  The Central Building of The New York Public Library is on the western side of Fifth Avenue, occupying the two blocks between 40th and 42nd Streets. It stands on part of the site of the old Croton distributing reservoir, and it was built by the City of New York at a cost of about nine million dollars. Competitions to choose the architect for the building were held in 1897, two years after The New York Public Library was incorporated. The result of the competition was the selection of Messrs. CarrÈre and Hastings, of New York, as architects. In 1899 the work of removing the old reservoir began. Various legal difficulties and labor troubles delayed beginning the construction of the building, but by November 10, 1902, the work had progressed so far that the cornerstone was laid. The building was opened to the public May 23, 1911, in the presence of the President of the United States, the Governor of the State of New York, the Mayor of New York, and an audience of about six hundred persons. Exterior. The material of the building is largely Vermont marble, and the style that of the modern Renaissance, somewhat in the manner of the period of Louis XVI, with certain modifications to suit the conditions of to-day. It is rectangular in shape, 390 feet long and 270 feet deep, built around two inner courts. It has a cellar, basement or ground floor, and three upper floors. MAIN ENTRANCE MAIN ENTRANCE "The Library," wrote Mr. A. C. David, in the Architectural Record Mr. David continued: "The Library is not, then, intended to be a great monumental building, which would look almost as well from one point of view as another, and which would be fundamentally an example of pure architectural form. It is designed rather to face on the avenue of a city, and not to seem out of place on such a site. It is essentially and frankly an instance of street architecture; and as an instance of street architecture it is distinguished in its appearance rather than imposing. Not, indeed, that it is lacking in dignity. The faÇade on Fifth Avenue has poise, as well as distinction; character, as well as good manners. But still it does not insist upon its own peculiar importance, as every monumental building must do. It is content with a somewhat humbler rÔle, but one which is probably more appropriate. It looks ingratiating rather than imposing, and that is probably one reason for its popularity. It is intended for popular rather than for official use, and the building issues to the people an invitation to enter rather than a command.... "The final judgment on the Library will be, consequently, that it is not a great monument, because considerations of architectural form have in several conspicuous instances been deliberately subordinated to the needs of the plan. In this respect it resembles the new Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. The building is at bottom a compromise between two groups of partly antagonistic demands, and a compromise can hardly ever become a consummate example of architectural form. But, on the other TERRACE IN FRONT OF LIBRARY Looking South TERRACE IN FRONT OF LIBRARY Looking South By Edward C. Potter By Edward C. Potter "The popularity of the Library has, consequently, been well earned. The public has reason to like it, because it offers them a smiling countenance; and the welcome it gives is merely the outward and visible sign of an inward grace. When people enter they will find a building which has been ingeniously and carefully adapted to their use. Professional architects like it, because they recognize the skill, the good taste and the abundant resources of which the building, as a whole, is the result; and while many of them doubtless cherish a secret thought that they would have done it better, they are obliged to recognize that in order to have done it better they would have been obliged to exhibit a high degree of architectural intelligence. In the realism of its plan and in the mixture of dignity and distinction in the design, The New York Public Library is typical of that which is best in the contemporary American architectural movement; and New York is fortunate, indeed, that such a statement can be made of the most important public building erected in the city during several generations." TERRACE LOOKING NORTH TERRACE LOOKING NORTH ROMANCE By Paul Bartlett ROMANCE By Paul Bartlett Sculpture. Of the sculptural designs, the two lions on either side of the main approach are by E. C. Potter. They have been subjected to much criticism, mainly of a humorous nature, and in the daily press. This adverse comment has not been endorsed by critics of art and architecture. Mr. Potter was chosen for this work by Augustus St. Gaudens, and again, after Mr. St. Gaudens' death, by Mr. D. C. French, also an eminent sculptor. Any layman can satisfy himself, by a brief observation of the building as a whole, that the architectural balance of the structure demands figures of heroic size to flank the main approach. With that requirement in view, the designer of such figures has but a limited choice of subject, since there are few living creatures whose forms possess dignity without being cumbrous. The sculptor in this instance has followed well-estab The groups in the pediments are by George Gray Barnard; the one in the northern pediment represents History, and the one in the southern, Art. The figures above the fountains on either side of the main entrance are by Frederick MacMonnies; the man seated on the Sphinx, on the northern side of the entrance represents