January 2011
52 posts
“I am tired. My arm aches. My head boils. My feet are cold. But I am not aware of...”
– Zane Grey
Happy birthday, sir! Thank you for the crazy rides into the purple sunsets of the old west.
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The French Are Coming!
Artistic forgeries! The cult of celebrity! The mysteries of happiness!
Today and tomorrow, the tres smart folks at the Villa Gillet (based in Lyon) and LIVE from the NYPL join forces to present the six inaugural programs of the Walls and Bridges Festival. Guests include MoMA’s Glenn Lowry, Reza Aslan, Jeffrey Rosen, Philip Gourevitch, Maira Kalman, and Lemony Snicket.
Join us in making...
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NYC Libraries Closed Today Because Of . . . Oh,...
Old Man Winter sure is relentless this year. Yet another storm has slammed into New York City, blanketing it with snow and ice, and as a result, all New York City libraries are closed today. So stay home. Drink hot chocolate. Check out our Three Faiths and Radioactive online exhibitions. Download an ebook. Enjoy. Just don’t go to the library. And don’t go to the LIVE program tonight....
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WatchWe wish that science class was this much fun! This brilliant video is one of four videos produced by students at Parsons the New School for Design in collaboration with The New York Public Library and artist Lauren Redniss for Radioactive: Marie & Pierre Curie, A Tale of Love and Fallout, a book, exhibition (at the main NYPL location at Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street), and a website. Sean...
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“We can’t behave like people in novels, though, can we?”
– Edith Wharton, The Age of Innocence
Nope. Which is why we like misbehaving vicariously through your amazing characters. Happy birthday, Edith! (Don’t know what we’re talking about? Check it out.)
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“Ever since I was a little girl, I thought that I was happy. But I was also sad...”
– Maira Kalman, author of And the Pursuit of Happiness
If you’re having your own existential crisis, please join Maira Kalman & Daniel Handler a.k.a Lemony Snicket as they discuss the notion of happiness (and our gosh darn American right to pursue it!) at LIVE from the NYPL next Saturday,...
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Rent The Library . . . And Eat It, Too!
Our 42nd Street building has never been sweeter. The geniuses at Charm City Cakes (the Baltimore bakery famous for outrageous cake designs and the Food Network reality show Ace Of Cakes) created this amazing red velvet / white chocolate raspberry replica of the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building for a party thrown by our Special Events Department last week. The cake - which came complete with Rice...
Brain Snack
Eater.com, one of our favorite sites for intrepid and discerning foodies, recently paid a visited to our Menu Collection for a stroll down memory lane: back when white wine cost 50 cents & items like stewed kidneys made featured appearances. Librarian (the fabulous!) Rebecca Federman brought out a slew of treasures, including a bill of fare from an early 1900’s press club dinner...
“I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity.”
– Edgar Allan Poe, whose birthday is today. In his honor, take out some books by or about him from NYPL.
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See it before it closes: 'On Stage in Fashion' →
The New York Times thinks our exhibition On Stage in Fashion at the New York Public Library for the Performing arts is great.
We think it’s incredible that they were able to use the word dirndl five times throughout the piece.
Check out the collision of performing arts and high fashion at The Library for the Performing Arts (at Lincoln Center) before the show closes Saturday, or drop by on...
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The Radioactive website is hot! →
Check out the brand spankin’ new website for the Radioactive exhibition! It is a collaboration between The New York Public Library and Parsons the New School for Design. Fourteen Parsons students and their teacher, Lauren Redniss (author, artist, Former Cullman Center Fellow) worked with the NYPL to create this interactive, online exhibit in conjunction with the Radioactive exhibition now up...
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“The time is always right to do what is right.”
– Martin Luther King, Jr. In his honor, NYPL is closed today. We hope everyone takes some time to think about his dream, how far we’ve come, and what’s left to do.
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Radioactive exhibition opens today at the Library!
Today’s a great day at the Library, because the exhibition Radioactive: Marie & Pierre Curie, A Tale of Love and Fallout has opened! As you can see from the image above (pages 146-147 of the book with the same name), Radioactive is arty, graphic, and heavy on the cyanotypes! We’ve been enjoying this book since it came out last month, but you know what? The exhibition is even...
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Snow? What Snow?
