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Hey, it's National Library Week!

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

National Library Week has been celebrated annually since April 1958 as a means of encouraging books and reading in an increasingly technological age.  The NYSL is known for its undying relationship to our print collection, and as such, I have listed some recommended readings in honor of National Library Week.

The Public Library: a Photographic Essay by Robert Dawson, described by Toni Morrison as “heartbreakingly beautiful,” is a compilation of original photographs and reflective essays.  Dawson’s photographs evoke varying ideas surrounding the influence of culture, economy, politics, and geography on the development of public libraries across the United States. Essay contributors include Amy Tan and Barbara Kingsolver, among others.  Dawson’s son, Walker Dawson, aided his father in their photographing missions and concludes The Public Library with a brief essay on the information and the resources which guided their library road trips. 


 

 

Thomas Glynn’s Reading Publics: New York City’s Public Libraries, 1754-1911 chronicles the rise of NYC libraries and the socio-political factors which shaped them.  The first chapter covers the evolution of the NYSL from its founding until the mid-19th century. Members will appreciate Glynn’s explication on the notion of a private institution as “inherently public in character” within period-specific context. Subsequent chapters discuss the development of the Apprentices’ Library, the New-York Historical Society, the American Bible Society, and the New York Public Library.  This is definitely a must-read for students of library science, librarians, and library-lovers alike. 


 

Another must-read is Institutions of Reading: The Social Life of Libraries in the United States edited by Kenneth Carpenter and Thomas Augst.  Institutions of Reading is a collection of scholarly essays which speak to the centrality of the library in American communities.  The various essays deal with the intellectual and cultural histories of reading practices, biblio-related phenomena, and questions of democratic access.  Noteworthy are essays by Elizabeth McHenry, Barbara A. Mitchell, and Elizabeth Amann, which respectively examine the Phoenix Society (a literary society formed in 1833 for black Americans formed), female librarians and cataloging in Boston libraries in the late 19th century, and the Hispanic Society of America (founded in 1904).  The final essay discusses the implications of our digital epoch on library services.  Library Journal declares Institutions of Reading “an important addition to American studies and library history collections.”


 

One of NYSL’s newest acquisitions is Improbable Libraries: A Visual Journey to the World’s Most Unusual Libraries by Alex Johnson.  In his introduction, Johnson writes “the reports of the imminent death of the library as a physical entity seem to have been greatly exaggerated.” The libraries depicted in his book convey his contention.  As you flip through it, you’ll find yourself in awe of local efforts to uphold intellectual freedom, laughing out loud at the chapter on animal libraries, and adding a multitude of library visits to your bucket list. Look out for Improbable Libraries debuting in the Circulation Hall in the next couple of weeks.


And from the Children’s Library, Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein


Kyle is a kid who loves games, any kind of game, thus he is thrilled to score the opportunity to explore the newly renovated library in his hometown during an exclusive sleepover. Kyle is in for the game of his life as his greatest idol, gamemaster Luigi Lemoncello, challenges the lucky kids to solve puzzle after puzzle in order to find their way out of the library. The stress of this situation is broken up with plenty of laughs. This is the perfect book to draw kids into the magic of the library while promoting its popularity in our modern age.  
-Susan Vincent Molinaro, Children's and Interlibrary Loan Librarian 

Do any of these books catch your eye?  If so, let us know in the comments field below! 

Happy National Library Week!

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