The renovated Rose Main Reading Room inside the New York Public Library Main Branch, New York City
The renovated Rose Main Reading Room inside the New York Public Library Main Branch, New York City (© Sascha Kilmer/Getty Images)
So many books, so little time
May 23, 2021, marks the 110th anniversary of the opening of the New York Public Library’s Main Branch (now known as The Stephen A. Schwarzman Building). Back then just before the turn of the 20th century, a group of New York City businessmen decided that if their hometown was ever going to compete with Paris and London as a center of urban culture, then it needed a great library.
© Sascha Kilmer/Getty Images