The present New York Public Library—
Astor,
Lenox, and
Tilden foundations—is the result, as its name indicates, of the consolidation of several pre-existing institutions.
The three whose names appear in the title were united on May 23, 1895, and on Feb. 25, 1901, the
New York Free Circulating Library was added to the combination, the new body retaining its old name.
Of these various consolidated institutions the
Astor Library was originally incorporated Jan. 18, 1849.
It was endowed and supported by various gifts of the Astor family, and at the time of consolidation owned its site and buildings on Lafayette Place, with 267,147 volumes, and enjoyed an annual income of about $47,000.
The Lenox Library, incorporated Jan. 20, 1870, as the gift to the public of
James Lenox, owned its site and building on Fifth Avenue, between 70th and 71st streets, with 86,000 volumes and an annual income of $20,500.
The
Tilden trust, created by the will of
Samuel J. Tilden, possessed
Mr. Tilden's private library of about 20,000 volumes and an endowment fund of about $2,000,000, but neither lands nor buildings.
The Public Library thus began its existence with a total number of volumes of 373,147 and an endowment of about $3,500,000. The library as thus constituted was for reference only.
On March 25, 1896, in an address to the mayor of the city regarding the future policy of the library, the trustees offered to extend its facilities to the furnishing of books for home use, provided the city would build and equip a new home for
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the library, preferably on the site of the old reservoir on Fifth Avenue, between 40th and 42d streets (
Bryant Park). The result of this was the passage of a legislative act, approved May 19, 1897, giving the city power to issue bonds for this purpose, and on Nov. 10 of that year plans prepared by Carrere &
Hastings, of New York, were selected and
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New York public Library, from architect's plans. |
approved by the board of estimate of the city.
A contract fixing the conditions on which the building should be held and used by the library was at once entered into between the trustees and the city authorities, but the actual work of preparing the site by the removal of the old reservoir did not begin until June 6, 1899.
The building will probably be completed about 1904, and will be one of the finest structures of its kind in the world.
Its length will be 350 feet, and its width 250, and it will include a stack-room with shelving for 1,500,000 books, and a main reading-room, seating 800 readers, besides a large circulating-room, a children's room, public document, periodical, and patent rooms, and many rooms for special collections, besides picture galleries and administrative offices.
While the
Public Library was at this time for reference use only, the lending of books for home use was carried on in the city by several other institutions, the largest of which was the
New York Free Circulating Library.
This institution, first incorporated on March 15, 1880, began to lend books at that time in a small building on Bond Street, and had grown until, in 1901, it operated eleven free lending libraries, with reading-rooms and a travelling library department, through which books were distributed in schools, clubs, etc. It owned five buildings, 170,000 books, and had endowment funds of about $225,000. It had circulated in the year ending Oct. 31, 1900, 1,634,523 volumes.
Like other smaller institutions of the same kind it was supported largely by an annual municipal grant.
On Feb. 25, 1901, by the consolidation of this institution with the
Public Library, the latter became possessed of a department of circulation.
On March 12, 1901,
Mr. Andrew Carnegie offered to the
city of New York, through the director of the
Public Library, to build and equip sixty-five branch libraries, at a cost estimated at $80,000 each, or a total of $5,200,000, provided the city would furnish sites and agree to maintain the libraries when built.
This offer was accepted.
By the provisions of
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a contract entered into between the city and the library to carry out the terms of this gift so far as the boroughs of
Manhattan, the
Bronx, and
Richmond are concerned, these boroughs are to have forty-two of the new buildings, of which not more than ten are to be built in any one year, and the city agrees to appropriate annually for maintenance not less than 10 per cent. of the cost.
The city must approve all sites, whether acquired by purchase or by gift, but the library is to control the construction of the buildings and administer the libraries contained therein.
This gift insures not only that the city shall have an adequate number of new branch libraries, but that such as already exist shall be properly housed, provided they become part of the
Public Library system.
A bill to facilitate such union on the part of the smaller libraries was signed by the governor in the spring of 1901.
The buildings where the work of the library is carried on at present are as follows:
reference branches.
Astor Building, 40 Lafayette Place.
Lenox Building, 890 Fifth Avenue.
circulating branches.
Bond Street, 49 Bond Street.
Ottendorfer, 135 Second Avenue.
George Bruce, 226 West 42d Street.
Jackson Square, 251 West 13th Street.
Harlem, 218 East 125th Street.
Muhlenberg, 130 West 23d Street.
Bloomingdale, 206 West 100th Street.
Riverside, 261 West 69th Street.
Yorkville, 1523 Second Avenue.
Thirty-fourth Street, 215 East 34th Street.
Chatham Square, 22 East Broadway.
The library now contains about 500,000 volumes and 175,000 pamphlets in the reference department, and 175,000 volumes in the circulating department.
Among noteworthy special collections are the public documents (60,000 volumes); American history (30,000 volumes); patents (10,000 volumes); music (10,000 volumes) ; Bibles (8,000 volumes) ; Hebrew and
Oriental works (8,000 volumes); Slavonic books (2,000 volumes); and Shakespeariana (3,000 volumes). The number of readers yearly in the reference department is about 125,000, and 500,000 volumes are consulted.
In the circulation department 1,700,000 volumes are withdrawn yearly for home use, of which 28 per cent. is juvenile fiction and 33 per cent. adult fiction; and 125,000 volumes are read in the libraries.
The readingroom attendance exceeds 200,000.
The library as at present organized is managed by a board of twenty-one trustees, one of whom is the comptroller of the city,
ex officio. The direct charge of the library and its staff is intrusted to a director, who, since the formation of the
Public Library in 1895, has been
Dr. John Shaw Billings.
The library publishes two monthly periodicals, the
Bulletin, containing monthly reports and statements, with selections from the manuscript collections of the library, and the
Monthly list of additions to the circulating department.
The largest collection of books is in the
Astor Building, 40 Lafayette Place, which contains also the executive offices, including the office of the director.
The reading halls and catalogues are on the second floor.
Books wanted must be called for at the desk, except such as are contained in the open reference collection of about 5,000 volumes, which may be consulted freely.
No book may be taken from the building.
The
Lenox Building contains numerous special collections, such as those of rare or curious editions, manuscripts, prints, maps, genealogies, etc., and also a considerable number of valuable works of art, including the collection of modern paintings made by
Robert L. Stuart and the
Lenox collection of works by
Copley,
Landseer,
Gainsborough,
Reynolds,
Turner,
Wilkie, etc. Permission to copy these paintings may be obtained on application.
The building includes two large readingrooms on the ground floor and smaller ones on the upper floors, besides stackrooms and exhibition galleries.
To obtain books for home use, written application, giving the name of a responsible guarantor, must be made at one of the libraries of the circulation department, as noted above.
Two books at a time (only one of fiction) may be taken out and kept two weeks, except where specially restricted to one week.
The users are allowed free access to all the shelves.
Each of these branch libraries
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contains also a small reference collection, and most of them have reading-rooms supplied with periodicals.
The present administrative offices of the circulating department are at the
George Bruce Branch, 226 West 42d Street.
