New
York City, May 4, 1998: For more than 100 years, people have turned
to The New York Public Library's abundant collections for information that
has helped them solve problems or otherwise enrich their lives. Now the
same type of resources available in a local library can be used remotely
through the re-designed and expanded website the Library is launching today.
Librarians at The New York Public Library have carefully selected a broad
range of resources on such topics as health, business, literature, and
history that are available free of charge through the World Wide Web at
http://www.nypl.org. In addition, the
Library is launching the Digital Library Collections, its first collection
of texts and images which have been digitized and made accessible through
the Internet. The site's first collection is Digital Schomburg,
which includes rare materials on African American history drawn from the
Library's Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and other NYPL
research libraries (see release on Digital Library
Collections).
"The expanded range of services available through the Web marks the start of a momentous change in the nature of how people will use our library," said Paul LeClerc, President of The New York Public Library. "Now Library users will be able to download newspaper articles, find answers to health questions, view one-of-a-kind research items, and use a host of other materials from home, work, or school. Our dedication to providing these free resources is a testament to the Library's long-standing tradition of using technology to expand and improve democratic access to superior services."
New Library Home Page
The new Library home page directs users to "NYPL Online,"
a section of searchable online catalogs, databases, and collections; or
to "The Libraries," where users will find general information
about the services available at the branch and research libraries, schedules
of library hours and locations, listings of events and exhibitions, press
releases, and information about Library policies. Altogether, the Library's
website encompasses some 3,000 pages of information. Since the Library's
site was launched in May 1995, there have been nearly 3 million user sessions
with 35 million individual page hits from users across the United States
and in countries from Australia to Zimbabwe. The New York Public Library's
new web page has been designed by Stir Associates.
NYPL Online
"NYPL Online" provides researchers and others with access
to databases of information that can be searched. These include The New
York Public Library's catalogs, digital collections such as Digital Schomburg,
an array of specialized electronic databases, and a guide to searching
the Internet. "NYPL Online" also leads users to "'On-Lion'
for Kids," the Library's home page for children; "Teen Link,"
a page for young adults; and The New York Public Library's "Online
Bookstore," a collaboration with Barnes & Noble that benefits
the Library.
Catalogs
Through the Internet, it is possible to search the Library's vast collections
to determine what resources are available on a topic and where those materials
are located before making a trip to find them. CATNYP (Catalog of The New
York Public Library) is an index of materials available for use within
the Library's four research libraries: the Center for the Humanities; The
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts; the Science, Industry
and Business Library; and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.
Information about circulating materials can be found in LEO (Library Entrance
Online), which provides access to information about materials in the 85
branch libraries located throughout the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island.
Digital Library Collections
The Library has just unveiled its first digital collection, Digital
Schomburg, which comprises 56 texts and more than 500 images relating to
African American culture and history. The materials online are primarily
from the Library's Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, with
other materials from the Center for the Humanities. Within the next two
years, the Library will make available eight additional digital collections.
Electronic Resources
Now Library users have access through the Internet to a range of electronic
databases which provide such resources as full-text articles from more
than 1,400 periodicals, extensive health references, and descriptions of
job training programs (see enclosed fact sheet for more details). The electronic
resources available through the web include "ProQuest Direct,"
a database of articles from magazines, journals, and newspapers; "¡Informe!
(Revistas en Expañol) (Magazines in Spanish)"; "Books
in Print"; "Business and Company ASAP"; "TRAIN";
"Health Reference Center"; and "NOAH (New York Online Access
to Health)." These electronic resources require a library card for
access when used from outside the Library, except for NOAH, which is accessible
to all users. They are also accessible to anyone from computers located
at all New York Public Library locations.
Searching the Internet Librarians have compiled a guide to the Internet which includes links to well-known search engines as well as the Library's own selection of sites with information about education, current events, sports, careers, and many other topics.
The Libraries
Detailed information about the wide range of services found in the
four research libraries and 85 branches of The New York Public Library
is found in the section of the website called "The Libraries."
Here Library users can locate the branch library nearest to them, find
the hours it is open, and get travel directions. There also are detailed
descriptions of each division within NYPL's four research libraries. This
part of the website also includes information about library policies, including
how to get a library card. Library users will also find a broad range of
research guides and booklists, information about classes at branches and
research libraries, and listings of all the Library's exhibitions and public
programs.
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The New York Public Library, a private corporation, serves a more varied set of constituencies than any other library in the world. Its four research libraries the Center for the Humanities; The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts; the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture; and the Science, Industry and Business Library with collections of more than 42 million items in over 3,000 languages and dialects, compare in size and significance to the world's other grea research libraries. Its branches serve three of the city's five boroughs through 85 circulating libraries, whose collections of more than 11 million items are the largest of any branch system in the country. Responding to the social and educational needs of their surrounding communities, the branches also offer approximately 25,000 free classes and programs to New Yorkers each year. The Research Libraries present numerous annual exhibitions, lectures, concerts, and films.
pro: hs, th: 4-30-98
hscher,pro: 4-29-98
last revised by thoerenz, pro: 5-1-98