New York Public Library, central block, built 1897–1911, Carrère and Hastings, architects (June 2003)

The New York Public Library (NYPL), one of three public library systems serving New York City, is one of the leading libraries in the United States. The other New York public systems are those of Brooklyn and Queens. Photo of New York Public Library, NYC (taken June 16, 2003 by djmutex), herewith licensed under GFDL. File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... 1897 (MDCCCXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... 1911 (MCMXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). ... New York Public Library, central block, built 1897–1911, Carrère and Hastings, architects (June, 2003) Carrere and Hastings, the firm of John Mervin Carrère (November 9, 1858 - March 1, 1911) and Thomas Hastings (1860 - 1929), sited in New York City, was one of the outstanding Beaux-Arts architectural... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A modern-style library in Chambéry In the traditional sense of the word, a library is a collection of books and periodicals. ... Nickname: The Big Apple Official website: City of New York Government Counties (Boroughs) Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Geographical characteristics Area Total 468. ... The Main Branch, Brooklyn Public Library, Grand Army Plaza, 2003 The Brooklyn Public Library (BPL), is the public library system of the borough of Brooklyn in New York City. ... The Queens Borough Public Library, or QBPL is the public library for the Borough of Queens and one of three library systems serving New York City. ...

The Public Library's main building on Fifth Avenue (GPS +40.75270 -073.98180 ) (image, right) is the crowning achievement of the Beaux-Arts architectural firm of Carrere and Hastings. Its status as one of the world's leading libraries is confirmed by its possession of (for instance) a Gutenberg Bible and a Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica. Street sign at Fifth Avenue and East 57th street Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in New York City. ... Beaux-Arts architecture denotes the academic classical architectural style that was taught at the École des Beaux Arts in Paris, the home territory of this style, which influenced American architecture in the period 1885 – 1920. ... Carrere and Hastings, the firm of John Mervin Carrère (November 9, 1858 - March 1, 1911) and Thomas Hastings (1860 - 1929), sited in New York City, was one of the outstanding Beaux-Arts architectural firms in the United States. ... The Gutenberg bible owned by the U.S. Library of Congress The Gutenberg Bible (also known as the 42-line Bible, and as the Mazarin Bible) is a print of the Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible that was printed by its namesake, Johann Gutenberg, in Mainz, Germany. ... Newtons own copy of his Principia, with hand written corrections for the second edition. ...

History

"Patience" and "Fortitude", The "Library Lion" statues at the New York Public Library, with a mantle of snow during the record December 1948 snowfall.

In the late nineteenth century, New York City had two reference libraries open to the public: the Astor Library, founded by a $400,000 bequest of John Jacob Astor (1763–1848), which had opened in 1849, and the Lenox Library, founded by James Lenox (1800–1880), a book collector, which stood on the Fifth Avenue site now occupied by the Frick Collection. Download high resolution version (1379x1111, 251 KB)The lion statues at the New York Public Library, with a mantle of snow during the record December 1948 snowfall. ... Download high resolution version (1379x1111, 251 KB)The lion statues at the New York Public Library, with a mantle of snow during the record December 1948 snowfall. ... John Jacob (originally Johann Jakob) Astor (July 17, 1763 - March 29, 1848) made a fortune in fur trading and real estate. ... 1763 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... 1848 is a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1849 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Lenox Library is one of the cornerstones of the New York Public Library. ... James Lenox (19 August 1800 - 17 February 1880) was an American bibliophile and philanthropist, born in New York City. ... 1800 (MDCCC) was an common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1880 (MDCCCLXXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Book collecting is what it sounds like, the collecting of books. ... Street sign at Fifth Avenue and East 57th street Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in New York City. ... Frick Collection Holbeins portrait of Thomas More is one of the highlights of the Frick Collection. ...

