To celebrate the continued work of the L!brary Initiative, friends of Robin Hood gathered in Williamsburg, Brooklyn on November 8th for the opening of P.S. 17's brand new library. On hand to offer congratulatory remarks were Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Chancellor Joel I. Klein.

Mayor Bloomberg opened the program: "Thanks to this public/private partnership with the Robin Hood Foundation, we have been able to open 31 state of the art libraries to date."

Energizing the crowd, Chancellor Klein followed: "Focusing on literacy has been one of the cornerstones of the Children First reforms. I thank Robin Hood for their partnership and for their commitment to creating libraries for our City's public school students."

The Mayor and Chancellor also announced a renewed partnership with Robin Hood to create 25 additional libraries, scheduled to open in Fall 2006. With the 10 libraries that opened in 2002 and the 21 that opened this fall, this brings the total number of libraries to 56. Enthusiastic students, teachers, staff, and administration applauded the announcements. Joining Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Klein in their remarks were Robin Hood Foundation Board Chair Marie-Josee Kravis, Credit Suisse First Boston CEO Brady Dougan, and Scholastic CEO Dick Robinson.

CSFB CEO Brady Dougan added to the exciting announcements with news that CSFB would contribute a $1 million leadership gift to the next cohort of libraries, bringing their total commitment to Robin Hood's L!brary Initiative to $3.4 million. In addition, the Department of Education will contribute $10 million to support the next round of libraries, further strengthening the private/public model. The students of PS 17 closed the festivities by celebrating their newly stocked shelves with song and a reception.