The 42nd Street Library is a treasure, not simply for New York, but for civilization. The palatial marble structure rising behind the two guardian lions is one of the most important repositories of literary archives in the history of humanity. The facility protects priceless treasures. It is an institution that draws world-class scholars and international literary figures. It is an architectural icon recognizable around the world.
One of the greatest merits of the facility is that it is open to the public. No other archival institution is more accessible. Here, more so than anywhere else, the treasures of the human intellect accrued through thousands of years are preserved and provided for everyone’s enrichment.
For the last year, city officials have been working to change this by renovating the branch. The principle reason for the renovation is to retool the 42nd Street Library for the lending of books. This would replace the Mid-Manhattan Library and the Science, Industry and Business Library. Then these two locations would be liquidated for real estate development.
To accomplish this requires a $350 million renovation of the 42nd Street Library. Taxpayers would pay $150 million of this cost. In addition to compromising the original aesthetics of the building’s interior, this would disrupt the operation as a research center, while displacing over a million books to New Jersey.
The city should take extreme precautions before committing to the sales of the library buildings. A change in the nature of book lending is imminent as electronic books become more prominent, but this does not mean libraries will become obsolete. Information must be stored and secured. Information must remain accessible to the public. The storage, security and access of information should not be deferred to entities within the market. The unbiased and impartial system of the libraries must continue to provide this service.
The libraries may also be able to generate revenue themselves. As we develop into the information age, information is becoming more of a commodity. To increase the value of this information, it must be organized and constructed for applications. With the establishment of the Roosevelt Island Tech Center, students and professors could work with the vast resources of information within the library system to architect innovative data structures. The New York City Library could become an electronically accessible data center for scholars, students and businesses around the world. If there is any doubt about the revenue potential in this consider how the Getty’s loan their vast resources of images to media companies. With this in mind, selling the library branches would be like selling a gold mine to buy picks and shovels.
For more information visit www.savenypl.org.
Garrett Buhl Robinson is a poet and novelist. garrettrobinson.us.