In 1886, Samuel J. Tilden (1814–1886) made a bequest of about $2.4 million to establish a library in New York City. 1886 (MDCCCLXXXVI) is a common year starting on Friday (click on link to calendar) // Events January 18 - Modern field hockey is born with the formation of The Hockey Association in England. ... Samuel Jones Tilden (February 9, 1814 - August 4, 1886) was the Democratic candidate for the US presidency in the disputed election of 1876, the most controversial American election of the 19th century. ... 1814 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... 1886 (MDCCCLXXXVI) is a common year starting on Friday (click on link to calendar) // Events January 18 - Modern field hockey is born with the formation of The Hockey Association in England. ...

Postcard, ca. 1920.

John Bigelow (1817–1911), a New York attorney, was a trustee of the Tilden will, and formulated a plan to combine the resources of the financially-strapped Astor and Lenox libraries with the Tilden bequest to form "The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations". This entity came into being as a private foundation on May 23, 1895. New York Public Library Building, Manhattan, c. ... New York Public Library Building, Manhattan, c. ... 1920 (MCMXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar) // Events January January 7 - Forces of Russian White admiral Kolchak surrender in Krasnoyarsk. ... John Bigelow (November 25, 1817 - December 19, 1911) was an American lawyer and statesman. ... 1817 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1911 (MCMXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). ... May 23 is the 143rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (144th in leap years). ... 1895 (MDCCCXCV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

The library consolidated with The New York Free Circulating Library in February, 1901, and Andrew Carnegie donated $5.2 million to construct branch libraries, with the proviso that the City of New York fund their maintenance and operations. The New York Public Library is thus a partnership of city government with private philanthropy. 1901 (MCMI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Andrew Carnegie (November 25, 1835 – August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American businessman, a major philanthropist, and the founder of the Carnegie Steel Company which later became U.S. Steel. ... A Carnegie library, opened in 1913 in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, designed in Spanish Colonial style Carnegie libraries for both public use and academic institutions were built with money donated by Scottish-American businessman Andrew Carnegie, earning him the nickname, the Patron Saint of Libraries. ...

A panoramic view of one of the twin Research Rooms

The main Research Library (now known as the Humanities and Social Science Library) was built on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan between 40th and 42nd Streets, and was dedicated on May 23, 1911, opening the next day. The famous lions guarding the entrance were sculpted by Edward Clark Potter. They were originally named Leo Astor and Leo Lenox, in honor of the library's founders. These names were transformed into Lord Astor and Lady Lenox (although both lions are male). In the 1930s they were nicknamed "Patience" and "Fortitude" by Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia. He chose these names because he felt that the citizens of New York would need to possess these qualities to see themselves through the Great Depression. Patience is on the south side (the left as one faces the main entrance) and Fortitude on the north. (New Yorkers eschew such pompous names and refer to them as "Uptown" and "Downtown.") Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (4160x1798, 2481 KB) Summary A panorama of a research room taken at the New York Public Library with a Canon 5D and 24-105mm f/4L IS in January 2006. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (4160x1798, 2481 KB) Summary A panorama of a research room taken at the New York Public Library with a Canon 5D and 24-105mm f/4L IS in January 2006. ... Street sign at Fifth Avenue and East 57th street Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in New York City. ... The Borough of Manhattan, highlighted in yellow, lies between the East River and the Hudson River. ... For the film of this name, see 42nd Street (film). ... May 23 is the 143rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (144th in leap years). ... 1911 (MCMXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). ... Edward Clark Potter (November 26, 1857 - June 21, 1923) was an American sculptor. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Fiorello Henry LaGuardia (December 11, 1882–September 20, 1947) was the Mayor of New York from 1934 to 1945. ... Dorothea Langes Migrant Mother depicts destitute pea pickers in California, centering on Florence Owens Thompson, a mother of seven children, age 32, in Nipomo, California, March 1936. ...

