| New York Society Library | |
|---|---|
.jpg) The New York Society Library building at 53 East 79th Street in Manhattan | |
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| 40°46′34.5″N73°57′41.4″W / 40.776250°N 73.961500°W /40.776250; -73.961500 | |
| Location | Upper East Side,Manhattan,New York,NY, United States |
| Type | Subscription library |
| Established | 1754; 272 years ago (1754) |
| Collection | |
| Items collected | Books, periodicals, audio recordings |
| Size | 300,000 |
| Access and use | |
| Circulation | approx. 68,131 (2016)[1] |
| Members | 2,937 (2018 Society Library Index) |
| Other information | |
| Budget | $3 million |
| Director | Carolyn Waters |
| Employees | 18 full-time, 10 part-time[2] |
| Website | www |
TheNew York Society Library (NYSL) is the oldest cultural institution inNew York City.[3] It was founded in 1754 by the New York Society as asubscription library.[4] During the time when New York was the capital of theUnited States, it was the de factoLibrary of Congress. Until the establishment of theNew York Public Library in 1895, it functioned as the city's library as well. It has been patronized by a wide variety of literary and political figures, fromGeorge Washington toWendy Wasserstein. Its special collections include books from the libraries ofJohn Winthrop andLorenzo Da Ponte.
Since 1937, the library has been housed in the formerJohn S. Rogers Mansion at 53 East 79th Street onManhattan'sUpper East Side, the fifth location in its history. The stoneRenaissance Revival building was one of the earliest recognized as aNew York City landmark in 1967, and it was further listed on theNational Register of Historic Places (as theJohn S. Rogers House) in 1983 in recognition of both its architecture and the library's historic role in the city.
The library's collection of 300,000 volumes includes audio recordings and periodicals, as well as books on a broad range of subjects. It is open for browsing and research by the general public; only members may borrow books or use the upper floors.[4] The library is anonprofit organization supported primarily by its membership fees andendowment.
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In 1754, six residents of New York City, which was then located primarily on what is nowLower Manhattan, formed the New York Society. At the time, the city did not have a library, and the New York Society believed that such an institution would be useful to the community. They convincedColonial GovernorJames DeLancey to let them use a room inthe original City Hall, atWall andBroad streets, for that purpose. In 1772, the Society received acharter fromKing George III.[5][6]
During theRevolutionary War, New York was occupied by theBritish Army. The library's small collection suffered from extensive looting. Soldiers tore book paper up to makewadding for theirmuskets, or sold the books forrum. Afterindependence was achieved in 1783, theNew York State Legislature recognized the library's charter. During that time,Congress was meeting in the building in New York City.[7]
The NYSL effectively served as the firstLibrary of Congress for two years, and its records show borrowings byGeorge Washington,John Adams, andAlexander Hamilton, among other early American notables from that time.[5][6] Washington is believed to have failed to return two books due in 1789; the library has announced that it plans to waive the $300,000 fine but is still seeking the return of the books.[8]
After Congress moved out, the library built its collection back up again to 5,000 volumes and moved to its own building onNassau Street. It continued to grow in membership and volumes, remaining there through 1840, when it joined the New York Atheneum atLeonard Street andBroadway. Among the visitors recorded at that location wereHenry David Thoreau andJohn James Audubon.[5][6]Edgar Allan Poe andRalph Waldo Emerson lectured there.[3]
Like othersubscription libraries at the time, members paid a membership fee to access the collection. A board of trustees was elected which hired the librarians, chose materials for the collection and drafted and enforced regulations for library use.[9] The nature of the collection represented the ideals of the library and contained works of a great variety. Although Christian theological texts were included, so was theKoran and books on Catholic saints and popes. There was a variety of natural philosophy texts alongside works byShakespeare.[9] Resources were also available for a variety of vocational purposes, including manuals for merchants and farmers.
By 1856, the collection had reached 35,000 and it was once again time for the library to move. A larger building for its exclusive use was erected at 109 University Place,[a] reflecting the city's continuing northerly expansion.Herman Melville andWilla Cather were among the visitors to that location.[5][6] It had a double-height centralreading room and shelf space for 100,000 books.[3] This building would serve the NYSL for 81 years.
In 1937, with the collection having grown to 150,000 volumes, the library moved to its present location at 53 East 79th Street, on theUpper East Side betweenMadison andPark avenues. It was thanks to a generous donation from the Goodhue family that enabled the purchase of the building,[10] which was a mansion built just 20 years earlier. Notable patrons at the present location have ranged fromW. H. Auden andLillian Hellman in the early years toDavid Halberstam andWendy Wasserstein more recently.[5][6]
John S. Rogers House | |
 53 East 79th Street | |
    | |
| Location | 53 E. 79th St.,Manhattan, New York |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 40°46′34″N73°57′43″W / 40.77611°N 73.96194°W /40.77611; -73.96194 (John S. Rogers House) |
| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1917 (1917) |
| Architect | Trowbridge & Livingston |
| Architectural style | Late 19th And 20th Century Revivals, neo-Italian Renaissance |
| NRHP reference No. | 83001744[11] |
| NYCL No. | 0427 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | June 30, 1983 |
| Designated NYCL | February 15, 1967 |
Trowbridge & Livingston designed the house at 53 East 79th Street for the John S. Rogers family in 1917, in the firm's later years. Most of their buildings in the city were commercial, such as theB. Altman and Company Building and theSt. Regis Hotel onFifth Avenue, and the east wing of theAmerican Museum of Natural History. The John S. Rogers House is considered a prime example of their residential work.[6]
The library is housed in a five-story, three-bay building faced inlimestone. The main entrance at street level, behind a longawning, is flanked by twoDoricpilasters supporting a horizontal lintel, set inrusticated stone. Above that story is a full-widthbalustrade.[6]
On the upper stories the stone is laid in anashlar pattern withquoins at the corners. The second story windows are double glass doors topped withcarvedbracketedpediments (rounded in the center). Beltcourses at sill level divide the stories. Above the fifth story the roofline is marked by afrieze andcornice topped by another balustrade. Behind it is a smallterrace sheltered by a wide overhang. An end chimney rises from thegabled tile roof.[6]
The interior was extensively modified for the library in 1937. Much of this effort was focused on the rear; when it was completed, 39 rooms had been combined into 24. Original treatments remain, such as thecoffered ceilings, stone walls and arched entryways on the first and second floors. The wood paneling andmantels in thecard catalog room, second floor lounge and director's office is also original.[6]Architectural historianHenry Hope Reed Jr. has described the main stairs as "the only [ones] in New York fit for acardinal".[3]
Members pay an annual fee of $350 for a family, $335 for a couple, $270 for an individual to gain borrowing privileges and access to the upper floors, with two closed stacks,[12] a members' lounge and exhibit hall.[3] There's also a $100 e-membership which includes access to the digital collection and 10 building visits a year.[13] Those fees and the library'sendowment support a staff of 18full-time and 10part-time employees and headed by director Carolyn Waters.[2] The library acquires an average of 4,000 new volumes every year[14] and subscribes to approximately 100 periodicals.[15]
The collection also includes a children's library and 10,000 volumes in its special collections. Foremost among these latter are 290 books from the personal library kept byPuritan settlerJohn Winthrop and his descendants.[16] Another significant collection are theItalian-language books kept byMozart'slibrettistLorenzo Da Ponte, who spent his last years in New York. He started an Italian Library Society in 1827 under the New York Society's auspices, to supplement his courses atColumbia, the first college courses in that language in the United States. Those 600 volumes made up a large share of the library's 1838 catalog, and are today separately organized as the Da Ponte collection.[17]
Head librarians have included:[18]
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