BAL was the ideal location for our 20 person team building. The perfect amount of space for a casual lunch, large group learning, and four small group breakouts. Their team was super helpful in preparing the already inspirational space and ensuring we had everything we needed.
In the age of digital everything, it is incredibly refreshing to walk into a place dedicated to the use of pen and paper. The Brooklyn Art Library allows you to peruse and check out sketchbooks created by people like us (and maybe YOU.. you can add to the collection) and to give yourself creative thinking time. It's organized beautifully and inspires you to get into your imagination.. LOVE IT.
Very cool little place. It s a bit slow since you have to request individual books but interesting!
This place is a hidden gem. If you want to be inspired, laugh, cry, love until you lose track of time looking at the thousands of sketchbooks from all over the world this place if for you. Get lost in people's creativity and different points of views, poems, love stories and crazy ideas, even if you think you are "not the creative type". The space is very cozy and the music is awesome too (indie music). The staff is very friendly and helpful. You can also become part of the sketchbook project. They have different projects and themes all year.
The Brooklyn Art Library is utterly wonderful. What could be nicer than an afternoon n the company of so many interesting sketch books. One comes away inspired and energized. The Library itself is so appealing as a physical space but what makes it even better is the welcome one receives. I wish I could go there every week. Was it worth the 2 hours each way to get there from Connecticut. Definitely! in fact I am already planning my next visit.
oh hell yeah, the public speaks.. in collage
5 stars
I am very bummed. Ordered 3 books for holiday gifts and was promptly charged. Have yet to even get a confirmation. I emailed them and got an automatic response that it could take a week to get a response. One book is a present for my sister in law who is recovering from a liver transplant. Thought this would be perfect for her while she is on the mend
I also called and the mailbox is full because I would even try to pick them up in person
Update 12/329-Allison answered my email and it should be on the way. Changing the review to 3 stars.
Purchased the sketchbook with digital included on December 5th. They got paid right away. It said they were a small group so allow 10 days to have order processed. I waited 13 days then sent an email to see what was going on. I informed them that it was a Christmas present so if they were not going to get it to me by then I wanted a refund. The 17th they stopped taking orders for Christmas. Heard nothing. Today the 21st I called them to hear oops sorry we messed up a few orders and we won't ship yours until first week of January. They were going to screw me for Christmas and keep my money. Mistakes happen just let someone know. But the money is all that counts to them. Buyer beware!
Told they had received my book. But classed as Null. Paid for it to be digitised. Online says it's not even received and I have to print another label. Posted it in July.... I think it's a scam ......
a pain to browse freely. uses a kind of inefficient ipad search system. edit: i was asked to review my rating but i stand by it. the place isn t user-friendly and is more of an archive rather than a library.
So cool - what a place! The iPads checkout system is kind of hard to use. But overall it s such a cool concept. We loved it! They also have some great merch. This place is a gem! Truly a cool repository of international art.
Descent collection of zines. There's a photo booth on the back! It's a great place to stay cool and read during summer time in NY. Highly recommend it.
This is the most engaging exhibition of art I've ever experienced. I'm not a lover of galleries etc but leafing through little sketchbooks by artists from all over the world is a really personal thing and gives so much insight into the artistic process that is absent from the stuff on display at big museum exhibitions. I love the concept of the Sketchbook Project and recommend anyone, art aficionado or not to check it out. It's what art is really about.
The Brooklyn Art Library, renowned for its sketchbook project! It is a space where you can see the sketchbook art of people around the world, and there is a guide of your own. A structure that can be seen and borrowed from the sketchbook following the manual. Inside, there is space to take pictures of stickers, and it was nice to see lots of creative works. I do not like the condition for a long time bb
Really cool space where you can look at a huge archive of sketchbooks! You can request books by theme / location / etc on a tablet and a librarian will come by to let you read it. An email is sent out to the author of the sketchbook notifying them that it is being read. I wish you could take books directly off the shelves but understand that they re trying to preserve the books and keep track of them. Overall, a really cool concept and definitely worth the visit!!
Get lost in these shelves by reading the thousands of booklets that people have written, designed, and minted to leave their own mark.
Analog experiences of this sort are precious in this age. Visit. Spend 2 hours, or 4. Get inspired.
This is a famous sketchbook project. And you can see old books with voice and music.
You can easily spend hours here pouring over sketchbooks. Expect to leave inspired and impressed by the talent of strangers!
Absolutely one-of-a-kind. Half the store is a very well-curated selection of arts-related merchandise, including rubber-stamp printing sets from the 1950s and some gorgeous French stationery. But the main attraction is the wall of notebooks. Get yourself a library card and check one out -- it's pretty much at random, since you can't open them until you check them out. And see what some creative stranger has to say. Or fill in your own book and make your own connection, if you're so inclined. For the artistic crowd, this place is a must-see.