The main reading room of the Research Library, the famous room 315, is one of the most majestic sights one may see; 78 feet (23.8 m) wide by 297 feet (90.5 m) long, with ceilings 52 feet (15.8 m) high; surrounded by open shelves, both on the main level and the balcony, which contain standard and not so standard reference works of all kinds; tall windows and chandeliers above; long tables with comfortable chairs and brass lamps; computers with access to the library collections and to the internet; docking facilities for laptops; readers comfortably at work with materials from the closed stacks, brought to their seats by the staff on request. All of this, and more, available without charge to anyone. Many notable authors have cited research in this room as seminal in their work. Many others, out of work during the Great Depression, used this resource to give themselves the equivalent of a university education.

In the 1980s the library added more than 125,000 square feet (12,000 m²) of space to its storage capacity. This expansion required a major construction project in which Bryant Park, directly west of the library, was closed to the public and excavated. The new library facilities were built below ground level. The park was then restored on top of the underground facilities and re-opened to the public. The 1980s decade refers to the years from 1980 to 1989, inclusive. ... Bryant Park, August 2003 Bryant Park is a 9. ...

The Humanities and Social Sciences Library on 42nd Street is only one of four libraries that comprise NYPL's Research Libraries. The others are the Schomburg Center for Black Research and Culture, the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, and the Science Industry and Business Library. The Library for the Performing Arts and the Science Industry and Business Library also have circulating components that are administered by the NYPL's Branch Libraries system.

Branches

The NYPL maintains 80 neighborhood branch libraries and five central circulating libraries throughout The Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island. (Queens and Brooklyn have their own library systems). Neighborhood branch locations offer popular fiction, basic research materials, and recreational programs. NYPL's five central circulating libraries (The Mid-Manhattan Library, The Donnell Library Center, The Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library, the circulating collections of the Science, Industry and Business Library, and the circulating collections of the Library for the Performing Arts) are all in or near midtown Manhattan and offer a wide range of in-depth collections, programs, and services, including the renowned Picture Collection at Mid-Manhattan Library and the Media Center at Donnell. Main article: New York City The Bronx is one of the five boroughs of New York City in the United States. ... For other uses, see Manhattan (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Staten Island (disambiguation) Staten Island, shown in an enhanced satellite image Staten Island is one of the five boroughs of New York City, located on an island of the same name on the west side of the Narrows at the entrance of New York Harbor. ...

Library in fiction

The NYPL has frequently appeared in feature films, most often as backdrop or a brief meeting place for characters. It serves as the backdrop for a central plot development in the 2002 film Spider-Man and a major location in the 2004 apocalyptic science fiction film The Day After Tomorrow. It is also featured prominently in the 1984 film Ghostbusters. In the film, a librarian in the basement reported seeing a ghost, which became violent when approached. Other films in which the library appears include Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), Chapter Two (1979), Escape from New York (1981), and "Regarding Henry" (1991). In the 1978 film, The Wiz, Dorothy and Toto stumble across the Library and one of the Library Lions comes alive and joins them on their journey out of Oz. In the episode "The Day the Earth Stood Stupid" in the series Futurama, the giant brain is confronted by Fry in the library Film refers to the celluloid media on which movies are printed. ... For the Cusco album, see 2002 (album). ... Tobey Maguire in Spider-Man Spider-Man is the name of an extremely successful movie (released on May 3, 2002) which stars Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst and Willem Dafoe and was directed by Sam Raimi. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Apocalyptic science fiction is a sub-genre of science fiction that is concerned with the end of the world or civilization, through nuclear war, plague, or some other general disaster. ... The Day After Tomorrow is a 2004 apocalyptic science-fiction film that dramatically depicts catastrophic effects of global warming and boasts high-end special effects as a strong point, although the science the story is based on has little mainstream credibility. ... 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Ghostbusters (disambiguation). ... Breakfast at Tiffanys is a novella by Truman Capote, published in 1958. ... Chapter Two is a 1979 film which tells the story of a man whose first wifes death interferes with his starting a new relationship. ... John Carpenters Escape from New York is a 1981 science fiction action film directed and scored by John Carpenter. ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ... For the New York area electronics stores, see Nobody Beats The Wiz. ... The Day the Earth Stood Stupid is the 7th episode in series 3 of Futurama. ... Futurama is an American animated television series created by Matt Groening (creator of The Simpsons) and David X. Cohen (also a writer for The Simpsons). ... Philip J. Fry Philip J. Fry is the central character of the television series Futurama. ...

