The People's University
Here's what others are saying about how The New York Public Library
has affected their lives:
The New York Public Library is a place that has never failed me.
Every time I needed a crucial document -- Robert Moses's Ph.D. Thesis;
a long-lost manuscript of The Trail Drivers of Texas that
told about Lyndon Johnson's grandfather -- I found it there. When
I needed a sanctuary in which to work, it was there that I found
it: I wrote The Power Broker in the Frederick Lewis Allen
Room. I am only one of a thousand -- or ten thousand -- writers
for whom the Library has always been there when we needed it. Now
the Library needs us -- all of us. And we must not fail it.
Robert Caro, historian
Instead of waiting in the cold for two hours, I went to the library
because I had forgotten my housekeys at home on that cold winter's
day. It was the only place open at this time anyway and it was near
to my home. The first thing I saw as I entered the door was a colorful
children's section in some sort of display. Immediately I was attracted
and went towards it. I stared at a beautiful book and wondered what
the words on that pretty book was saying. Here I was again staring
at words and not able to read even a single one. Once again, the
deep sadness I experience whenever I tried to concentrate on words
washed over me. ...I could feel the tears stinging my eyelids. I
will not cry. I will not cry. But, I did cry. I stood there right
in the middle of the colorful children's diaplay and cried. I didn't
make a sound but the tears just poured down my cheek. I could not
stop myself. A lady who worked in the library came up to me and
asked me what was the problem. I looked into her kind eyes and tried
to say something. I could not make a sound. She took me to the side
and began talking to me in a soothing voice. She really seemed concerned.
Over the next twenty minutes I told that stranger things about myself
that my friends did not know. That was the turning point in my life.
That was twenty-two years ago. In August of this year 2004 I will
be fifty three years old. In December of this year, I will be a
graduate of Bronx Community College. My goal is to be a Licensed
Practical Nurse (LPN). I have already been accepted into a program
beginning in September. I have worked hard and I will achieve my
goal.
Jackson, Nurse's Assistant
Bronx, NY
Soy Silvia y escribo desde España. Estuve en Noviembre en
Nueva York, ya había estado anteriormente pero no había
visitado la biblioteca. Aquí en España trabajo con
una beca en una biblioteca pública y estoy encantada. Me
apasiona el mundo de las bibliotecas y cuando visite la Biblioteca
Pública de Nueva York me emocionémuchísimo.
Creo que los turistas deberían visitarla. Esta es mi historia.
Muchas gracias desde el otro lado del Atlántico.
Silvia
Alicante, España
But for NYPL, I would not have survived in a strange land. A new
immigrant with little money, no job and no acquaintances, I was
desperate. The library took me off my desperation and gave me solace
and hope. It was my temple, shrine, church, mosque, pagoda and synagogue
all rolled into one. Whenever gloom and doom enveloped me, I took
shelter in the library and come out with renewed strength and vigor
for the battle of life. It was and still is my source of inspiration
and salvation. I bow to you-the place of comfort, safety, wisdom
and learning.
Satya
Trenton, NJ
When I enter the branches of the NYPL, I feel like the whole world
is in the palm of my hand. The library and its staff are amazing
and provide such a broad array of resources: books, technology,
art, DVD's, videos, magazines, programs, etc. And most importantly,
the library can be an absolute lifesaver!! I am a law librarian
and after being laid off from a Research Librarian position, the
Donnell and Yorkville Branches became my haven. I didn't have my
own PC, so I was able to use the computer resources at the library
for free (as well as check out the NYT employment section!) On one
such day, during my half hour time slot, I applied online for a
Law Librarian position at a law firm. A couple of weeks later, I
started my new position. If it hadn't been for such easy access
to the Internet, my job search would have been that much harder.
I'm always telling people that when I make a lot of money, the first
thing I will do will be to donate money (or computers) to the New
York Public Library. I will forever be in your debt.
Kerry, Law Librarian
New York, NY
For over 10 years I've worked at Stanly County Public Library in
North Carolina. The Morrisania Branch was the first library I have
ever visited. It is next door to C.E.S. 63 my elementary school
in the Bronx. It was a very beautiful place to me. The neighborhood
was not very safe at the time. Our principal, Ms. Andrea O'neal
was a strong African-American woman who truly loved the students.
She tried to help us endure what we had to face once we left school.
She encouraged us to go to the library next door for its intended
purpose of reading and learning, but also for safety reasons. She
told us 'The library is a safe place.' I grew up believing that
and enjoying the library. Thank you for being there for inner city
kids. As a library employee, I've meet high-ranking government officials,
best-selling authors, business people, doctors, lawyers, families
of different economic levels, etc. You get to know the person inside
the label. ... I do support my favorite libraries. Everyone in the
community should give back. It is worth it. There are books, audio,
visual, computers, and many free programs. These materials help
students, pet owners, brides, new parents, senior citizens, salespeople,
dancers, musicians, cooks, etc. The library provides valuable resources
that improve the quality of our lives.