Truth. On the southern side, the figure of the woman seated on Pegasus represents Beauty. Above the figure of Truth is this inscription from the Apocrypha (1 Esdras, chapter 3): BUT ABOVE ALL THINGS The inscription above the figure of Beauty is: BEAUTY This is from the twenty-first stanza of Whittier's poem, "The Shadow and the Light." The six figures above the main entrance are by Paul Bartlett; naming them from north to south they are: History, Drama, Poetry, Religion, Romance, and Philosophy. Above the entrance are inscriptions concerning three of the component parts of The New York Public Library. They are as follows: PHILOSOPHY By Paul Bartlett PHILOSOPHY By Paul Bartlett THE LENOX LIBRARY Beneath these is this inscription: MDCCCXCV THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY MDCCCCII Of the dates in this inscription, the first, 1895, is that of the incorporation of The New York Public Library; the second, 1902, is that of the laying of the cornerstone. The statue of William Cullen Bryant, behind the Library, is by Herbert Adams. The rear of the building should be viewed from Bryant Park. The long windows are to light the bookstack. Some critics have commended the rear of the building very highly. Mr. A. C. David, in the article previously quoted, says: "This faÇade is very plainly treated, without any pretence to architectural effect. It is, indeed, designed A RAINY DAY—FIFTH AVENUE From an Etching by Charles B. King A RAINY DAY—FIFTH AVENUE From an Etching by Charles B. King The large apartment referred to in this quotation is the Main Reading Room of the Library, which is described farther on in this Handbook. FIRST FLOOR TRUTH By Frederick MacMonnies TRUTH By Frederick MacMonnies Entrances. There are two entrances to the Library, the main entrance on Fifth Avenue, and the side door on 42nd Street, which gives admission to the basement, where the Central Circulation Room, the Newspaper Room and the Central Children's Room are to be found. On a first visit, however, the sightseer should use the main entrance on Fifth Avenue, in order to see the lobby, which rises through two stories, with broad staircases to the right and left. The flying arches of these staircases are of seventeen feet span, and are all of marble without any brick or metal work whatever. The marble used in the lobby is from Vermont. The ceiling is a true marble vault of forty feet span, supporting itself and the floor over it, with no metal whatever, except some reinforcing rods buried in the concrete filling in the floor above. Between the pillars facing the entrance are two inscriptions. At the left is this: THE CITY OF NEW YORK And at the right: ON THE DIFFUSION OF EDUCATION The latter is a quotation from an address by Daniel Webster at Madison, Indiana, June 1, 1837. PART OF MAIN FAÇADE PART OF MAIN FAÇADE Elevators are near the northern or 42nd Street end of the building. There is also a staircase at this end of the building, in addition to the staircases near the main entrance. Exhibition Room. Directly opposite the main entrance is the Exhibition Room, finished in white Vermont marble. The ceiling is supported by twenty-four columns of green veined white marble. The ceiling itself is elaborately and beautifully carved in oak. This room is devoted to exhibitions of rare books, manuscripts and prints. The exhibitions are changed from time to time, usually as often as three or four times a year. Open 9a.m. to 6p.m. on week days; 1 to 5p.m. Sundays. Current Periodicals Room. The corridor to the south from the main entrance leads to the Current Periodicals Room (Room Number 111). Here about 4,500 current periodicals are on file. A hundred of these are on open racks. The others may be obtained upon application at the desk. A classified finding list gives the reader the titles of periodicals kept here. As this room is sometimes confused in the public mind with a popular or club reading room, it should be remembered that this is one department in a building primarily devoted Business Offices. Following the corridor leading south and then turning to the right along the 40th Street side of the building, one reaches some of the business offices of the Library—the office of the Bursar (No. 104), of the Building Superintendent (No. 103), of the Chief of the Circulation Department (No. 102), and of the Supervisor of work with children (No. 105). These offices are open for any persons who have occasion to visit them for business reasons, but they are of no interest to sightseers. In Room 100, devoted mainly to the cataloguing work of the Circulation Department, there is a card catalogue of all the books in this Department,—that is, in the Branches of the Library. The Room is open to the public, for the consultation of this catalogue, on week days from 9a.m. to 5p.m. FRONT DOOR FRONT DOOR BASE OF FLAGPOLE BASE OF FLAGPOLE Technology Division. Following the corridor leading to the north from the main entrance, there is, on the right, the room of the Technology Division (No. 115), devoted to applied science and engineering. The collection of books in this Division, or under its control, numbers about 65,000. In this room, as in all the special reading rooms, with a few exceptions, books are on open shelves for the free access of readers and students. Patents Room (No. 121). At the end of the corridor parallel to 42nd Street, is the Patents Room, a part of the Technology Division. It is open from 9a.m. to 6p.m. on week days, and is closed on Sundays. Patents may be consulted evenings