New York Public Library - Some Facts and Figures

Posted by Krypton in Library, New York, NYPL

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Earlier this morning, i bumped into a web page regarding digital library. It was huge collection of local language books and papers. So, further drilling down the cyber stream, I came across some libraries which are the world largest. Thought of starting with NYPL (New York Public Library) first.

Established in 1895, it now has 87 branches. It has got the 20,402,004 books (51,274,648 items) collection :-$ 3,147 people contribute the man hours to the non-governmental library. Budget of $50,171,798 is needed to run this huge library. Due to depression in America, the budget this year has been cut off slightly which caused a bit of shackles in management to lay off some employees. This library has always been run by City government with the partnership of philanthropists and not with government budget. About its history Wikipedia mentions something like this,

An early benefactor of the New York Public Library was New York governor and presidential candidate Samuel J. Tilden, who left the bulk of his fortune—about $2.4 million—to "establish and maintain a free library and reading room in the city of New York." At the time of Tilden's death in 1886, New York already had two important libraries: the Astor Library and the Lenox Library.

By 1892, both the Astor and Lenox libraries were experiencing financial difficulties. Almost as if fate would have it, John Bigelow, a New York attorney, and Tilden trustee, formulated a plan to combine the resources of the financially-strapped Astor and Lenox libraries with the Tilden bequest to form "The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations". Bigelow's plan, signed and agreed upon on May 23, 1895, was hailed as an example of private philanthropy for the public good.

Library also has call center 917-ASK-NYPL which is active 24/7. Calls can only be entertained on week days only. But emails and chats can be entertained anytime , any day. In 2007, they have entertained 70,000 calls. They often entertain calls after every 10 seconds :-)

According to New York Times article on NYPL recently,

MOST FAITHFUL CUSTOMER: Norbert Pearlroth, the head researcher for “Ripley's Believe It or Not,” visited the library almost daily. Although he wrote about the incredible, his own routine was anything but: He sat at the same table for 52 years, from 1923 to 1975.

MENU, PLEASE: The library has 40,000 restaurant menus, the world's largest collection, dating from the 1850s to the present. It is heavily used by chefs, novelists and researchers; a few years ago, a marine biologist consulted menus from the early 1900s for a study of fish populations.

Read out some more interesting figures on NY Times