By Kim Velsey 5/07 8:00pm

Developing problems

The old Donnell Library.

Public Institutions In Private Developments: Plans For a Smaller, If Sleeker, Donnell Library Reveal Trade-offs

These last few years have been challenging ones for both the New York and Brooklyn public libraries. Anemic funding and dwindling resources have collided not only with the need to repair many aging structures, but also to retrofit them to meet changing technology requirements. The combination of lean budgets and growing needs have, without a doubt, created a mounting financial crisis.

The question is how to fix it. For the libraries, one of the more popular strategies of late has been selling buildings and land to developers in exchange for some cash and a space in the condo tower that will be built on the parcel. Recently, plans to sell two libraries in Brooklyn have stirred up controversy, with local residents protesting that the sales are a bad deal for both taxpayers and library patrons. Read More

By Michael Ewing 3/22/12 11:15am

Affordable Housing or Lack Thereof

Who wouldn't want to call this home?

Bookish Living: Municipal Art Society Proposes Turning Libraries into Apartments

If you  aren’t comfortable living in a church, that’s fine. But what about a library?

The Municipal Arts Society is leading the conversation on converting public libraries into apartment buildings, the Real Deal reports. President Vin Cipolla noted that the change in technology (read: Kindles and iPads) will lead to under-used, or even unused, library spaces. Read More

By Emily Witt 12/01/11 2:20pm

library science

new-york-public-library-new-york-city-ny034

The Future of the New York Public Library: Will It Be Improved or Gutted?

An article in The Nation today exposes growing rifts over the future of the New York Public Library. The main concern involves its so-called Central Library Plan, an upcoming renovation that will remove the stacks from the central Stephen A. Schwarzman building at Bryant Park and store print books and other physical materials off-site. Patrons will also be allowed to borrow books from the central library and the newly opened rooms currently holding the stacks will be filled with computers and other media. Read More

By The Editors 11/08/11 6:36pm

Opening Shot

2011 CFDA Fashion Awards - Arrivals

Falling Back Into This Week

We never can remember…is it “spring forward, fall back” or the other way around? Either way, we’ve been three hours late to every party since March and we’re just happy to have an extra hour to sleep in. Read More

By Emily Witt 9/23/11 3:29pm

forgive and forget

The library is also for people who like to read.

Anthony Marx Extends Library Amnesty for Children with Overdue Books

Following the success of a program this summer that allowed children to read their way out of their library fines, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and New York Public Library president Anthony Marx announced yesterday that all fines would be forgiven for children under the age of 18, no additional reading necessary, thanks in large part to a $300,000 donation from McGraw-Hill. Read More

By Drew Grant 9/21/11 12:03pm

Art

"Art for the People" by Gus Weinmuller (actually Shea Hembry) in his biennial "Seek"

Shea Hembrey: Curator and Creator of 100 Artists

Last night, Shea Hembrey took the stage at the New York Public Library as part of their Live! program to talk about the exhausting work of curating 100 different artists for his recent biennial, Seek. Mr. Hembrey, an artist himself, spoke of the process behind the grueling selection for the book, which features everything from studied portraits to abstract outsider performance art. “It was difficult to choose what to include, because sometimes I’d have to choose only one piece out of six, and then I’d get angry at myself.”

Of course, this frustration was probably multiplied 100 fold, since Mr. Hembrey created all the art — and the artists behind it — himself. Read More