We're The New York Public Library and we're here to inspire lifelong learning, advance knowledge, and strengthen our communities.
The NYPL has been nominated for a 2013 WEBBY Award in the Social Education & Discovery category for its social web presence (like this Tumblr!) and creating projects such as the fantastic What’s on the Menu? site. But in order to win this wonderful category The NYPL needs your help and vote! You can click here to vote and don’t forget to spread the word!
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…
It only seems appropriate to post a photograph of rock icon - and friend to the NYPL - Keith Richards, who is featured in Patrick Harbron’s Rock and Roll Photography exhibition OPENING TODAY!!!! at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Did you know that Keith always wanted to become a librarian? It’s true!
John Milisenda’s photographs of Manhattan’s Lower East Side during the 1960s will be on display at the Grand Central Library through June 20.
His photos are a candid portrait of everyday experiences, balanced between romanticism and mean streets. Many of these images were made when he was a teenager and even before he studied art at the Pratt Institute.
John Milisenda lives in Brooklyn. His work is in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Bibliothèque nationale de France, and the Brooklyn Museum, among others.
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, pastor of the historic St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral. Cool, right? The program is part of our 411 On Faith: Communities in Dialogue series, which is linked with our Three Faiths exhibit (below is an amazing photo we just got from Abdullah Tanveer Rahman in Bangladesh for our Faith On The Street photo project, also tied to the exhibit). See how it’s all connected? The talk is at 6 tonight - don’t miss it!
Everyone seems to love snow photos, so in honor of the first day of winter, here’s another one! It shows a snowstorm on Fifth Avenue and 17th Street in Manhattan in 1893. Click on it to see even more images from our collections!
Perhaps you think of books when you think of The New York Public Library. Or maybe you think of cool lectures, grand galas, or cute kids with lions. We think of music videos, or more accurately, cool photo exhibitions set to the sound of music. We dare you to watch and listen to this video promoting our Recollection: Thirty Years of Photography at the New York Public Library exhibit only once; the photos are brilliant and the Houses’ song “Soak It Up” is quite catchy (you can download the song for free at our amazing Recollection website). Our photo guru Stephen Pinson organized the images for the video so they flow smoothly - you’ll see what we mean.
Meanwhile, if you’re in NYC, Recollection is also on view analog-style at our central location at Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street . The show is on the third floor, and there are photos on view that aren’t in the music video. It’s free. If you walk into the Fifth Avenue entrance and hear “Soak It Up” playing, don’t worry, it’s not in your head. We have yet another version of the video there for visitors to watch (and it’s worth the time to take a look).
This shrine outside of St. Michael’s Church in Sunset Park, Brooklyn is one of the latest submissions to our “Faith On The Street” project, which aims to capture the way people interact with faith in their everyday lives. Participate! Send in pics to ThreeFaiths@nypl.org. The project, by the way, is tied to our incredible “Three Faiths: Judaism, Christianity, Islam” exhibit at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building on 42 Street. It highlights about 200 ancient texts and artifacts (all from our collections) connected with the three largest Abrahamic faiths. The exhibit - which shows how the religions are interrelated instead of how they conflict - has gotten rave reviews. Thousands have already seen it. It’s free. Need something to do? Drop on by. In the meantime - snap some photos.
