Twenty years ago, the opening of Bern Dibner Library marked the beginning of a new era for both Polytechnic and downtown Brooklyn. The Dibner Building was the first new building ever built at the Brooklyn Campus and one of the first to be completed as part of MetroTech, the 4.7-million-square-foot commercial, academic and technology office complex.

The new library tripled the size of existing facilities and offered the latest in information technology. In 1992, this meant looking up citations on CD-ROMS and using an on-site only electronic catalog (instant access to online articles was still many years away). See the rise of the Dibner Building unfold in our 20th Anniversary Online Slideshow featuring photographs of the construction of the library, along with before and after shots that reveal how the library has transformed over time.

The library atrium has changed over the years to adapt to the new information landscape and evolving needs of the Polytechnic community. View more images in our 20th Anniversary Slideshow.

To find out more about what the library was like in its opening days, checkout our Flashback to 1992 online exhibit. Not only will you find out what a microcomputer is (the library had 47 of them), but you can take a look at what made 1992 memorable—covering everything from the Rodney King Riots to the debut of MTV's Real World.

Flashback to 1992 Online Exhibit