who helped them to identify key elements to create a “dream library”; worked with architecture students at New York City College of Technology (City Tech) taught by former PS 9 parent Illya Azaroff, to gather design ideas; and partnered with the NYC DOE’s Center for Assistive Technology to ensure the library offers resources for all students. Altogether the Committee raised nearly $500,000 from the City for the project, 
which was funded by the offices of Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz and City Councilwoman Letitia James.
Creating the Book Hive, which is shared by PS 9, MS 571 and Brooklyn East Collegiate charter school, was a truly collaborative effort. “We are blessed to live in a community where committed parents shared their professional expertise to help us create, raise money for, and build the Book Hive,” said PS 9 Principal Sandra D’Avilar.
