Category: Uncategorized

  How did one of the world’s great public research libraries nearly destroy itself? That question is central to Scott Sherman’s superlative book, Patience and Fortitude, now in paperback. A gripping account of the David versus Goliath story about citizens fighting to take back their library, Sherman’s book describes in vivid detail the enormous efforts… Continue reading Patience and Fortitude now in paperback!

  Mid-Manhattan Library was always an awkward name, it does not trip off the tongue as Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library will. But NYPL has a way with euphonious acronyms, think of ReCAP, MaRLI, SIBL and our favorites – the Bryant Park Storage Extension (BPSE), pronounced Bipsey and the electronic catalog (CATNYP), pronounced Catnip. We never liked… Continue reading Naming Opportunities

We did it! After months of intense advocacy, we have finally secured interior landmark designation for the Rose Reading Room and Bill Blass Catalog Room! Today the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission voted unanimously to formally designate both spaces. Going forward, any major changes to interior components and fixtures including but not limited to decorative plasterwork, metalwork… Continue reading VICTORY: Rose Reading Room landmarked at last!

We need your support! LPC is proposing to calendar only *some* of the renowned interiors of the 42nd Street Library (476 Fifth Avenue). Although the public may not speak at the upcoming public meeting, you can submit written testimony online. Tell the LPC that they must calendar ALL of the eligible interiors of this masterpiece of… Continue reading Urge LPC to comprehensively landmark the iconic NYPL interiors

Recently, Charles Warren, President of Save NYPL, appeared on CUNY TV’s Independent Sources to discuss NYPL’s plans to demolish the popular Inwood Public Library and replace it with a new library within a low-cost residential building. If you missed the interview, you can now watch it online.    

The Committee to Save NYPL is petitioning the Landmarks Preservation Commission to officially designate the Rose Reading Room and other public spaces in the 42nd Street Library as interior landmarks. We need your help! Please sign the petition below and share it with your friends, family, and colleagues. https://www.change.org/p/meenakshi-srinivasan-landmark-the-new-york-public-library-rose-reading-room Preservationists had formally requested these spaces… Continue reading Landmark the Rose Reading Room!

  NYPL will present its new designs for the renovation of the Mid-Manhattan Library and hold a discussion with the architects of the project this coming Tuesday.  There will be an opportunity to ask questions. The meeting will be: Tuesday, December 13th, 4:30 PM Mid-Manhattan Library, 6th Floor (Fifth Avenue and 40th Street) We encourage… Continue reading Upcoming Meeting on the Mid-Manhattan Library Renovation

  We are honored to have been named 2016’s Best Civic Gladfies by the Village Voice: “By now, everyone from New York Public Library leaders to City Council members agrees that the NYPL’s 2008 decision to sell its Donnell branch to a Chinese luxury-hotel company for a fraction of its value was a big mistake. But the NYPL… Continue reading Save NYPL Named Best Civic Gadflies by The Village Voice

New York magazine absolutely nails it on the new Donnell replacement library, “a sleek but shrunken pit fitted out with bleachers, bar stools, and a megascreen, plus a smattering of circulating volumes.” Aptly titled “The New 53rd Street Library Is Nice, Unless You Like to Read Books,” the article goes on to note: Neither architects nor librarians shaped… Continue reading New York Magazine Gets it Right on the New Replacement Donnell Library

  We’d like to thank everyone who joined us in protesting the opening of Donnell Library’s shrunken replacement last week. It was a good turn out. The glitzy, stage-managed ribbon-cutting ceremony was moved indoors, but our demonstration received ample coverage in DNAInfo and The Wall Street Journal. Perhaps the defining take on the sordid affair appeared last week… Continue reading City Journal Eviscerates Donnell Deal