1. Forgive us, yesterday we missed posting a photograph of one of our beautiful branches from the exhibition, Reading Room at Mid-Manhattan. So today, you get two beautiful branches of the red brick variety - Hunt’s Point and City Island. If you can’t visit either of the two, you can stop by any of our 85 locations throughout Manhattan, Staten Island and the Bronx. When you visit, just remember to sign your letter to let the City know how important your libraries are. (Or you can send a letter online)

  2. Was one of Brooklyn’s finest in Harlem in 1939? This Sid Grossman photo of “Harlem Loiterers” from the Prints Collection at NYPL’s Schomburg Center for Research In Black Culture has created quite a stir since being posted to the Center’s Facebook page the other day. Why? Because the man on the right looks a heck of a lot like Jay-Z (for evidence, check out these photos of Jay-Z when he visited The New York Public Library in 2010). Cue Twilight Zone music, right? Schomburg’s Curator of Digital Collections Sylviane A. Diouf found the photo while researching an exhibition, and said, “I was immediately struck by the similarity to Jay-Z and actually laughed out loud … I still hope somebody will tell us who that young man really was.” So is Jay-Z a time traveler? Is this someone else - anyone know who? What do you think?

    Was one of Brooklyn’s finest in Harlem in 1939? This Sid Grossman photo of “Harlem Loiterers” from the Prints Collection at NYPL’s Schomburg Center for Research In Black Culture has created quite a stir since being posted to the Center’s Facebook page the other day. Why? Because the man on the right looks a heck of a lot like Jay-Z (for evidence, check out these photos of Jay-Z when he visited The New York Public Library in 2010). Cue Twilight Zone music, right? Schomburg’s Curator of Digital Collections Sylviane A. Diouf found the photo while researching an exhibition, and said, “I was immediately struck by the similarity to Jay-Z and actually laughed out loud … I still hope somebody will tell us who that young man really was.”

    So is Jay-Z a time traveler? Is this someone else - anyone know who? What do you think?

  3. The Polaroid, a staple of many a family portrait in the 1970s has a greater history than many give it credit for. The Polaroid is the topic of discussion on May 15th, when author Mary-Kay Lombino discusses her fascinating new book, The Polaroid Years: Instant Photography and Experimentation. She will be joined by renowned artists and photographers David Levinthal and William Wegman whose unique bodies of work demonstrate the incredible influence of Polaroid.  Filled with images from a trove of artists from Ansel Adams to Andy Warhol, The Polaroid Years is the first volume to explore the Polaroid camera’s indelible influence on the history of photography.

    The Polaroid, a staple of many a family portrait in the 1970s has a greater history than many give it credit for.

    The Polaroid is the topic of discussion on May 15th, when author Mary-Kay Lombino discusses her fascinating new book, The Polaroid Years: Instant Photography and Experimentation. She will be joined by renowned artists and photographers David Levinthal and William Wegman whose unique bodies of work demonstrate the incredible influence of Polaroid. 

    Filled with images from a trove of artists from Ansel Adams to Andy Warhol, The Polaroid Years is the first volume to explore the Polaroid camera’s indelible influence on the history of photography.

  4. The current exhibition Reading Room at Mid-Manhattan isn’t just about interiors and exteriors of our buildings. It also captures what inspires our staff. At Port Richmond Library in Staten Island, this drawing shows how awesome the library is. The little girl in the sketch could be doing her homework, writing a story or drawing a picture… it’s all possible at the Library!   But we need your help to continue our work and help children everywhere do their homework, write their stories or draw their pictures. Speak out and speak up for your library! 

    The current exhibition Reading Room at Mid-Manhattan isn’t just about interiors and exteriors of our buildings. It also captures what inspires our staff. At Port Richmond Library in Staten Island, this drawing shows how awesome the library is. The little girl in the sketch could be doing her homework, writing a story or drawing a picture… it’s all possible at the Library!  

    But we need your help to continue our work and help children everywhere do their homework, write their stories or draw their pictures. Speak out and speak up for your library! 

  5. Two trees grow in the Bronx, at NYPL’s Belmont Branch to be exact. You can read the classic book “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn,” or you can meet its nearly literal Bronx representation at Belmont Library, or you can stop by Mid-Manhattan Library’s  exhibition featuring all of our local libraries.  But no matter what you decide to do, you should speak out against the $47 million budget cut proposed by the City and protect your branches. 

    Two trees grow in the Bronx, at NYPL’s Belmont Branch to be exact. You can read the classic book “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn,” or you can meet its nearly literal Bronx representation at Belmont Library, or you can stop by Mid-Manhattan Library’s  exhibition featuring all of our local libraries. 

    But no matter what you decide to do, you should speak out against the $47 million budget cut proposed by the City and protect your branches. 

  6. A kickboxing NYPL librarian? Believe it or not, it is true! Courtney Castellane, who is the Library Manager of the awesome Tottenville Library in Staten Island, was profiled in The New York Post this morning about her dual careers. As Courtney has said, by day she is working out people’s minds and by night she is working out their bodies! And just a little trivia about the Tottenville Library, did you know it is the oldest library on Staten Island? 

    A kickboxing NYPL librarian? Believe it or not, it is true! Courtney Castellane, who is the Library Manager of the awesome Tottenville Library in Staten Island, was profiled in The New York Post this morning about her dual careers. As Courtney has said, by day she is working out people’s minds and by night she is working out their bodies! And just a little trivia about the Tottenville Library, did you know it is the oldest library on Staten Island? 

  7. Petra Giloy Hirtz and Marin Hopper - Dennis Hopper: The Lost Album - An Art Book Series Event | The New York Public Library →

    Did you miss NYPL’s event last week with Petra Giloy Hirtz and Marin Hopper, the daughter of legendary actor Dennis Hopper? Not to worry, the audio is online! The pair discussed the stunning new book Dennis Hopper: The Lost Album - Vintage Prints from the Sixties, which explores the late artist’s career as a photographer and delves into recently rediscovered photographs by Hopper himself. 

  8. This photo was taken exactly 110 years ago today … and depicts construction at the site where our landmark 42nd Street building now stands (you can still see part of the reservoir walls on our lower level). Happy history!

    This photo was taken exactly 110 years ago today … and depicts construction at the site where our landmark 42nd Street building now stands (you can still see part of the reservoir walls on our lower level). Happy history!

  9. At NYPL on April 17, Author Petra Giloy-Hirtz appears with Marin Hopper, daughter of legendary actor, director and artist Dennis Hopper, to discuss the stunning new book Dennis Hopper: The Lost Album - Vintage Prints from the Sixties. They explore Dennis Hopper’s incredible and diverse career, delving into the recently rediscovered photographs which are the subject of the book.

  10. Happy 70th Birthday to the great Christopher Walken! In celebration our amazing librarian at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Jeremy Megraw, wrote an awesome blog about Walken. Jeremy also uncovered some rarely seen photos of a VERY YOUNG Walken from The Library’s incredible Billy Rose Theatre Collection. The photo above is from Ronnie Walken’s (his birth name) 1955 acting resume. Our friends at Gothamist also shared some of these photos as well as some that they found as well…

    Happy 70th Birthday to the great Christopher Walken! In celebration our amazing librarian at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Jeremy Megraw, wrote an awesome blog about Walken. Jeremy also uncovered some rarely seen photos of a VERY YOUNG Walken from The Library’s incredible Billy Rose Theatre Collection. The photo above is from Ronnie Walken’s (his birth name) 1955 acting resume. Our friends at Gothamist also shared some of these photos as well as some that they found as well…