Tuesday, May 24, 2011

NYPL Centennial Celebration



NYPL's famous Stephen A. Schwarzman Building at Bryant Park, which is flanked by the statuesque lions Patience and Fortitude, and which inspired "Between the Lions", celebrated its 100th anniversary this weekend. Among the special events were free tours of the stacks (which are generally closed to the public), and a display featuring LEGO recreations of the library's leonine mascots. Mikro loves books, and LEGOs, so we had to check it out.

I wish we had been able to take part in this game, and I'm hoping they will make the book that was written available to the public:





We really enjoyed the LEGO lions:





And the stack tour. The musty old book smell brought back memories of my undergrad days, working in Butler Library at Columbia University. Same stacks smell! Mikro took a deep breath and exclaimed: "Ah, the smell of learning!" I almost died laughing...





The city is getting ready to cut the library's funding. Please add your voice to the chorus of people urging them not to do this!

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