Press Release

New York State Assembly Commits $1.75 Million for Technical Upgrade of The New York Public Library’s Center for the Humanities on 5th Avenue

 
Assembly Speaker Sheldon S. Silver has announced a commitment of $1.75 million by the New York State Assembly toward the $70 million transformation of The New York Public Library’s landmark building at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street. "I am deeply grateful to Speaker Silver for this very important leadership allocation," said Dr. Paul LeClerc, President of The New York Public Library. "We can now start to bring the immense resources of the Library, and the world of electronic information, to readers here and throughout the state."

These capital funds, allocated through the Community Enhancement Facilities Program, will help to provide the critical technological infrastructure to support a 21st Century Center for the Humanities at this site. "We are integrating high-speed links throughout this beautiful Beaux Arts building to ensure that its 1.2 million users will have direct access to all of the extraordinary resources offered by the Library in the Center for the Humanities," said Marshall Rose, the Library's Chairman of the Board of Trustees.  "The Library is also extemely grateful to Assembly Ways and Means Committee Chair Herman D. Farrell, and the Manhattan delegation for their support," added Dr. LeClerc.

The Center for the Humanities is currently undergoing a major renovation, which both returns one of New York State's great architectural treasures to its original 1911 beauty, and provides new technology to better connect users to its remarkable collections.

The technical enhancements planned include state-of-the-art public workstations, extensive fiber optic and copper cabling, and a technology center. The project positions the Center for the Humanities as one of the most outstanding and comprehensive humanities resources in the United States.

The Center plays a pivotal role in the educational and intellectual life of New York City and State, but also is a vital resource for many of its educational institutions, as well as local industries such as publishing, media, and content providers for other electronic resources. The entire renovation will provide better access both for researchers on-site, and those who connect to its homepage remotely.  The Library is accessed electronically via the worldwide web (http://www.nypl.org) by  230,000 users each month, a number that is growing by more than 100% each year.  These user sessions produce over 8 million hits each month originating from every region of the state and the nation, as well as from more than 140 countries around the world.

The New York Public Library is the only one of the world's five great research libraries to include a large branch library system. With four preeminent research facilities and 85 neighborhood libraries, The New York Public Library serves a more varied set of constituencies and has a broader mission than any other library.

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