Results tagged “nypl”

       

The New York Public Library is pitting Philly and NYC against each other in this fantastic catalog of old baseball images they put online. They say: "The 2009 World Series brings together two cities uncommonly rich in baseball history. Some of the game's earliest years are chronicled in over 500 photographs, prints, drawings, caricatures, and printed illustrations donated in 1921 to the New York Public Library by early baseball player and sporting-goods tycoon A. G. Spalding (whose name to this day is printed across every ball used in the National League)."

Mark Green went on the attack in last night's public advocate debate, linking his rival Bill de Blasio to the recently scandalized group, ACORN. Up until now, Green has attempted to cruise back into the advocate office based on name recognition and the harshest criticism toward de Blasio has come from Charles Barron (who was not even in the race!). But during last night's debate, Green said, "The Working Families party and ACORN put $30,000 in his pocket, so when they come and visit him at City Council who is he working for? You or his employers?"

Bookworms, rejoice! The New York Public Library has announced expanded hours at 10 locations, with some opening as early as 8 a.m. and closing as late at 11 p.m.! Here's a list of the locations, which also include five locations that had expanded hours from a pilot program; NYPL President Paul LeClerc said, “This is a moment to celebrate. In the current economic climate we have seen that access to libraries is essential. People with different circumstances and needs require their libraries at different times. I am enormously gratified that whether seeking a job, writing the next great novel, completing a school project, researching a new business or checking out the latest best seller, all our users will have time for in-depth pursuit of what they seek from us. I am very grateful to Mayor Bloomberg, Speaker Quinn, and the City Council for preserving funding for library hours, and our staff deserves credit for their willingness to experiment with new ideas and approaches to serving our users." Today the Mid-Manhattan location (Fifth Avenue and 40th Street) is having a party at its one-day only "Cover to Cover Cafe" (free coffee and Tim Hortons Timbits) until 11 p.m.

Fact: The Brooklyn Library has a vaulted room which holds some of the more "controversial" books. CityRoom pointed out that you can't find a copy of, say, cartoonist Hergé's book "Tintin au Congo" on the shelves, because that book is held in this locked room. (The site published parts of the book, so probably that web page should go in there too.) One librarian told them, “It’s not for the public," and has been locked away for 2 years now after "a patron objected to the way Africans are depicted in the book. In particular, the patron took issue with illustrations that she felt had the Africans 'looking like monkeys.'’’

                    

Visit a used book store and, after about an hour, all the old books will start looking pretty much the same—the pages get yellowed, the edges become ragged, and the binding starts to disintegrate. What you end up with is shelf after shelf of cheap, trashy, tatters, but that's not so with the New York Public Library's collection of its old books. We went back to the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building at Bryant Park last week to get a closer look at Rare Books Division, a 280,000 volume-strong collection filled with striking, unique works dating back hundreds of years into history, including everything from the first book published in North America to the book in which Ernest Hemingway jotted down his Nobel acceptance speech.

       

This September the New York Public Library will bring you back to school with some topographical history lessons. They're celebrating the New York Harbor Quadricentennial with an extensive exhibit featuring rarely seen maps, atlases and other treasures from their own personal collection. The exhibit is titled Mapping New York’s Shoreline, 1609-2009, and opens on September 25th... but here's a sneak peek.

No one will shush you for trying to save the New York Public Library from drastic budget cuts. In fact, they're asking for you to Shout It Out on their behalf. Stand up and support your local branch—and if you need some convincing, here's Bette Midler, Jeff Daniels, Barbara Walters, Tim Gunn, Amy Tan, Malcolm Gladwell, Nora Ephron, Mike Nichols, Mario Batali and many more talking about why the library has been so important to them.

                            

Last Friday morning we were lucky enough to spend some time in the New York Public Library's main branch, which opened up in 1911, before the doors were unlocked to the public. Librarian David Smith and some of the other NYPL staff took us around on a tour of the massive structure, from the remains of the Croton Reservoir, to the Allen Room (reserved for writers with book contracts) to the room where Charles Dickens's dead cat's paw resides (seriously), we saw it all! Well, except for the miles of books in the stacks that are housed under Bryant Park, that's top secret. Stay tuned for some interviews with more of the folks behind the books, and until then, we highly recommend you show some support (or at least get your library card)!

