The New York Public Library's Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division Reopens to the Public on December 15 Following 9-Month Renovation

With Restored Beaux-Arts Architecture and New State-of-the-Art Mapping Technology, the Division is a Stunning Gateway to the Library's Renowned Map Collection

Interior view of magnificent reading room of The New York Public Library's Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division, reopened in 2005 after a nine-month restoration. Photo by Don Pollard.

With bursts of brilliant gold accents, richly carved wood, magnificent marble and decorative metalwork, The Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division of The New York Public Library will re-open to the public on Thursday, December 15, 2005, following a 9-month, $5 million renovation and restoration. In addition to returning the historic 7,000-square-foot space to its original 1911 Beaux-Arts grandeur, the project seamlessly integrates the latest technology for advanced geographic research with the architectural elements of the Division's original Carrère and Hastings design. Researchers who come to use the Library's renowned collection of 420,000 maps and atlases will find a space designed to facilitate fast retrieval of all types and sizes of paper maps which can be used in combination with the latest digital mapping technologies. The renovated Division is located on the first floor of The New York Public Library's landmark Humanities and Social Sciences Library at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street.

Comprising a public reading room (Room 117) and a stack area and staff workspace (Room 115), the Division provides an ideal environment for the study of maps. The elegant 40-foot-by-35-foot Reading Room--notable for its Beaux-Arts painted plaster ceiling, handsome carved black walnut wall trim, and four stately bronze chandeliers--now offers 50 percent more seating capacity, from 16 to 24 chairs, at three walnut reading tables. Researchers have direct access to frequently used reference materials, such as world and U.S. atlases and books about cartography, located on 1,400 linear feet of open shelving. A new reference desk, compliant with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards, greets visitors as they enter the room and serves as the gateway to the hundreds of thousands of sheet maps, oversized atlases, and other materials stored in Room 115. A new opening behind the reference desk connecting the two rooms allows Library staff to retrieve requested materials more quickly.

Room 115, the 80-foot-by-35-foot map storage room, includes more than 900 oversize map drawers and more than 400 oversize shelves that house the Division's maps and atlases, which date from the mid-16th century to the present day. A compact shelving system allows the Division to make efficient use of space in Room 115, which also includes a mezzanine for additional storage as well as a staff area for processing and cataloging the collection. The renovation of the Map Division is part of a decades-long renovation initiative that has included major restoration projects of the Library's Celeste Bartos Forum, DeWitt Wallace Periodical Room, and the majestic Deborah, Jonathan F.P., Samuel Priest, and Adam Raphael Rose Main Reading Room , completed in 1998.

"Each year close to 5,000 readers visit our Map Division on site to do research; thousands more access the collections online," said Catherine C. Marron, the Library's Chairman, "Our users are as wide-ranging as our collections--- they include scholars and students; novelists and journalists researching historical places and present-day geography; artists and architects; transit planners; urban archaeologists; property analysts; genealogists; homeowners researching title claims and family histories; and even tourists and trip-planners seeking directions. In the newly renovated Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division they will find fast and free access to the information they need from the Library's rich and deep collection of maps and geographic information."

"From the era of great exploration in the 16th century to the development of Manhattan and recent turbulence in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, the Library's Map Division preserves documents that help trace and decode major developments of recent and past history," said Library President Paul LeClerc. "With the renovation project complete, users now will enjoy much-improved access to these resources in a truly magnificent setting. We are especially thankful for the generosity of Lionel Pincus and H.R.H. Princess Firyal of Jordan for their generous support of this project. We are also grateful to Congressman James T. Walsh, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, City Council Speaker A. Gifford Miller, City Council Member Christine C. Quinn, and New York State Senator Thomas K. Duane who made this important restoration project possible."

"From early colonial times to today, maps have played an integral role in the expansion and development of our nation," said Rep. Jim Walsh (25th Congressional District). "The restoration of The New York Public Library's Map Division will better enable library officials to display its renowned collection and provide easier access to researchers."

"The New York Public Library's Map Division holds one of the world's finest collection of maps," said Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, "and I was delighted to be able to support the renovation of this space in one of the world's finest libraries."

City Council A. Gifford Miller said, "The Map Division of the public library system has existed for well over 100 years. This kind of history should be preserved and honored. One of the best ways to pay homage to our past, present and future is to provide a safe, beautiful space that is accessible to all. I am thrilled that I was a part of making this space possible but I'm especially honored that I am a part of helping to preserve history."