NYPL isn’t letting a little (or a lot of) snow shut us down - we’re open today! So escape the cold, white weather, drop by a branch and grab a book to cozy up with later. Meanwhile, the good thing about this weather is it gives us the perfect excuse to share more historic snow shots from our collections, like this pic of snow-covered streets around the Flatiron Building in 1905....
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A Muslim, a nun, and a rabbi walk into a...
…and they talked about their religions in an open, thoughtful manner.
No, it’s not a joke, it’s a day at the Library! As part of our Three Faiths programming, we have a series called The 411 on Faith: Communities in Dialogue, in which local faith leaders get together and discuss their beliefs and how religious traditions shape life in NYC. The above photo was taken at the...
Go Green At NYPL Tonight
It’s cold. It’s dreary. It’s definitely not a day to stroll through the park. But if you come to Mid-Manhattan Library tonight at 6:30, you’ll feel like you’re there. Danya Sherman, deputy director of programs and education at the High Line, will be discussing the relatively new park and its public programs at the talk, “The High Line: Building A Neighborhood...
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Stories From The Civil War Uncovered
Martha Plumb’s heart broke, and she feared the worst as she set pen to paper to inquire about her husband.
“I sent my dear husband forth to battle with a pure motive, as all true patriot women aught to,” she wrote. “He was a kind man to me, and it was hard to part with him, so kind sirs, if you will please write to me soon as you get this, God will bless you.”
The letter, dated April 24,...
A Public Service Announcement on Behalf of our...
The folks at Improv Everywhere were the mad geniuses behind the Who You Gonna Call Ghostbusters “re-enactment” in our Rose Main Reading Room last summer, which brought attention to our Don’t Close the Book on Libraries campaign to preserve NYC library funding.
CNN recently named the clip one of their Top 5 Viral Videos for 2010 - woohoo!
So thank you, Improv Everywhere,...
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Merry Christmas! С Рождеством Христовым!
Yes, Christmas is over for those who use the Gregorian calendar, but it’s today for the Eastern Orthodox national churches who use the older Julian calendar. The above book, which weighs approximately 25 pounds, is from 1791 and is so large and so exquisitely beautiful because it was meant to be seen throughout the church while being held up in the air. It’s a book made to be ...
Here Comes The Sun . . . Maybe
Well, it’s snowing in NYC … again. In an effort to counter the white stuff, here’s a photo taken by Richard Henry Trueman sometime between 1856 and 1911 of “Blackfeet Indians” doing a Sun Dance. The photo (taken in Canada) is in our Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs. Come on, sun! We miss you!
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WatchElvis (Costello) may have left the building after his super-secret Artists Den show in the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building’s Bartos Forum where only 500 lucky guests got to see it live, but his awesome performance here is now online for the world to see.
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The Economist drops some knowledge about the... →
The always brilliant Economist included a history of Illuminated Manuscripts in its most recent Christmas Special. If you were intrigued by the illuminated manuscripts from our current Three Faiths exhibition, you’ll definitely want to read this.
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Happy Birthday, City Island Branch
The New York Daily News did a great piece today on our City Island branch, which is celebrating its Centennial this year. One patron, Yolanda Cirulli, told the paper “It’s like a family here,” and said, “I like coming here. I relax, I’m comfortable and I’m safe.” That’s what we like to hear. Below is historic photo of the branch and its...
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Get On the Bus
Aww, we’re honored to be on this awesome list with such awesome fellow Tumblrers. Thanks Kateopolis!
laphamsquarterly:
This is a superior list of superior Tumblr entities. Precious jewels, all.
kateoplis:
citadelnow: Our List: The Best News Tumblrs
I’m not going to comment on this ‘list’; instead, here’s mine in no particular order:
TheAtlantic
CNNMoneyTech
TheEconomist
...
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Tonight: Talking Religion On Mulberry Street
Looking for something deep, interesting and free to do tonight? Head to our Mulberry Street branch for a guaranteed fascinating panel discussion on faith between three prominent religious leaders - Judy Chen, a long-time leader in New York’s Buddhist communities; Imam Khalid Latif, the executive director and chaplain of the Islamic Center at New York University; and Monsignor Donald Sakano,...
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The Girl Who Got Checked Out A Lot
Stieg Larsson was the man in 2010.
The top three adult titles at NYPL in 2010 were all by Larsson: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo took the top spot, followed by The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest and The Girl Who Played With Fire.
The top young adult title in 2010 was Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto, and the top children’s title was Babymouse Jennifer Holm.
The complete lists of top...