Last summer the NYPL shut its five-story, 88,000-square-foot Donnell branch in Midtown Manhattan, which opened in 1955 and was known for its massive collection of movies, music, and children’s books, among other things. The plan was to sell the building for $59 million to Orient-Express Hotels Ltd., who would raze it and build an 11-story hotel, with a new library on the ground floor and in the basement. But then the economy went all oopsy, and Orient-Express backed out last month.

If you want to visit the real Winnie the Pooh and friends, they're just a hop, skip and jump away at the 5th Avenue New York Public Library. Pooh, Eeyore, Tigger, Piglet and Kanga moved in to their renovated space earlier this week, and ScoutingNY has a little bit of background on how they ended up there (previously they had been at the Donnell Library Center in Midtown). These are the original stuffed animals given to Christopher Robin Milne (pictured here) by his father A.A. Milne. "One day, Christopher's father, A.A. Milne, and an artist named Ernest H. Shepard, decided that these animals, and two other imaginary friends, Owl and Rabbit, would make fine characters in a bedtime story." Now anyone can visit the plush muses, who are "as happy as when they lived in the 100 Acre Wood."

David Smith has worked at the 42nd and 5th branch of the New York Public Library for 30 years, starting as a clerk and eventually landing at the General Research Division. Before becoming a librarian he was a bookstore clerk, Queens College student, cab driver and under the employ of Sufi Bakery and a butcher shop on Queens Blvd called Joe Salta's Meats.

    

The New York Public Library has a new exhibit on display starting today (and running through March 6th. Titled Pride and Passion: The African-American Baseball Experience, it will open tonight at the Countee Cullen Branch on 136th Street with a feature screening of documentary Before You Can Say Jackie Robinson, as well as a discussion with former Negro Leaguer Robert Scott.

The Commission also held public hearings to discuss future designations, which include the Lamartine Place Historic District in Chelsea that consists of a dozen houses built between 1846 and 1847 that were associated with the Underground Railroad and the Civil War Draft Riots of 1863. And the Fillmore Place Historic District in Williamsburg is still on the table for a designation as well.

The New York Public Library is in temporary possession of a new coffee-table book that weighs in at 61-lbs. The NY Times reports that the rarity was recently hand-made "by scholars, artists and artisans," and is called Michelangelo: La Dotta Mano. The book cost around $126K to make (what recession?) and will be on view through Monday. The cover of the book is "a bas-relief depiction of Michelangelo’s 'Madonna of the Steps,' sculptured on a piece of white marble from one of the Polvaccio quarries in Carrara, Italy, that supplied stone for the master’s statues." Decadence lives! ArtInfo reports that according to "a fine-art publication house in Italy whose charitable foundation donated this copy to the New York library, the book is intended to be 'a provocation in the age of the Internet.'" If you've got some cash to burn, 99 limited edition copies will be made, 20 of which have already been sold. Library president, Paul LeClerc, says: “It is one of the single greatest books made in the last 100 years. There is nothing else at this level.”

      

With news that British architect Norman Foster will "transform" the beloved Fifth Avenue Beaux Arts building of the New York Public Library, one can only be curious about the seven floors of stacks and basement--equivalent of 1.25 million cubic feet--that will be renovated. There are no renderings yet, but there are some clues about the stacks and basement from archival drawings and photographs, courtesy the NYPL.

British architecture firm Foster + Partners has been selected to renovate the New York Public Library's Fifth Avenue Beaux-Arts building. Norman Foster, who married new with old at the British Museum in London and the Hearst Tower in NYC, told the NY Times, "It's the greatest project ever."

       

Last night the fashion world gathered behind the New York Public Library for the 26th annual CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America) Awards, which honors the top designers. The Daily News reports back, saying the night also gave the group a chance to celebrate the life of one of their own, Yves Saint Laurent, who died this past Sunday at the age of 71. Diane von Furstenberg held back tears as she announced that "the world of fashion is mourning. Yves is an artist...a magician who changed the way women dressed forever."

Earlier this week, the Landmarks Preservation Commission unanimously agreed to allow the main branch of the New York Public Library at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street to inscribe the name of a prominent donor, financier Stephen A. Schwarzman, multiple times on the library facade. The fabulously wealthy son of a grocer and co-founder of the Blackstone Group will have his name inscribed five times on the library’s façade as a shout-out for his $100 million unconditional gift to the NYPL.

This afternoon, not only can you take out a book on perfecting your tennis backhand, you can work on your Wii Tennis backhand at the New York Public Library's Humanities and Social Sciences Library (the big one on Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street in Manhattan).