In novels, Lynne Sharon Schwartz's The Writing on the Wall (2005), features a language researcher at NYPL grapples with her past following the September 11, 2001 attacks. Cynthia Ozick's 2004 novel Heir to the Glimmering World, set just prior to World War II, involves a refugee-scholar from Hitler's Germany researching the Karaite Jews at NYPL. In the 2003 novel Contest by Matthew Reilly the NYPL is the setting for an intergalactic gladiatorial fight that results in the building's total destruction. In 1985, novelist Jerome Badanes based his novel The Final Opus of Leon Solomon on the real-life tragedy of an impoverished scholar who stole books from the Jewish Division, only to be caught and commit suicide. In the 1984 murder mystery by Jane Smiley, Duplicate Keys, an NYPL librarian stumbles on two dead bodies, circa 1930. Donna Hill, who was herself an NYPL librarian in the 1950s, set her 1965 novel Catch a Brass Canary at an NYPL branch library. Lawrence Blochman's 1942 mystery Death Walks in Marble Halls features a murder committed using a brass spindle from a catalog drawer. Daniel Defoes Robinson Crusoe; title page of 1719 newspaper edition A novel (from French nouvelle, new) is an extended fictional narrative in prose. ... The resulting explosion after the crash of United Airlines Flight 175 into the South Tower. ... Cynthia Ozick (b. ... Combatants Allies: Poland, British Commonwealth, France/Free France, Soviet Union, United States, China, and others Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, and others Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total dead: 50 million Military dead: 8 million Civilian dead: 4 million Total dead: 12 million World War II... Karaite Judaism is a Jewish denomination characterized by reliance on the Tanakh as the sole scripture, and rejection of the Oral Law (the Mishnah and the Talmuds) as halakha (Legally Binding, i. ... Cover of Contest Contest is the first published novel by Australian thriller writer Matthew Reilly, and established his career as one of the most popular writers among young Australians, as well as people all over the world. ... Matthew J. Reilly, (born July 2, 1974 in Sydney), is an Australian action thriller writer. ... Intergalactic space is the physical space between galaxies. ... Pollice Verso, an 1872 painting by Jean-Léon Gérôme, is a well known history painters researched conception of a gladiatorial combat. ... Jane Smiley (born September 26, 1949) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist. ...

Smaller mentions of the library can be found in Stephen King's 1980 Firestarter; P. G. Wodehouse's 1919 A Damsel in Distress; B.J. Chute's 1986 The Good Woman; Isaac Bashevis Singer's posthumous Shadows on the Hudson (1998); and in Sarah Schulman's 1986 Girls, Visions and Everything. A charming, lightly fictionalized portrait of the Jewish Division's first chief, Abraham Solomon Freidus, is found in a chapter of Abraham Cahan's The Rise of David Levinsky (1917). Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author best known for his enourmously popular horror novels. ... Firestarter is a novel by Stephen King originally published in 1980. ... P. G. Wodehouse, pictured in 1904, became famous for his complex plots, ingenious wordplay, and prolific output Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse KBE (October 15, 1881 – February 14, 1975) (pronounced WOOD-house) was an English comic writer who enjoyed enormous popular success for more than seventy years. ... Isaac Bashevis Singer Isaac Bashevis Singer (Yiddish: יצחק באַשעװיס זינגער or יצחק בת־שבֿעס זינגער) (November 21, 1902 or July 14, 1904 - July 24, 1991) was a Nobel Prize-winning Jewish writer of both short stories and novels. ... Shadows on the Hudson is a novel by Isaac Bashevis Singer. ... Sarah Miriam Schulman (born July 28, 1958, in New York City) is an American novelist, historian and film maker. ... Abraham Cahan (July 7, 1860 - 1951) was a leading writer and lecturer for socialist and labor movements in New York City. ...

