Happy Birthday, New York Public Library

Happy 125th, New York Public Library (NYPL)

Buttercupland is delighted to join in the birthday celebration for one of the great institutions of the world, The New York Public Library. You may be doing research at one of the four research centers or borrowing books, movies or going to story hours at the 88 branch libraries throughout Manhattan, Bronx and Staten Island. You may be one of the seventeen million patrons of the library, or you're a frequent visitor to the on-line catalog to borrow e-books. For all of us, it's difficult to imagine New York City without the landmark building at 42nd Street, pictured above, or the wonderful branch library system.

It's hard to imagine New York without a library system, but the NYPL is a relatively recent addition to the city. It was formed in 1895 by a merger of two existing research libraries. The building we in New York refer to as "The Library," the main branch was completed in 1911. President William Howard Taft presided over the dedication ceremonies.

The branch libraries were created thanks to a 5.2 million dollar donation from Andrew Carnegie. The Carnegie funds would pay for the buildings and the city would be responsible for the operating cost of the libraries. Our 88 libraries were a small part of the 2,509 Carnegie libraries that were built throughout the world. One of the legacies of the Carnegie donations is the "open stack" system in most libraries. One of my great pleasures at the library is browsing the stacks. The open-stack system was introduced to reduce costs, but it also provided the joys of independent choice.

  My branch library, St. Agnes branch began as a parish library for St. Agnes Chapel on

 West 91st St in 1893. It was expanded to a neighborhood library in 1894. In 1906 it moved to its present location on Amsterdam Avenue. 

Yes, we are a Carnegie Library!

A copy of Andrew Carnegie's letter to the New York Public Library, 1901

I hope you've enjoyed our library birthday celebration. I always enjoy library visits and I know I learned a lot from this one. I've worked in three libraries -- the Hartford Public Library, and the libraries at Mount Holyoke and Dartmouth  -- and this is the first time I knew about the introduction of open stacks. Always something new to learn!

Now I'm going to spend the rest of the evening enjoying my latest library book, "Takes One to Know One," by Susan Isaacs. I'll be back tomorrow with an update on No-Spending January. 

As ever, thanks for visiting and please keep cozy! It's chilly out there.  

All Around the Neighborhood Random 5 Friday

It's Friday -- a soggy, drippy Friday -- and I'm feeling quite random. Although the actual Random 5 linkup is on hiatus, I really enjoy one of day almost complete stream of consciousness.

1) I was walking to the library today...just to write this thrills me. I was walking to the library in two matching sneakers, without any extra pain or discomfort. I get excited about the thought of walking, and even in the drippy, soggy rain I was smiling.

2) This is a shout out for inter-library loan. I've got a number of books on reserve and I picked up two of them today. One of them I put on my list -- via the library website --  last week and the other has been there for three months. They are both from a much bigger branch on Fifth Avenue. My branch is truly a branch library. It's been beautifully renovated, but it's holdings aren't enormous. But that doesn't matter. I've got the entire New York Public Library inventory just a few key clicks away.

3) The book I waited three months for is "Longbourn," by Jo Baker. It tells the story of the Bennets' servants in "Pride and Prejudice." I'm only six or seven short chapters into the book, but I am totally absorbed. We've all read "Pride and Prejudice," but this gives a very new and interesting perspective through the lives of the people who washed their clothes, cooked their meals and drove them to dances.  

4) I spent last night watching The Sound of Music." I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed the music and I liked the show a lot. Audra McDonald, who played Mother Superior, is one of my favorite theater performers and I could happily listen to her all day. No, it wasn't Julie Andrews or Mary Martin, but I am delighted that NBC chose to televise a classic work of real quality.

5) I can't let another day in December go by without a picture of New York in its holiday finery. I saw this tree in a neighborhood card shop window and fell in love, especially with the New York themed ornaments.

   It's Christmas time in the city...

Wishes for a cozy, snug and safe evening. As always, thanks for visiting and take good care of yourself. 

The Library Girl Comes Home...

...to the library.

Though it made none of my "lists of things to do when I retire" I knew I wanted to renew my library card.  I think I visited the library three or four years ago -- to renew my card -- but promptly lost it and relied on book swaps and kindle for my reading material. This has worked only okay. I haven't read very much and I blamed it on a lack of concentration, and I'm sure that was a big part of it. The kindle was great to carry on the subway, where I did most of my book reading.

But I've missed being in a library. Starting with early trips with my mother I loved the library. Every summer of elementary school I joined the summer reading club and spent many hours reading books and magazines in our branch library. I was a fixture and when I turned sixteen the librarians offered me a job. They know I'd have good attendance, I was always there. I loved my nook at the library in college and had jobs in both the Mount Holyoke and Dartmouth libraries. I worked at the reserve desk and processed books and managed to memorize just about the entire Dewey Decimal and Library of Congress catalog systems. I planned to become a librarian, but through fate sent me in a different direction.

I hadn't realized how much I missed spending time in a library. I spent a wonderful afternoon in my branch library today. I wrote a blog post for tomorrow and caught up on reading I wanted to do and I looked at books. Once again I was the girl who loved being in a library and loved looking at books. I almost couldn't believe I could take books home the same day I got my card -- remembering the waiting period in Hartford in 1967 -- and came home with J.K. Rowling's "The Casual Vacancy," -- I've really been wanting to read it -- and Lauren Weisberger's "Revenge Wears Prada." I've spent the evening reading "Revenge," and expect to finish it in the next few days. No television, no computer, just reading. I may have overcome any lack of concentration. I 'm hoping that all I needed was an afternoon at the library.

I also discovered this surprise a block from the library...

I need to return "Revenge" between Pumpkin Pie and Fudge Brownie. It's a whole new way of keeping track of when my library books are due.

It was a glorious early autumn day today and it's definitely sweater weather. I've put my flip flops away and taken out my jacket. It's time to savor the fall.

Hope you're savoring the fall and enjoying this week. As always, thanks for visiting and take good care of yourself.