Sheepshead Bay has a long history, and so does its beloved library branch.
The coastal nabe was left largely undeveloped until the late 1800s, when new rail lines and the newly-finished Ocean Parkway allowed New Yorkers to access the area much more easily. By the early 1900s, the nabe was small but thriving.
It was also missing a library. The Brooklyn Public Library had been officially formed in 1896, and its first branch — the Bedford Library — opened a few years later. Shortly after that, Andrew Carnegie agreed to fund the construction of 21 more libraries across the borough.
But Sheepshead Bay was left out — so residents came together and lobbied for their own branch. Determined bookworms even raised $200 — equivalent to more than $7,000 in 2025 — to serve as a down payment for library maintenance.
The first Sheepshead Bay Library opened in August 1903.
Since then, the library has moved several times. Its current location, at 2636 East 14th Street, is its fourth, according to BPL.
The 7,475-square-foot facility was badly damaged by Hurricane Sandy, and didn’t reopen for three months after the devastating storm.
But the library was not deterred. Less than a year after Sandy, it won first place and a $10,000 cash prize in the first-ever NYC Neighborhood Library Awards. Voters said the librarians made the facility feel like a “second home” and provided critical services to the nabe, like literacy programs, resume writing help, and even exercise classes.
In 2020, the decades-old branch closed for five months for a much-needed facelift. During that time, the library was outfitted with new flooring, shelves, wall outlets and other tech.
Today, the library offers a “robust” schedule of regular programming. It offers English Conversation Group and English classes, a regular knitting and crochet class, yoga and dance classes, and much more. Sheepshead Bay has a large Russian and Ukrainian population, and the library hosts monthly open mic nights for Eastern European writers and occasional activities for new Ukrainian immigrants.
The beloved library is tended to by dedicated librarians and by the Friends of Sheepshead Bay Library, a volunteer group dedicated to fundraising and advocating for the branch and its activities.