and Sundays by arrangement with the technology librarian, Room 115. The Library for the Blind (No. 116) is on the inner or western side of the corridor leading north from the main entrance. This collection contains about 8,000 books in embossed type for blind readers, and, in addition, 5,500 music scores, also in embossed type. These books are lent not only in Greater New York, but are sent free by mail to blind readers in all parts of the States of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. A teacher employed by the Library goes to homes and institutions in the City of New York to teach adult blind persons to read by touch. The room is open on week days from 9a.m. to 5p.m. A bronze tablet on the wall bears the following inscription: NORTH WING NORTH WING THE NEW YORK The trustees named on the tablet are, of course, those of the former organization: the "New York Free Circulating Library for the Blind." SECOND FLOOR On the second floor a corridor runs along the front of the building, turning into short corridors at the north and south, and also into a central corridor. From these corridors open studies, offices and special reading rooms. In the central corridor, four studies open on the right, while the fifth room on this side is devoted to the: Oriental Division (No. 219), with a collection of about 20,000 books and pamphlets in Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Chinese, Japanese, and other eastern languages. Open 9a.m. to 6p.m. week days. Jewish Division (No. 217). Opposite the Oriental Division, on the south side of this central corridor, is the reading room devoted to the Jewish Division. There are about 24,000 books in the collection. Slavonic Division. The room devoted to the Slavonic Division (No. 216) is also on the south side of the central corridor. The resources of this Division, books and periodicals in the various Slavonic languages, number about 23,000. Science Division. On the corridor parallel to Fifth Avenue, and leading north from the main staircase, the room on the right contains the Science Division (No. 225). There are about 35,000 books under the control of this Division. Economics Division. From the corridor on the northern or 42nd Street end of the building open the rooms devoted to Public Documents (No. 229) and Economics and Sociology. These were formerly separate divisions, but now united, and the entrance is through Room 229. The resources of the Division (including the large collection of Public Documents) number about 400,000 books and pamphlets. REAR OF LIBRARY FROM BRYANT PARK REAR OF LIBRARY FROM BRYANT PARK Business Offices. The rooms opening from the corridor running south from the main staircase are mostly business offices, devoted to the administration of the Library. They are of little interest to sightseers, but are open to any persons who have occasion to visit them. They include, on the front of the building, a lecture room (No. 213), the office of the Director of the Library (No. 210), and the meeting room of the Board of Trustees (No. 205). On the inner or western side of the corridor are: a study (No. 214), the office of the Editor of Publications (No. 212), and of the Reference Librarian (No. 211). The Trustees' Room may be seen on special application at the Director's office. Over the mantelpiece in this room is the inscription: THE CITY OF NEW YORK HAS ERECTED THIS MALL BEHIND LIBRARY MALL BEHIND LIBRARY On the corridor leading west, and running along the 40th Street end of the building, are workrooms, open only to visitors having business engagements. These rooms are the office of the Order Division (No. 204) and of the Cataloguing and Accessions Divisions (No. 200 and No. 201). SOUTH COURT SOUTH COURT THIRD FLOOR The most important room on the third floor and, indeed, the centre of activity of the entire Reference Department of the Library, is the Main Reading Room, approached through the Public Catalogue Room. The latter opens from the western side of the corridor at the head of the staircases. Public Catalogue Room. This room (No. 315) contains the catalogue of the books in the Reference Department of the Library,—that is, the books available to readers in the Main Reading Room and in the special reading NORTHWEST CORNER NORTHWEST CORNER Near the entrance to the Public Catalogue Room, and at the right, is a bronze tablet: BORN A.D. MDCCCXIII Over the door leading from the Public Catalogue Room to the Main Reading Room is inscribed the famous quotation from Milton's "Areopagitica": A good Booke ENTRANCE LOBBY ENTRANCE LOBBY Information Desk. The Information Desk of the Library is in the Public Catalogue Room, and here inquiries should be made about the resources and regulations of the Library, the use of the catalogue, and any other matter upon which the visitor may have a question to ask. Application for books to be used in the Main Reading Room should be made in the Public Catalogue Room. The applicant writes his request upon the slip furnished for the purpose, and files it at the desk in this room. A numbered ticket is handed him, which he takes into the Main Reading Room, going to the right if the ticket number is odd; to the left if the number is even. He then waits at the indicator at the western end of the delivery desk until the number on his ticket appears. This means that his books are ready for him at the desk. If, however, he prefers first to select a seat in the Main Reading Room, he should write the number of that seat on his application, and his books will be left at