For the past several weeks, the world has been eyeing a young rising athlete named Jeremy Lin. Lin plays as a point guard for the New York Knicks. At age 23, he has been captivating the globe with his personality, skills, and victories.

Over the course of one evening, Lin became an international superstar in the field of basketball. After his first game for the Knicks against the NJ Nets on February 4, fans from all over world and throughout cyberspace have been cheering for Lin and reviving the spirit of the NY Knicks. Following this game, Lin had been leading the NY Knicks in a winning streak and gaining victories for the Knicks.   

Lin, a Harvard graduate, briefly played for the Golden State Warriors (Oakland, California) prior to joining the Knicks. His last name, "Lin," translates as "forest" in Chinese. He is one of the few Asian American professional basketball players in the history of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the first Chinese/Taiwanese American player in the league. What makes his cinderella story extraordinary is his road to fame and how he is unintentionally smashing the racial barriers and misperceptions of Asian Americans in sports.

Madison Square Garden, N.Y.C. (1925)In Madison Square Garden, home of the NY Knicks, NY Rangers, and NY Liberty, large crowds have been roaring out in support of Lin and the Knicks. Tickets to see the NY Knicks games have skyrocketed. Neologisms, such as "linsanity," "linsane," "linning" or "lincredible" have echoed across the arena. His last name became viral within days. Due to Lin's popularity in the States, he has also gained global followings in other countries, such as China, Taiwan, and Canada.

An avalanche of T-shirts, hats, and NY Knicks jerseys listing his name and #17, along with other merchandises, have been sold at a high rate. There is even an ice cream flavor named after "linsanity." Because of his rising and surprising success in the NBA, Lin has been featured on the covers of many publications, including Time, Sports Illustrated, New York Post, New York Daily News, and so forth. There is also a book out entitled Linsanity: The Improbable Rise of Jeremy Lin that chronicles the fervor and life of Lin. 

As the social media continue to buzz about Lin, here at NYPL, we have many publications that follow Lin's journey to stardom, as well as the racial discourse on basketball, and the frenzy of "#linsanity." Here are some of the periodical publications available at your local library: 

• New York Times (access online)
• Wall Street Journal (access online)
• Sports Illustrated (access online)
• Time Magazine (access online)
• NY Daily News (access online)
• NY Post (access online)
• World Journal (access online)
• ESPN Magazine
• Sporting News 
• For other periodicals/newspapers online covering Lin, check out PressDisplay.

Stay tuned as the linsanity continues!

(UPDATE: JEREMY LIN will be leaving the NY KNICKS for the HOUSTON ROCKETS!)