While some prudish libraries are debating whether or not to stock E.L. James's Fifty Shades series (ahem, North Carolina), the New York Public Library is not one of them... and it looks like they need to stock up. There are currently 1,824 people that have the first book on hold.
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Results tagged “newyorkpubliclibrary”
1,824 People Have Fifty Shades Of Grey On Hold At The NYPL Right Now
Recluse J.D. Salinger Found Using NYPL's 1940 Census Tool
Today the 1940 census was released, opening up the personal details of 132 million people for the first time after 72 years of privacy protection lapses—21 million of those people are still alive. There are a number of ways to access the information in the census, including at the National Archives and this website, and the New York Public Library has also released a search tool.
Video: Hitchens Vs. Sharpton On Whether God Is Great
In 2007, the Reverend Al Sharpton and celebrated polemicist Christopher Hitchens, who died yesterday of cancer at the age of 62, met for an intellectual debate on the existence and nature of God at the New York Public Library. As the Times happily reported, despite the incendiary and polarizing nature of both men, the debate turned out to be "the public intellectual event of the evening, a bit like Bertrand Russell vs. C. S. Lewis."
Who Needs Books? NYPL Main Branch May Rip Out Its Stacks
Big changes—to the tune of $250 to $350 million—could soon be coming to the New York Public Library's historic main branch, whether you want them or not. In a long and interesting piece in The Nation Scott Sherman looks at the NYPL's mysterious Central Library Plan (CLP) and the many changes it will bring to the city's beloved library in the next few years. Like tearing out the stacks in the system's Carrère and Hastings-designed Beaux-Arts crown jewel and replacing it with "a state-of-the-art, computer-oriented library" designed by Norman Foster.
Make Your Own Lion Pumpkin, Courtesy Of The NYPL
Everyone go give some money to the New York Public Library, because on top of giving you books for free, they have really been going the extra mile lately. They give you special events, and Winnie the Pooh, and fun little extras that they totally are not obligated to give because they are already giving you all those free books! But they do it anyway. And in their latest gesture, they're giving you a stencil so you can carve out your pumpkin to look like their lions, Patience and Fortitude. Here's a stencil they've provided, and an instructional video:
You Can Finally Borrow E-Books For Your Kindle From NYPL
Leaping forward into the 21st century, the New York Public Library has announced that readers who refuse to physically go to the library can now borrow even more e-books from from their virtual collection, which will conveniently deliver books straight to your Kindle with the simple click of a button.
Alleged Library Thief Gets Booked
While all you working stiffs are wasting the best years of lives clocking in and out of some dead and job to barely keep your head above water, area man Andrew Hansen had it all figured out: lifting books from public libraries and selling them to used bookstores for a hefty profit, according to prosecutors. Authorities tell the Post that Hansen, who used to work in publishing before developing a drug problem, is "well known to NYPL gumshoes and local bookstores," and he allegedly stole so many books the library sent photos of Hansen to local bookstores. And recently the chickens came home to roost.
New York Public Library, Zoos, Museums Shut Down For The Weekend
Were you planning on meeting up with your good looking boyfriend Jake Gyllenhaal in the library during the storm? Well you can forget about it, honey, because the public libraries are shutting things down for the weekend.
Kids No Longer Thwarted By Library Fines
Young bookworms who can't keep track of a deadline are no longer in danger of losing their borrowing privileges at the library, thanks to a new measure granting thousands of kids amnesty from late fees. Call off the book detectives!
Cute Overload At The NYPL: Send A Letter To Winnie The Pooh
Winnie-the-Pooh is turning 90 years old on August 21st, can you believe it? In celebration, the New York Public Library—where Pooh and his pals Eeyore, Tigger, Piglet and Kanga reside—invite you to give Pooh a card via their magical mailbox. They write: "we have a mailbox at the Children’s Center at 42nd Street and are accepting cards on Winnie’s behalf. After all, the original Winnie-the-Pooh doll set is at the Library, on view in the Children’s Center, in a special room surrounded by art of the 100 Acre Wood!" (You can even make the birthday bear a customized card.)
