Slowpokes and procrastinators beware: Late fees from overdue library books in New York could be costing you points off your credit score. The New York Times has an article today that describes how the The New York Public Library and the Queens Public Library have been using a private company named Unique Management Services, which is a collections agency that library late fines are referred to when not paid by book borrowers. One rabbi in......

Books, or at least book shelves, must be on this couple's wedding registry: The Post has a cute story about a couple whose engagement took place at the Strand Bookstore. Joshua Reich and Shianling King "always told friends they met at the Strand," but they actually met online - their first date was supposed to be at the Museum of Modern Art, but the lines were so long that they went to the Strand instead.......

ART: Secrets of Coney Island Creek opens at the Brooklyn Public Library tonight. The exhibit of photographs by photog/author/Coney Island native Charles Denson goes back to the 1960s "when the waterway was at a low point, surrounded by industry and suffering from neglect and pollution. Since then, portions of the creek have been reclaimed, drawing both wildlife and residents to its shores. The photographs in Secrets of Coney Island Creek document those early decades and......

Sarah Vowell’s distinctive voice is instantly recognizable to listeners of radio show This American Life and fans of the animated Pixar film The Incredibles (she played Violet). Her writing has appeared in The New York Times (where she filled in for Maureen Dowd), McSweeney’s, Spin, Salon and elsewhere. And she’s authored four books; the most recent one, Assassination Vacation, humorously chronicled her pilgrimage to locales connected to three slain American presidents (Lincoln, Garfield and McKinley).......

Yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg announced a project to commemorate abolitionist activity that occurred in Brooklyn in the 1800s. He named a panel made up of community leaders, academics, and historians to aid the city and Downtown Brooklyn Partnership in asking for and reviewing commemoration proposals. The panels of the Commemoration Panel are: the Reverend Lawrence Aker, Senior Pastor, Cornerstone Baptist Church; Richard Greene, Executive Director, Crown Heights Youth Collective; Colvin L. Grannum, President, Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration......

The saga of the issuance of Official New York license plates to people, businesses, and groups that are not a part of the government continues. Yesterday, the Daily News followed up with a story about how the New York Public Library received several sets of the plates for its vehicles. In case you didn't know, the New York Public Library, Brooklyn Public Library and Queens Borough Public Library are not a part of the city......

Students at all NYC schools have a day off today in what is officially noted on the Dept. of Education's calendar as a Chancellor's Conference Day for Staff Development. That dry description actually masks the fact that today's day off from school is a tradition that dates back to 1829 and used to be one of the most widely celebrated holidays in Brooklyn and Queens. Dating back 178 years, Anniversary Day was a school holiday......

A story in this week's Crain's suggests that the Visual and Performing Arts Library planned for the BAM Cultural District in Fort Greene may never materialize due to lack of funding. The story ("Library Project in Doubt," p6) is based on an anonymous source, described as "an insider at the Brooklyn Public Library." Unfortunately we cannot post the link because Crain's requires a subscription. According to Crain's, "The source says that library executives have given......

Anyone who has attempted to walk or bike from one side of Brooklyn's Grand Army Plaza to another knows that it can be a difficult journey, through which a constantly swiveling head is required to keep an eye on traffic coming from seemingly every direction. The above overhead image shows just a portion of the plaza where five different roads converge in an inner traffic loop, including Eastern Parkway and Prospect Park West, and......

A Sunday NY Times roundup of development and community planning process in the Gowanus section of Brooklyn contains this hidden threat: "Sometime in the next few months, the city plans to shut the flushing tunnel for 18 months of repairs, and that could bring back the smell of the bad old days." What is the "flushing tunnel?" It's a pipe stretching over one mile from the harbor (Buttermilk Channel between Red Hook and Governor's......

There may be some crappy post offices in Brooklyn, but the Brooklyn Public Library is trying to expand its offerings for members. The Post reports that the library has been talking to Netflix to allow library members to rent DVDs - for free - as well as home delivery. So you could check out books and movies from the comfort of your own home - never leave your apartment again! Dionne Mack-Harvin was appointed as......

Leaving our local Key Food this morning, for the first time we heard the spare change guy's rendition of "Bad to the Bone" and then we turned to one of our weekend rituals: Reading the The Brooklyn Paper. Why do we love the Brooklyn Paper? Because it covers stories here way before the dailies get to them, if ever. Because of the NY Post-style headlines ("Fowl play: Fairway ducks foie gras flap" comes from today's......

Remember all the excitement surrounding the BAM Cultural District around, oh, 2001? Well, the NY Post is reporting that the previous plan for a theater and arts library has been expanded to include a dance studio, public park, museum and gallery, underground parking garage and residential housing. The district, which will cost $650 million, will be located between Fulton St. and Lafayette Ave. along Flatbush Ave. More details from the Post: - The 229-seat theater......

December 7: Alex Prud’homme at O&CO.; Join Alex Prud’homme, Julia Child's grandnephew, as he recounts stories about Julia and reads from her memoir, My Life in France, which he co-authored. He will also be available to sign books, which might make a great present for someone on your holiday shopping list. O&CO.; store, Grand Central Terminal, Graybar Passage--Lexington Ave & 42nd St. (212-973-1472), 6:00 pm, Free. December 8 - 17: Gingerbread Homes for Animals Pastry......

FASHION: This is an early one, fashionistas. The Brooklyn Public Library is hosting a round table discussion today on Fashion and Beauty trends. Come. Learn. Be pretty. 3:30pm // Central Library at Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn // Free ART: Graffiti artist Joe Joe Webb will unveil his newest collection of urban art at $treet Credit. Each image serves as a symbol for urban culture and materialism, with rare collector sneakers, money clips and brass knuckles......

Yesterday, there was a press conference to herald the formation of the Grand Army Plaza Coalition, which will help improve Brooklyn's Grand Army Plaza for pedestrians. According to Transportation Alternatives, is coalition is "made up of civic associations such as the Park Slope Civic Council, the Prospect Heights Parents Association and the Eastern Parkway Cultural Row Association...cultural institutions such as the Prospect Park Alliance, the Brooklyn Public Library and the Heart of Brooklyn Cultural Partnership...advocacy......

We know it's fashion week, but Gothamist prides itself on offering all kinds of other, more bookish delights for those not inclined to prowl the tents at Bryant Park. Kicking off this week, Symphony Space (95th and Broadway) is hosting Banned: Stories by Censored Writers and Dissidents, with work by authors from Iran and Indonesia. The show starts at 6:30PM on 2/8 and costs $25, less for members. At KGB Bar (85 E. 4th St.)......

Gothamist reader Richard Kim sent in this great link to the Fulton Street Trade Card Collection at the Brooklyn Public Library. The collection features some wonderfully weird 19th century business cards for a variety of stores in downtown Brooklyn. Check out the description for the card above: Illustration of woman on beach turned away from sailor who may be missing a hand and may be trying to talk to her. A cupid is seated......