NYPL Survey Seeks Public Feedback
Appearing to engage library users, the New York Public Library has circulated an online survey to measure how the public uses their libraries. The results will inform their decisions about renovations to the Mid-Manhattan and 42nd Street libraries. Although the multiple choice format constrains complex answers, we recommend responding in ways that encourage the NYPL to return to 42nd Street the 3 million books that have been exiled.
Most of the questions fail to address the diverse needs of library patrons and ask participants to gauge library services according to rigid categories. We urge you to add your own comments wherever possible.
In spite of these shortcomings, we encourage everyone to take a few minutes to participate in the survey. Midway through the survey, you will be asked if you are willing to answer a few more questions. Make sure to answer “yes” since the questions that follow pertain to the Mid-Manhattan Library and the 42nd Street library.
At the end, a prompt will allow you to leave your comments. This is an excellent opportunity to tell NYPL to respect the integrity of Carrère and Hastings’s architecture, return the books to the stacks, and keep reading materials on-site so that both Mid-Manhattan Library and the 42nd Street library continue as the thought provoking center of New York.