Tom Otterness Statue Nixed Over 1977 Puppy Snuff Flick
There will be no new Tom Otterness sculptures in Battery Park City. Though Otterness already did the lovely "penny park" at the north end of the park, the Battery Park City Authority has nixed an anonymously gifted $750,000 bronze lion and cubs sculpture by the artist meant for the Battery Park branch of the New York Public Library. Though the BPCA says the decision was because of a "lack of transparency" regarding control of the work and where it came from, the world-renowned sculptor's history of animal abuse (and the many petitions deriding it) is the more likely culprit.
A Tour Of The New York Public Library's Romantic Treasures
Earlier this week we took a very cool field trip to the New York Public Library's Carl H. Pforzheimer Collection of Shelley and His Circle, one of the Library's many troves of rare printed treasures. The Pforzenheimer Collection is one the world's largest resources devoted to English Romantic writers like Percy Shelley, his wife Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, and Lord Byron.
Flashback: Happy 100th Birthday, New York Public Library
The New York Public Library's landmark building on 5th Avenue between 40th and 42nd streets was dedicated in a ceremony presided over by President William Howard Taft, on this day in 1911. According to the History Channel, "The day after its dedication, the library opened its doors to the public, and some 40,000 citizens passed through to make use of a collection that already consisted of more than a million books." And as you may know from all the hoopla lately—they're celebrating.
Print Is Dying? The NYPL Has An iPad App For That
Taking a page out of their "Find the Future"-themed centennial celebration exhibition this year, the New York Public Library unveiled today their first-ever iPad app, called Biblion: The Boundless Library. For those who can't get up to The Stacks in person, it's a nifty little way to peruse history from your lap.
Totally Unnecessary Library Anti-Porn Bill Introduced
Remember how some people are really convinced that kids are watching tons of porn at the library? And how that's not actually the case, like, at all? Well, turns out a few Councilmen didn't get the message, and they're introducing a bill that would make it a misdemeanor to watch porn within 100 feet of a child in a public library.
The NYPL Is Leaving These Free Books On Park Benches
The New York Public Library is all about free books, and now they're going to give you one that you don't need to return! The book features photos of "100 Luminaries And Their Favorite Items From The New York Public Library," including Stephen Colbert (who cried reading J.D. Salinger's letters), Mayor Bloomberg, John Lithgow, Vampire Weekend, The Harlem Globetrotters, The Rockettes, and even Parker Posey... which means a brief intermission from this post, to revisit Party Girl:
Kids Really Not Watching That Much Porn At The Library
Despite what The Post might have you believe, it seems that the youth of America really aren't in total moral decline...at least not at the public library. The paper has a story today announcing that "children 13 and older can easily access hard-core porn in the city's public libraries," and "library patrons say it happens all the time." Curious, we reached out to the Public Library to see just how easy it is for little Sally to get her hands on "To Seduce an Enemy," and here is what we learned:
New York Public Library's Lions Becoming City's Latest Centenarians
Patience and Fortitude, the two lions guarding the New York Public Library (you know, from ghosts), are turning 100 years old soon, and they'll be celebrating with a gala. According to the NY Times—who note they are 99 years 11 months and 2 days old today—the lions were not well received when they first arrived on 5th Avenue, so they're lucky they made it this long. New Yorkers originally hated the now iconic duo, calling them "squash-faced, mealy-mouthed and complacent," and one man wrote a letter declaring: "We do not want square-jawed lions."
New York Public Library To Hold Overnight Scavenger Hunt, Sign Up Starts Today
Have you ever wanted to spend to go on a scavenger hunt at the New York Public Library? Or wanted to spend the night there? Well, here's your chance: At 9 a.m., the NYPL will accept registration (website here) for people to compete to be 500 contestants participating in "Find the Future," which the library describes as a "once-in-a-lifetime, overnight event inside the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building...[that] combines real-world missions with virtual clues and online collaboration—all inspired by 100 works from the amazing collections of The New York Public Library." And it's all to celebrate the NYPL's Centennial!
Manhattan Cocktail Classic Schedule Emerges
The Manhattan Cocktail Classic is back. Tickets for the third city-wide celebration of sipping spirits—including tickets for the honest-to-blog spectacular opening gala at the New York Public Library—aren't on sale until April Fools, but the lineup of the Classic's classes (the actual reason for the annual event) have just been released. This year the $50 courses, which run from May 13-17, were selected by popular vote (more than 20,000 people voted) and they sound pretty interesting.