Website

The New York Public Library website allows for book searching, research, and online learning. The two online catalogs, LEO (which searches the circulating collections) and CATNYP (which searches the research collections), search the large collections and find research materials.

Other New York City library systems

The New York Public Library is one of three separate and independent public library systems in New York City. The other two are The Brooklyn Public Library and the Queens Borough Public Library. The Main Branch, Brooklyn Public Library, Grand Army Plaza, 2003 The Brooklyn Public Library (BPL), is the public library system of the borough of Brooklyn in New York City. ... The Queens Borough Public Library, or QBPL is the public library for the Borough of Queens and one of three library systems serving New York City. ...

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

New York Public Library

• List of museums and cultural institutions in New York City
• Education in New York City

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... The Wikimedia Commons (also called Commons or Wikicommons) is a repository of free content images, sound and other multimedia files. ... The Metropolitan Museum of Art African Burial Ground American Folk Art Museum American Museum of the Moving Image American Museum of Natural History Hayden Planetarium (the Rose Center for Earth and Space) Bartow-Pell Mansion Brooklyn Academy of Music Brooklyn Botanic Gardens Brooklyn Museum Carnegie Hall Center for Architecture Cooper... Education in New York City is provided by a vast number of public and private institutions. ...

External links

• New York Public Library
• NYPL Research Libraries
• NYPL Digital Collections
• A link to the General Research Division, with a spectacular photo of room 315
• Another link with a spectacular view of room 315; this one with an extensive gloss

New York City

History | Government | Geography | Demographics | Economy | Media | Culture | Transportation | Music | Sports | Buildings and architecture | Museums | Education | The Five Boroughs (The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island) New York City Lists | Portal Image File history File links Flag_of_New_York_City. ... Nickname: The Big Apple Official website: City of New York Government Counties (Boroughs) Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Geographical characteristics Area Total 468. ... // Lenape and New Netherland: Prehistory:1613-1664 Main article: History of New York City (prehistory-1664) Prehistory in the area began with the geological formation of the peculiar territory of what is today New York City. ... New York City is one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the world, and has a long history of absorbing immigrants from nations all over the globe. ... A busker plays in the New York City subway. ... Carnegie Hall, a major music venue in New York The music of New York City is a diverse and important field in the world of music; no American city has as central a place in music history as New York City. ... Midtown Manhattan, looking north from the Empire State Building, 2005. ... The Metropolitan Museum of Art African Burial Ground American Folk Art Museum American Museum of the Moving Image American Museum of Natural History Hayden Planetarium (the Rose Center for Earth and Space) Bartow-Pell Mansion Brooklyn Academy of Music Brooklyn Botanic Gardens Brooklyn Museum Carnegie Hall Center for Architecture Cooper... The Five Boroughs of New York City The Five Boroughs may also mean The Five Burghs of the Danelaw. ... Main article: New York City The Bronx is one of the five boroughs of New York City in the United States. ... // Headline text For other uses, see Brooklyn (disambiguation). ... The Borough of Manhattan, highlighted in yellow, lies between the East River and the Hudson River. ... Queens Borough in New York City, in yellow Queens is the largest in area and second most populous of the five boroughs of New York City. ... Staten Island lies to the southwest of the rest of New York City. ... // Culture and Education List of famous New Yorkers List of colleges and universities in New York City List of New York City newspapers and magazines List of New York City Television and Film studios List of television shows set in New York City List of movies set in New York...