"The collections of the landmark Humanities and Social Sciences Library are truly stunning," said City Council Member Christie C. Quinn, "especially the Library's remarkable array of maps. I am happy to have been able to support making the Map Division as beautiful as its collection."

"The New York Public Library's Map Division has now been restored to its original beauty," said New York State Senator Tom Duane, "I encourage both New Yorkers and visitors from around the globe to explore the Division's rich collections. I am glad that I was able to support this historic project."

[General Fact Sheet]

Architecture and Design

Workers restoring the painted ceiling to its original 1911 Beaux-Arts grandeur.

From the stunning Beaux-Arts plaster ceiling in the Division's Reading Room to its antique red quarry floor tiles, nearly every surface was painstakingly restored. Original architectural features such as the room's mammoth arched bronze windows, black walnut wall trim, walnut reading tables, and bronze chandeliers were repaired, cleaned, and refinished. Modernization efforts also included a complete overhaul of the Division's lighting. Fluorescent table lamps were removed to facilitate unfolding of large maps on Reading Room tables and were replaced with recessed ceiling lights. Uplights were installed to highlight the stunning ornamentation of the Reading Room's painted plaster ceiling.

Designed by the architectural firm Davis, Brody, Bond LLC, the renovation strove to improve user functionality, increase storage capacity, and provide major infrastructure to accommodate the Division's state-of-the-art map-based technology. The Map Division, which moved into its current location in Rooms 115 and 117 in 1963, now offers on-site storage for most of its collection, well-lighted workstations for users, and six public computer terminals, set within an elegant suite of rooms bursting with color and light.

"Maps are important research tools but provide numerous challenges in their preservation, storage, and use," said David Ferriero, Andrew W. Mellon Director and Chief Executive of the Research Libraries. "Drawing on the Library's extensive experience working with these documents over more than a century, and through innovative approaches to the issues surrounding their use, we have created a facility with state-of-the-art technology that will provide Library users the most efficient, comfortable, and aesthetically striking setting for map research available anywhere."

"The renovation allows us to provide a new level of service for the public," said Alice C. Hudson, Chief of the Map Division. "In addition to faster access to materials and greatly improved working conditions for researchers, the renovation gives us the space to offer public workshops and classes about map history, map collecting, and new technology for map research. We are thrilled and privileged to open the doors of our Division to its next generation of service to anyone interested in the world of maps."

[Architecture Fact Sheet]

New work stations provide high-speed access to GIS and a wide range of other cartographic programs and services.

Technology
Technological improvements include six new high-speed public access computers with 20-inch flat-panel monitors, oversized color printers, and wireless connections. New mapping software includes geographic information systems (GIS) that allow users to generate customized maps by drawing on a wide range of geographic, topographic, economic, demographic, and historical data. The Map Division's electrical systems have been entirely rewired to accommodate new computers and provide flexibility for future technological expansion. In addition, the Division will soon begin offering public instruction on using the GIS databases.

[Technology Fact Sheet]

Collections
The Map Division's collection includes 400,000 maps, as well as 20,000 atlases, books, periodicals, and compact discs about cartography. International in scope, items date from the 16th century to the present, with a focus on cities, especially New York City and its environs. Strong antiquarian holdings by such important early European mapmakers as Willem Janszoon Blaeu and Pieter Goos and maps, atlases and books about English Colonial North America from the Lawrence H. Slaughter Collection are complemented by items documenting New York. These extensive resources are available for free public use and are accessed by scholars, historians, archaeologists, preservation specialists, novelists, journalists, genealogists, attorneys, tourists, and others. Recent scholars who have made use of the collection include Phillip Lopate, Adams Professor of English at Hofstra University, for his 2004 book Waterfront: A Journey Around Manhattan and Irish novelist Joseph O'Connor, who is using the Map Division's collections for his forthcoming historical novel, Redemption, which features a cartographer as a major character.

[Collections Fact Sheet]

The Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division officially reopens to the public on Thursday, December 15. In addition, an exhibition featuring highlights of the Map Division's collections, Treasured Maps: Celebrating the Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division, is currently on view through April 9, 2006 in the Edna Barnes Salomon Room on the Library's third floor. Admission is free.

The New York Public Library gratefully acknowledges Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal for their generous support of the Map Division.

Congressman James T. Walsh, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, New York City Council Speaker A. Gifford Miller, New York City Council Member Christine C. Quinn, and New York State Senator Thomas K. Duane provided critical support for this important renovation.

Contact:   Tim Farrell, Herb Scher   212.704.8600

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