OId Restaurant Menus Offered Cigarettes With The Wine List
Along with the books, the maps and the historical records, the New York Public Library keeps a good record of the city's culinary past. They have over 40,000 menus in their stacks, many of which will just depress you. It's not like we exactly remember the days of ten cent corned beef at Child's Lunch Rooms with millk "fresh from my own dairy," but couldn't we have been around for when the Flatiron Cafe advertised "all popular brands of cigarettes" right on the wine list?
Unveiled: New York Public Library's New 5th Ave. Facade!
After a long restoration process, the New York Public Library's landmark building at 5th Avenue and 42nd Street is complete! They had the official ribbon cutting yesterday morning, and showed off the sparkling new facade. Click through to check out some photos from the event, and from the restoration process (who doesn't love some Before & After porn). And now, a zillion things you didn't know about the exterior restoration, in list form:
Parents Mob UES Library So Kids Can Hear Stories!
Guess what some parents like to do besides bring babies to bars? They take them to the library for toddler time—and at one Upper East Side branch, some have actually created counterfeit tickets. The Post exposed the frenzy at the Webster Library (York near East 78th) yesterday, "The matinee story time every Wednesday at the NYPL's Webster branch is so popular with toddlers that organizers had to switch to a color-coded ticket system because desperate mommies and nannies had started counterfeiting the numbered tickets."
Gothamist House Presents: The Walkmen at the NYPL
As previously mentioned, we're taking our Gothamist House series on the road, or rather, into some of our favorite New York City locations. First stop: the New York Public Library's Schwarzman Building on 5th Avenue (once home to the old Croton Reservoir). We brought The Walkmen over there earlier this month to film them performing a couple of songs in the midst of the marbled halls of the iconic building. Special thanks to the NYPL for hosting us, and to Foglight Films for working all sorts of magic. Enjoy!
Are Bedbugs Checking Out The Library?
The local library is one of the best places to escape the sweltering summer heat (besides our freezing office); they've got A.C., Internet access and chairs! But cooling off for free could come back to bite you in the ass at the Mid-Manhattan Public Library at 40th Street and Fifth Avenue, where anonymous employees claim bedbugs are taking over. But the New York Public Library insists the issue has been contained... and actually was never an issue to begin with.
NYPL Gets Lit Up
The New York Public Library's main branch will be getting drenched in pretty, shiny new lighting next year, for its 100th anniversary. According to the NY Post, the dramatic outdoor lights will bathe the landmark in a white glow, and NYPL president Paul LeClerc told the paper, "The goal is to make it look like the buildings in Paris that are illuminated. We want to make the building a destination stop in New York at night." The lighting scheme cost $3MM (it was paid for privately) and will include 48 large floodlights and 22-foot-high light poles surrounding the building. Expect full illumination to be in effect by next May—and let's hope the unveiling includes a cameo by the Ghostbusters.
Video: Ghostbusters In The Library!
Say what you want about Improv Everywhere—but who amongst us can complain about a recreation (albeit, a low budget recreation) of the 1984 classic Ghostbusters staged inside of the New York Public Library? Check out the troupe's latest prank below, where some library patrons get a quick study break (the scene and chase only lasted a few minutes).
NYPL Opens First Green Branch
This morning the New York Public Library cut the ribbon on their brand new Battery Park City Library, which also happens to be the first green library in Manhattan. Their 88th branch, located at 175 North End Avenue, is about 10,000-square-feet and has a pricetag of $6.7 million. The branch is expected to receive LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, and inside you'll find:
Hollywood Takeover At The NYPL
Thinking of going to the New York Public Library's main branch today? They just updated their Facebook page with photos of the cast and crew of The Adjustment Bureau taking over the Rose Reading Room, so you may have trouble finding a seat. On Friday they had updated saying, "today the NYPL prepared for The Adjustment Bureau filming happening this weekend; finalized Gossip Girl details for next week; and had a 2 hour Smurf walkthrough. Needless to say, that Hollywood left NO time for updates today." (Smurfs!)
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