New York Public Library Archives - Evanston Public Library

Radical-ly Chic Collection for NYPL

November 22, 2013

New York Public Library has acquired author Tom Wolfe’s archive, including materials for his novels, letters from friends Hunter S. Thompson, William F. Buckley and Gay Talese, works of journalism, and interviews with “historically significant figures like the test pilot Chuck Yeager.” Library president Anthony W. Marx called the archive “amazing”, saying: “His work touches on so much of the sociology of the city. Now this acquisition makes all of his material public.” The collection will probably be opened to researchers by next summer. Read the entire NYT article here and check the EPL catalog for works by Mr. Wolfe.

Laura

Let Your Inner Child Out at NYPL

June 27, 2013

An exhibit for children and adults alike recently opened at the New York Public Library. “The ABC of It: Why Children’s Books Matter” has both popular and more exotic offerings. Included is the green room of Margaret Wise Brown’s 1947 Goodnight Moon, a display from the 1964 Disney movie Mary Poppins, and an Alice in Wonderland figure; you can create your own fairy tale, or see an 1826 edition of Grimm’s tales; there’s a 1727 edition of The New-England Primer and a selection of poems from William Blake’s 1789 Songs of Innocence. The show’s nearly 250 books and artifacts are “so intelligently woven together by the curator Leonard S. Marcus, that you make your way through them with a mixture of eager pleasure and focused attentiveness.” Read the entire article here – or better yet, book your next flight to NY.

Laura

Hats Off to Dr. Seuss

February 4, 2013

To commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Dr. Seuss classic The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins, the New York Public Library is exhibiting some of the hats in the real Dr. Seuss’s own collection. A hat lover himself, Theodor Seuss Geisel collected hundreds of them, incorporating them into his painting, advertising, and books, even insisting “that guests to his home don the most elaborate ones he could find.” The collection features a red Robin Hood-like cap with feather exactly like the one Bartholomew Cubbins had and the hat worn by the famous Cat in the Hat. The exhibit opens Monday in New York and will then travel to 15 other locations during the year. Maybe Chicago will get lucky. See the rest of the article in today’s New York Times.

Laura

Great Article on the Importance of Libraries as “Places”

May 17, 2011

I hope you like this article from salon.com as much as I do. The author is focusing on New York, however, the sense of place that libraries provide is the same anywhere.

(This is a picture of Jack Kerouac’s personal items.)

Shira S.