In 1996 the Library building turned 100 years old. Faculty, staff, and students gathered to commemorate the centennial of the Library’s historic building. Celebrations on the day of the Centennial included a cake-cutting ceremony and a reception where the Commissioner of New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Schuyler Chapin, served as the keynote speaker and Howard Golden, then Borough President of Brooklyn, delivered a proclamation. The elaborate cake was created by Colette Peters, a Pratt MFA graduate. A lecture series on the value of libraries in the 21st century as well as an exhibit were organized for the following weeks.
The celebration launched a year-long campaign centered on the upcoming renovation of the Library as well as the development and preservation of its collections.
A portrait of library staff was taken to commemorate the work of Pratt librarians throughout the Libraries’ history. Seated, from left to right: Dr. George Lowy, Dr. Sydney Starr, Jean Hines, Sukey Tamarkin and Paul Glassman. Standing, from left to right: Greta Earnest, Josephine McSweeney, Mary Vincent, Annie Thompson, Roger Cartmill, Joseph Cahn, Russell Abell, Emily Kranis, Margot Karp, Vincent Valenti, Steve Cohen, Lorraine Edwards, Michele Nauman, Margaret Richardson, Eileen LaFemina, Margaret Ashton, Celeste Newton and Dean F. William Chickering.
