Harrison Public Library Grand Re-Opening

HARRISON, NY – (August 31,2015) – The Harrison Public Library will welcome the community to the sparkling new Richard E. Halperin Memorial Building at 2 Bruce Avenue on Saturday, September 12, with a Grand Opening Weekend Celebration. The events will begin with the ribbon cutting ceremony at 11:30 am.

A new and fresh, attractive space filled with the latest information technology and devices will be officially opened to the public following a year-long project that completely re-created the library. With enhanced exhibition and programming space, updated infrastructure and improved technology, the library is better equipped to provide requested services and encourage the free exchange of ideas.

The celebration includes an art show, Japanese dancers, llamas, story- telling, a children’s maze, balloon animals, calligraphy demonstrations, a local author’s reception and book-signing, a family scavenger hunt, puppet show, craft exhibits and performances by local bands.

“The library has been totally rebuilt from the inside out and we are excited to show you what it now has to offer,” said Library Director, Galina Chernykh.

“We have a new technology center, a spacious interactive children’s room, and a center especially designed for teenagers with expanded group and private study space with improved lighting and an enhanced wireless network,” added Library Board President Dave Donelson. A new television broadcast facility has been provided through an agreement with Cablevision. Almost all of the furniture and equipment in the new Harrison Library is the latest available. Seating is designed to be attractive, yet comfortable and all the toys and games are new and appealing. There are more than 30 new computer stations throughout the building.

The library’s extensive Japanese-language book collection is now housed in an attractive new space. It is now the largest collection of both juvenile and adult Japanese language books in Westchester County.

The library’s $3.6 million renovation was made possible through a roughly 50/50 public-private partnership between the Town of Harrison, the Harrison Public Library and the HPL Foundation, and the Richard E. Halperin Memorial Fund, which contributed $1.3 million. Other major contributors included the Javitch Foundation, honoring the late Harrison resident Lee Javitch, Jarden Corporation, and Morgan Stanley. Over 500 private donors contributed to the project.

Boilerplate

The Library known today as the Harrison Public Library has provided service to Harrison and Westchester County residents for over one hundred years. Founded in 1905 as the Harrison Free Reading Room, the Library was chartered as the Harrison Public Library in 1955. In 1967, the official merger of the Harrison Public Library with the Silver Lake Free Library resulted in the incorporation of what we know today as the Harrison Public Library and its West Harrison Branch.