National Library Week should probably be National Library Month

I discussed this year's National Library Month last week ("National Library Week, April 4th-10th, 2021").

Vartan Gregorian, the scholar who moved from academic administration to the Presidency of the New York City Public Library (technical it runs the system in Manhattan, Bronx, and Staten Island, while the Queens and Brooklyn library systems are independent), and revitalized it after a long period of decline, died last week ("Vartan Gregorian, Savior of the New York Public Library, Dies at 87," New York Times).  From the article:

... The library faced a $50 million deficit and had no political clout. Its constituencies were scholars, children and citizens who liked to read. The city had cut back so hard that the main branch was closed on Thursdays, and some branches were open only eight hours a week. 

To Dr. Gregorian, the challenge was irresistible. The library was, like him, a victim of insult and humiliation. The problem, as he saw it, was that the institution, headquartered in the magnificent Carrère and Hastings Beaux-Arts pile dedicated by President William Howard Taft in 1911, had come to be seen by New York City’s leaders, and even its citizens, as a dispensable frivolity.

He seemed a dubious savior: a short, pudgy scholar who had spent his entire professional life in academic circles. On the day he met the board, he was a half-hour late, and the trustees were talking about selling prized collections, cutting hours of service and closing some branches. He asked only for time, and offered in return a new vision. 

“The New York Public Library is a New York and national treasure,” he said. “The branch libraries have made lives and saved lives. The New York Public Library is not a luxury. It is an integral part of New York’s social fabric, its culture, its institutions, its media and its scholarly, artistic and ethnic communities. It deserves the city’s respect, appreciation and support. No, the library is not a cost center! It is an investment in the city’s past and future!”

He left that position to become president of Brown University, and later the president of the philanthropic organization, the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Bryant Park as spillover revitalization from the library.  The revitalization of the library system and the central library on Bryant Park also set the stage for the resuscitation of Bryant Park.  

I am very much delayed on reviewing the book by Andrew Manshel, Learning from Bryant Park: Revitalizing Cities, Towns, and Public Spaces, on that separate but related process.  Andrew Heiskell, a top official at Time Life, was involved in both.

All hasn't been smooth sailing since he left.  The Library's plans for changes at the central library caused advocates to push back ("Overdue Decision: The New York Public Library shelves a controversial renovation plan," City Journal), and the original plan was changed ("The New York Public Library Unveils Master Plan for Its Iconic Stephen A. Schwarzman Building," press release).

And the city needs to be pushed to maintain and increase funding ("In Win for Advocates, New York City Libraries Secure $33 Million Funding for FY20," Library Journal).

Library Street street sign, Braddock, Pennsylvania.  And a story about the former Mayor of Braddock, John Futterman in Politico ("The Democrats’ Giant Dilemma"), there was a photo of this hand painted sign for Library Street in that community.  

The sign was designed and painted by Anthony Purcell.

Institute for Humanities moving to New York Public Library.  In keeping with my point that libraries need to be repositioned in part as community cultural centers, New York City's Institute for the Humanities is moving to the main library, the 42nd Street branch, and will offer programming in association with the library's extant Center for Research in the Humanities ("A New York Intellectual Bastion Finds a New Home," New York Times).