By 2011, our New York Public Library will have a new face. The building, which looms over Bryant Park and 5th Avenue, has been subject to urban pollution and a whole lot more in the past 96 years. From the press release:

The Library announced that it is undertaking a three-year restoration of the facade of the historic building now formally known as the Humanities and Social Sciences Library. The project will include a complete cleaning of the building's Vermont marble, repair of almost 3,000 cracks, protection and preservation of the many sculptural elements, and repair of the building's roof, stairs, and plazas.

An exhibit at the main branch of the New York Public Library is drawing outrage from Republicans because some of the work on display depicts former and current members of the Bush administration posing for fake mug shots. Each official in the visionary series, called “Line Up”, is seen holding a slate with a date of arrest corresponding to a date when the official said something about Iraq that was not “reality-based.” Matthew Walter,...

Jack Kerouac. “Face of the Buddha.” Pencil on paper, 1956(?). NYPL, Berg Collection. Jack Kerouac. “Stella by Jack.” Pencil on paper, 1966(?). NYPL, Berg Collection. To help commemorate the 50th Anniversary of On the Road, the NYPL has put together a great exhibit titled Beatific Soul: Jack Kerouac on the Road. The exhibit explores the work and life of the Beat writer and showcases "the three extant typescript drafts of the novel, including the...

MUSIC: It's CMJ, check out one of the zillions of bands playing. Since trying to pick just one show is tough, we'll suggest one for you. Head over to Brooklyn tonight for Dirty on Purpose, A Place to Bury Strangers, Sisters, Coin Under Tongue and Indian Scout. They'll be taking the stage at Death by Audio.

RALLY: Barack is back! This time he's hitting up Manhattan with an evening rally in Washington Square Park. It's gonna be a big one, so get there early! At least this time there won't be any unhappy paying customers, because it's free! Check out his video invite:

The city of New York is mourning the death of Brooke Astor. The philanthropist, who died yesterday at age 105, had channeled millions from her husband's fortune into a numbers of institutions and organizations - from Carnegie Hall to small community groups across all boroughs. The NY Times obituary makes a very good point about why the $195 million she donated through the Astor Foundation was so important: "Although the foundation was not large compared with powerhouses like Ford, Rockefeller and Carnegie, its contributions often served as seed money: others followed, knowing that if Mrs. Astor had given her seal of approval to a cause, it was worthy of support."

EVENT: The New York Book Club at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum presents…"Breaking News: How the Associated Press Has Covered New York City". The panelists include "Hal Buell, longtime AP photo editor who put images of the Vietnam War in newspapers across America; Richard Drew, AP photographer who has covered New York events including 9/11; Edie Lederer, longtime UN correspondent and first woman to be the foreign chief of bureau; and Valerie Komor, corporate archives director of the AP."

The New York Public Library is closed today––it is a national holiday––but New Yorkers should be proud to hear that the main branch on 42nd St. and 5th Ave. has been entrusted with one of two surviving copies of the Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson himself. The document is a handwritten duplicate of the document signed in Philadelphia 231 years ago, asserting the original thirteen colonies' indepedendence from England and starting the American Revolution.

THEATER: Breedingground Theater Company continues their three week Spring Fever Festival of work by self-producing artists. (We suggest perusing the full lineup on the company’s website, though we caution that it's quite an eyesore.) Nevertheless, one that happily caught our eye is Chess’d, about a ninja and a man in a white tux playing a game of life-sized chess. The game escalates into a no-holds-barred life-or-death struggle, which reviewer Daniel Kelly declares “hilarious from start to finish.” Another possibility is the heady Simulacra: a modern myth, which concerns “an amnesiac TV junky running a freakish temperature and channel surfing a crumbling reality on a quest to recover her identity.” (We’ve been there!) According to reviewer Mark DeFrancis, the show “takes everything from MySpace to the Greek gods and somehow manages to fuse them into a sleek, frenetic production about self-identity, materialism, and mass media.” - John Del Signore

SoHo, Lower East Side, Nolita, and other residents and workers, you'll want to make sure you have your library card, because today at 3PM, the New York Public Library opens its 87th branch in SoHo. The Mulberry Street library, located at Mulberry and Jersey Streets just south of Houston Street, is 12,000 square feet of books, DVDs, computers, WiFi access and more.