New York Post (Jul. 4, 2013): Battle for the Future of NYPL Hits Courts

Battle for future of the New York Public Library hits the courts

By Laura Italiano

July 4, 2013 | 10:23pm

 

Now it’s a fight.

The scholars-vs-bookworms battle over the future of the main branch of the New York Public Library has already raged for more than a year in high-toned op-eds and essays, and now it’s spilling over into the courts.

A group of academics and preservationists has filed a lawsuit to stop the removal of 3 million non-circulating research books from the seven floors of structural steel shelves lovingly known as “the stacks.”

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The Atlantic Wire (Jul 5, 2013): Why the NYPL Is Being Sued

Why the New York Public Library Is Being Sued

Zach Schonfeld 4,634 Views Jul 5, 2013

The New York Public Library’s controversial renovation plan — which has attracted no shortage of public criticism over the past several months — is now the subject of a lawsuit filed by a group of preservationists and scholars. Aiming to stop the library from removing its research stacks from its iconic Fifth Avenue building, the suit charges that the imminent plan not only violates its charter, which establishes the institution as a research facility rather than a circulation library, but “will surely doom the NYPL’s mission to serve the public’s research and reference needs.” Plus, it alleges, “if the stacks are destroyed, the books — the unique and distinguishing asset of the NYPL — can never be returned to their rightful place under the Rose Main Reading Room.”

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New York Daily News (Jul. 4, 2013): $350 Million Renovation Will Endanger Rose Reading Room

$350 million renovation of NYPL’s Fifth Avenue branch will endanger iconic Rose Reading Room 

Plaintiffs in lawsuit claim the construction, slated to begin later this year, will hurt the building because the stacks to be demolished go down seven stories and provide structural support.

By Barbara Ross / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Thursday, July 4, 2013, 12:34 PM

 

Plaintiffs have sued to halt the demolition of stacks underneath the iconic Rose Reading Room at the New York Public Library’s Fifth Avenue branch. Seen here are the renderings of the new library.

The New York Public Library’s plan to remove more than half of its 3.5 million books from the main research facility on Fifth Avenue is under court attack from scholars and preservationists.

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New York Times (Jul. 12, 2013): Public Advocate Questions Library Plan

July 12, 2013, 1:22 pm 6 Comments

Public Advocate Questions Library Plan to Renovate Fifth Avenue Branch

By ROBIN POGREBIN

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, a Democratic candidate for mayor, expressed concern on Friday about the New York Public Library’s proposed renovation of its Fifth Avenue flagship.

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Huffington Post (July 8, 2013): Lawsuit Filed to Save NYPL

Lawsuit Filed to Save NYPL From Demolition

Posted: 07/08/2013 1:10 pm

In the aftermath of last week’s NY State Assembly hearing about the future of public libraries in Manhattan and Brooklyn, a group of concerned scholars has just filed a lawsuit aimed at preventing what many see as the destruction of the research library and the selling off of public library branches to private investors.

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NYPL's Tour of the Stacks (Dec. 5, 2010)

NYC Neighborhoods

 

A Tour of the Stacks by Kathie Coblentz, Rare Materials Cataloger, Collections Strategy/Special Formats Processing December 21, 2010

 

 

On Sunday, December 5, the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building was the site of the 2010 Holiday Open House, the Library’s annual thank-you celebration for donors at the Friends level ($40) or above. Besides enjoying building-wide party fun, attendees were offered a rare opportunity to glimpse a part of the Library that is normally hidden from public view: the building’s central stacks that lie beneath the Rose Main Reading Room. As a “tour guide” on one of the 18 enormously popular stack tours, I thought it would be fun to share my “patter” with a wider audience.

 

So, good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to The New York Public Library’s Holiday Open House! The Stack Tour begins at the far end of the North Hall of the Rose Main Reading Room, and here’s how it goes.

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The Nation (Sept. 16, 2013): The Hidden History of NYC's Central Library Plan

The Hidden History of New York City’s Central Library Plan

Why did one of the world’s greatest libraries adopt a $300 million transformation without any real public debate?

Scott Sherman August 28, 2013   |    This article appeared in the September 16, 2013 edition of The Nation.

On the morning of February 1, Anthony Marx, president and CEO of the New York Public Library, met with a group of business and political leaders who had assembled in a majestic room inside the 42nd Street library. Marx was introduced by a prominent Manhattan real estate developer, William Rudin.

 

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HDC Statement on the NYPL's Central Library Plan (Mar. 26, 2013)

HDC’s Statement on the NYPL’s Central Library Plan

Posted by Historic Districts Council on Tuesday, March 26, 2013 · 9 Comments 

NYPL’s Central Library Plan

The New York Public Library is an institution that embodies the altruistic principle that education is the great societal elevator. It was founded in the belief that everyone should have access to the resources necessary for self-improvement. Unfortunately, with the NYPL’s pursuit of the Central Library Plan, it appears that mission may have become a thing of the past.

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New York Times (Jan. 29, 2013): In Renderings for a Library Landmark..

In Renderings for a Library Landmark, Stacks of Questions

 

Robert Wright for The New York Times

 By MICHAEL KIMMELMAN

 None of New York’s great buildings embody the spirit of the city more than the New York Public Library, the cherished century-old Beaux-Arts landmark in the heart of Midtown Manhattan. But cities change — New York all the time — and even the greatest buildings may need to change with them. So it was that more than four years ago the library announced a $250 million plan (since revised upward to $300 million and still rising). 

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Wall Street Journal (Dec. 3, 2012): Undertaking Its Destruction

Undertaking Its Destruction

 

 

 

By
• ADA LOUISE HUXTABLE

New York

There is no more important landmark building in New York than the New York Public Library, known to New Yorkers simply as the 42nd Street Library, one of the world’s greatest research institutions. Completed in 1911 by Carrère and Hastings in a lavish classical Beaux Arts style, it is an architectural masterpiece. Yet it is about to undertake its own destruction. The library is on a fast track to demolish the seven floors of stacks just below the magnificent, two-block

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