This truly is a hidden gem and a moment of peace in the hustle and bustle. If it's a majorly hot day, then it's ideal to come in the hottest part of the day and trawl though all of the eclectic and generous wonders that people have been kind enough to share of themselves. The whole ritual of searching for a topic, county etc and being brought two little works of art is a joy in/& of itself. It's so unique and I adore it. Can't wait to submit my own.
Awesome place! Love the Sketchbook Project and everything that guys are doing.
One of my favorite places to spend a few hours relaxing! I m always in awe of the amount of beautiful artwork that people can produce in one book I m always discovering gems and appreciating glimpses of peoples lives.
The library is free so I highly recommend popping in anytime you ve got time to kill though I definitely make the trip to enjoy a couple of hours there on bad weather days.
Accessibility Notes:
- the space is quiet and generally people don t talk so you will not have high noise levels. It is essentially a library.
- The space is easy to navigate and can accommodate several wheelchairs.
- sketchbooks / books are requested and brought to you by the librarian/staff. You request this via the website or in house iPad app. Staff are happy to assist you if you re having difficulties
I love this place it is such a cool experiment! I love looking into people's sketchbooks! I wish their website was a bit more intuitive, it's difficult to find the type of art or an artist. I chose 1 book I thought was one thing and got 2 books from the librarian which didn't seem at all like what I asked to see. Not sure where the second book even came from. It's easier to just browse through what's already out on the tables.
First time I went I got a super helpful guy, definitely enthusiastic about art and talking about it. Last time I went I got a girl who seemed a little aloof, which made me feel like I was bothering her for coming in.
However, the atmosphere and the products they're selling are really nice. They also allow you to take any pictures and post them online so you can share any new artists you find!
Brooklyn Art Library is world renowned! It holds the largest collection of sketchbooks and has been featured in main media like The New York Times and Fox 5. There are so many cool sketchbooks you can see and hold (Literally, walls filled with them... I have about 5 their currently) and they have lots of fun items to purchase! Williamsburg a very neighborhood (lots of murals) and typically you can find street parking.
What a cute library! It s full of sketches from people all over the world! You can visualize their stories and share you own too. The library also sell art supplies and very unique cards/postcards. Worth a visit and soak yourself in those sketches for a couple of hours!
A library filled exclusively with sketchbooks! What a wonderful place...
Such a beautiful experience, this is really how library's get built. Its amazing walking through and having to choose a book and wait. I love how its quiet and you get to read the lives of others or their thoughts at that point in time. I went their due to Instagram and free supplies but I missed out on the supplies and ended up spending $50+
It is Good that places like this exist in the world
This is hands down one of the best art gems in New York City. For no cost, you can discover some of the most unique and talented artists from across the world. Set aside and afternoon, art lovers, you'll be taking in the atmosphere and sketchbooks for hours.
Everyone at the Library is just the nicest around. Went in recently for the Sketchbook Project Tour and it's a great, cozy place, brimming with off-beat creativity. You can pick up some books, sketchbooks, tote bags, and such while you're there for one of their functions. It also helps that delicious smells come wafting in from the neighboring chocolate shop.
Don't let the name fool you. It's not a typical library. You can sign up for a membership on the spot, which is free, and from that point, you check out small sketchbooks to browse art. The art itself is made by regular people and you have the choice yourself of buying a sketchbook to contribute. This is an international project, so you will find yourself exploring the anonymous or eponymous work of a stranger across the country or across the world.
The artwork is full of variety. You may run across something inspiring and others may look like student projects. No matter, it's a good way to spend a few hours while walking around in the neighborhood
The shipping of materials ordered from the store is ridiculous. They let you know items ship within 10 days but then tell you that 10 days is typical. Meanwhile it's been 12 days since my order and all I is a still havepre shipping confirmation number. So much for Christmas gifts arriving in time to send off to family members. Customer service at the store has been of no help. They want to cite that they're small shop which justifies a very delayed order in there mind at least! If you want to purchase something from their store allow a month to actually receive it even if you're only a few hundred miles away.
It's one of the most depressing and uninviting places I've ever been to. Immediately we're told that we can't touch any of the books in this so-called "library," we have to use an app or the iPad on the wall to order one and an employee will give to us. Okay, that's fine, it's art. But then we can't tell the difference between the sketch books, they're all strangely uniform. What am I going to do, go through an app to have a random sketch book delivered to me by the woman standing a few feet away? Strange. It wasn't until the end that I realized that they're selling the blank sketch books for 50$ so you can fill it up and send it in to be on "display." They want artists to pay them for a minuscule chance that someone will see their unique art. That's not okay. The whole experience left me sad.
I came here for an event and definitely coming back to check out the sketchbook project.
brooklynartlibrary.org