that seat, if he is there to receive them. The Main Reading Room, in the rear, extends nearly the entire length of the building. It has a floor area of half an acre, and is divided in the middle by a booth from which books are delivered. There are seats for 768 readers. Mr. A. C. David, in the article previously quoted from the Architectural Record, says: "The Main Reading Room is one of the most spacious rooms in the world—beautifully proportioned, lighted by a series of windows on both the long sides of the room, and entirely accessible to the stacks. To have obtained a room of these dimensions, so excellently adapted to its purpose in every respect, was a great triumph for the architects." The shelves along the walls contain a collection of about 25,000 volumes. These books are not only the usual works of reference,—dictionaries, encyclopaedias, and the like, but they also include a good working library of general literature,—philosophy, religion, science, history, law, biography, standard novels, poetry, and the drama. These books are for the free use of anyone in this room, without the need of making any application. The reader has only to select the book he wishes, and to take it to a table, where he may consult it. When he has finished he should leave it on the table, rather than attempt to return it to its place, since a misplaced book is temporarily lost. DOOR OF EXHIBITION ROOM DOOR OF EXHIBITION ROOM The Library's Books. It should be kept in mind that the books of the Reference Department are all in the Central Building, and must all be used in that building. The great body of them are in the stack beneath the Main Reading Room. In addition, there are the books in the Main Reading Room itself, and in the special reading rooms in other parts of the building. Books and pamphlets number, altogether, about one million and a quarter. The books in the Central Circulation Room and in the Children's Room in the basement, the books in the Library for the Blind, those in the Travelling Libraries office in the basement, and those in the forty-three Branch Libraries in other parts of the Boroughs of Manhattan, The Bronx, and Richmond are under SOUTH SIDE OF EXHIBITION ROOM SOUTH SIDE OF EXHIBITION ROOM MAIN READING ROOM MAIN READING ROOM In regard to the books in the Reference Department, it is correct to say that in them the Library owns a well-balanced collection for research in nearly every branch of human knowledge. The books formerly in the Astor and Lenox Libraries compose the foundation of the collection. The subjects most adequately represented are those of American history, of PANEL IN CEILING, EXHIBITION ROOM PANEL IN CEILING, EXHIBITION ROOM DOOR IN SCREEN Main Reading Room DOOR IN SCREEN Main Reading Room Use of Books. The Library's situation in the metropolis, and its freedom from restrictions (according to the custom of American libraries) have caused the use of its books to become two or three times greater than that of any of the other large libraries of the world; the average daily number of readers is more than double the number in any foreign library. Stack. Underneath the Main Reading Room is the steel stack, in seven decks, containing 334,500 feet, or 63.3 miles, of shelving. It has room for about 2,500,000 books. (The special reading rooms have a shelf capacity for about 500,000 books.) The books in the stack are brought by electric elevators to the Main Reading Room, as they are called for by readers. The stack is not open to readers or visitors. Genealogy Room. At the northern end of the Main Reading Room is the room devoted to Local History and Genealogy (No. 328). The collection numbers about thirty thousand volumes. American History Division. At the southern end of the Main Reading Room is the room devoted to American history (No. 300). It is one of the strongest IN MEMORY OF From the corridors on the front and sides of the third floor, rooms open in the following order, beginning with the corridor at the south, running along the 40th Street side of the building: PART OF MAIN READING ROOM PART OF MAIN READING ROOM Reserve Books (No. 303): In this room are kept the rare and reserved books of the Library. Among the foremost treasures of the Library are: the Gutenberg Bible (printed by Gutenberg and Fust about 1455, one of the earliest books printed from movable types); the Coverdale Bible (1535); Tyndale's Pentateuch (1530) and New Testament (1536); and Eliot's Indian Bible. In fact, the collection of early Bibles in English is one of the great collections of the kind in existence. The Library also owns four BOOK STACK (Showing Half the Length of One Deck) BOOK STACK (Showing Half the Length of One Deck) One contribution to the Library has been commemorated by a tablet near the door of this room. It bears the inscription: THE Opposite, in Room 304, is the office of the Bibliographer of the Library, and of the Chief of the American History Division. Prints Room. Opening from the corridor on the east (the front) of the Library is the Prints Room (No. 308). Open 9a.m. to 6p.m. week days; 1 to 6p.m. Sundays. Here is the Samuel P. Avery Collection of 18,000 prints. They are mainly French and other modern etchings and lithographs. There is also a large collection of modern American prints, a collection of Japanese prints in color, and a collection of old prints illustrating the development of reproductive graphic art to the present day. Art and Architecture. Room 313 is the reading room devoted to Art and Architecture. The resources of the