Faith, library assistant II
Albermarle, NC
True Story. It was a long time ago. Before they revised the Zoo.
There was an elephant. She was obviously well-read. She grabbed
the book I was holding before returning it to the Library. The keeper
got it away from her. The plastic Library binding protected it from
all the spittle and other contents of an elephant's mouth. Scene:
The desk at the 42nd Street Library. The incredulous look on the
librarian's face as she handled the book with rebellious fingers...her
mouth opened wide: "And the reason the book is late and in
this very odd condition is?" "An ELEPHANT ATE IT."
I understood that elephant had been sold as she had the habit of
taking things from people's hands. It was years later, at the zoo
in Phoenix, Arizona that we met again. Both of us, New York City
transplants to the wild west. There was a bond between us. We had
both read the same book.
Hyacinthe, artist/author
Palm Springs, CA
In my twenties, in the twentieth century's fifties, I spent many
an afternoon in The New York Public Library, drowsing to the sound
of the great waterwheel spilling books out at the call desk. It
made me feel like a real New Yorker, and a potential learned person.
The Library is one of the city's sacred spaces, a treasure-house
of literacy that deserves everyone’s support.
John Updike, author
I started taking my daughters to the Hun'ts Point Branch library
when my daughters were still babies. I remember the first day that
I took them there. It was a very hot, humid day in August and the
girls were fighting in the house all day. I had to do something.
They did not want to take their usual naps and they did not want
to watch their favorite cartoons. Someone had told me that there
was a children's room at the local library. I dressed the girls,
walked in that humid day a few blocks, and there I entered a room
full of beautiful, wonderful books. The grils walked around -- they
had never seen so many books, with so many "pretty pictures".
We spent the rest of the afternoon in a corner reading and looking
at "pretty pictures". My daughters are teenagers now and
I still go there with them but now I go because I just recently
went back to school to get my Bachelor's Degree and I have to do
a lot of research papers. I go to the library because the people
that work there are so helpful that I know that I will get what
I need to pass my classes.
Gladys, student
Bronx, NY
The New York Public Library is my refuge in this fast paced world.
I am a teaching artist and the resources for research are infinite.
The librarians have taught me a lot about finding materials that
I never knew existed. If I had tons of financial resources I would
donate it to the libraries. Reading is becoming a lost art, evident
in the reading scores of the children in our schools systems. The
library is more than just a place where you check out books, it's
a place where you learn about research, critical thinking and developing
reading and writing skills. As a child, I was a voracious reader.
We were financially burdened but that didn't stop me from becoming
a great reader and writer and finding a safe place to learn. My
fondest memories are of the library on Southern Blvd, Bronx. On
my saddest days I would go to the library and surround myself by
books and read to my heart's content. At that moment there was no
poverty or hunger, but huge wealth because i was surrounded by what
i loved best...books! Now I see that those books were the foundation
of my true wealth, which is Knowledge.
Mara S., teaching artist
New York, NY
My job at The New York Public Library was lowly (it was long ago,
and I was a college student): I was hired as a sub-page. My responsibility
was to dust the big shiny tables in the Periodicals Room, but even
the dust particles seemed sacral; they had, after all, alighted
on Literature's dwelling-place, and I knew that (in the guise of
a sub-page) I had ascended to Paradise. The passing of decades has
only intensified these feelings of gratitude, privilege, and bookish
infatuation. The New York Public Library represents civilization
at its most sublime: an open-hearted, democratic, universally accessible
American zenith.
Cynthia Ozick, novelist
I came to this country as a teenage refugee from Nazi-occupied Europe.The
New York Public Library became my mentor in the English language,
in history and literature and, over the years, in countless subjects
of interest and importance to me. Its very existence is reassuring
because it is always accessible. As a treasury of knowledge it is
limitless and priceless. A character in George Bernard Shaw's Caesar
and Cleopatra speaks of the great library in Alexandria as
the memory of mankind. The same can be said about The New York Public
Library.
Henry Grunwald, editor
The satisfaction and solace which the Library brings is one of the
oases of my world as an editor, writer, and publisher consumed by
current affairs. To arrive on a day when the Library is closed is
to feel cheated of one of the greatest treasures this city can offer,
its learning. We must keep our libraries open every hour of the
day we can to provide that refuge for thought for everyone.
Tina Brown, editor
They were renovating the Schomburg library. The doors were locked
but still lots of kids came after school let-out and sat on the
steps as if recalling a time when they were welcome there for an
after-school haven of safety and learning. Some of the kids wore
keys around their necks, their only other choice was to return to
an empty apartment. Others had to kill time until a parent picked
them up after work. On the corner I watched a feral drug dealer
-- he was waiting. Don’t lock our branch library doors -- not if
you care about what might become of kids. It could go either way.
Barbara Goldsmith, editor, historian, preservation activist
I met my husband of 40 years in the New York Public Library.
Marilyn
New York, NY
last update: 08-02-04