collection, about 25,000 books, deal with art and craftsmanship in the widest sense. TRUSTEES' ROOM TRUSTEES' ROOM Map Room. On the inner, or western, side of this corridor, opposite Room 313, is the Map Room (No. 312), a part of the American History Division. Open 9a.m. to 6p.m. on week days. Stuart Gallery. Opening from the corridor on the front of the building, and directly opposite the entrance to the Public Catalogue Room, is the room devoted to the Stuart Collection (No. 316). Open 9a.m. to 6p.m. on week days. Closed on Sundays. This contains pictures, books, and other objects of art bequeathed by Mrs. Robert L. Stuart. On the east wall of the Gallery is a tablet with this inscription: THE Catalogues of the paintings are on sale for ten cents. General Gallery. The next room to the north is the general gallery (No. 318). (Sign reads "Picture Gallery.") The pictures in this room are largely from the collection of James Lenox. The catalogue, mentioned in the preceding paragraph, gives a list of them, and a brief description of many. Open 9a.m. to 6p.m. week days and 1 to 5p.m. Sundays. Prints Gallery. Opening from No. 318, and also from the north end of the front corridor, is the Prints Gallery (No. 321). Here are held exhibitions of prints, changed several times each year. Open 9a.m. to 6p.m. on week days and 1 to 5p.m. Sundays. Manuscript Division. On the west or inner side of the front corridor is the research room of the Manuscript Division (No. 319). This is open only to those who hold cards signed by the Director of the Library. Open 9a.m. to 6p.m. week days. The Division has a good selection of Oriental manuscripts, and of European illuminated manuscripts. Among these older ones may be mentioned an "Evangelistarium, sive Lectiones ex Evangeliis," a French-Carlovingian manuscript on 200 vellum leaves, date about 870 A. D. Another manuscript of special note is the work of Giulio Clovio, his "Christi Vita ab Evangelistis descripta," sometimes called "The Towneley Lectionary." It was made for Alexander, Cardinal Farnese, and was presented by him to Pope Paul III. ONE OF THE SPECIAL READING ROOMS (Genealogy and Local History) ONE OF THE SPECIAL READING ROOMS (Genealogy and Local History) The collection of American historical manuscripts Music Division. Turning to the west, the corridor along the 42nd Street side of the building leads to the Music Division (No. 324), which opens from the north side of the corridor. It is open week days from 9a.m. to 6p.m. The resources of the Division number about twenty-two thousand volumes and pieces of music. A tablet at the north end of the room bears this inscription: DREXEL MUSICAL LIBRARY. On the east wall is a tablet reading as follows: IN MEMORY OF BASEMENT The basement contains three rooms of public interest. The entrance from 42nd Street is the most convenient way to reach these rooms from the outside of the building, but a visitor on one of the upper floors should take the elevator or the staircase, both near the north end of the building. CENTRAL CIRCULATION ROOM CENTRAL CIRCULATION ROOM Newspaper Room. In the Newspaper Room (No. 84) about sixty daily newspapers are on racks for free use, without the need of any application. About twenty-five foreign newspapers are obtainable upon On the western side of the entrance corridor, near the door of the Circulating Library, is a bronze tablet with the following inscription: [Seal of The New York Public Library] NORTH STAIRCASE NORTH STAIRCASE Central Circulation Branch (sign over door reads, "Circulating Library") (No. 80). This is one of the forty-four Branches of The New York Public Library, Children's Room. Near the 42nd Street entrance a corridor runs east to the Children's Room (No. 78). The visitor to the building should not fail to see this room, with its attractive furnishings, its collections of brightly colored picture-books, and pictures. The object of the room is not only to perform the usual work of a children's room, but also to interest and help parents and others in selecting children's reading. Authors, artists, and publishers come here for information about books for children. Another purpose is to furnish suggestions for similar rooms elsewhere. A number of libraries, in other parts of the world, have adopted suggestions which they found here. Exhibitions on various subjects are held from time to time, and there is a collection of children's books of the old-fashioned kind. Open 9a.m. to 6p.m. week days. CHILDREN'S ROOM CHILDREN'S ROOM Library School. Here a two years' course in training for library work is given to a body of students averaging about seventy-five in number. The office of the School (where inquiries should be made) is in Public Telephones. The public telephones are in Room 70, on the inner or western side of the front corridor. Business Offices. The rest of the basement floor is occupied by offices, open only to those who have business engagements therein. The offices include that for Printing and Binding (No. 58), and the Shipping Room (No. 51). In the Printing Office the catalogue cards of the Library, printed forms, and all the Library's publications are printed. For the publications, see page 78. Travelling Libraries Office. The entrance to the Travelling Libraries office is from Bryant Park, at the southwest corner of the building. The office itself is not of interest to sightseers. As it is under control of the Circulation Department, its work is described on page 59. FOOTNOTE: |
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