Prologue
HUFFINGTON
09.23.12
data
GOOGLE EARTH 3D MODEL (NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY)
New York’s
Literary
Jewel Box
The New York Public Library’s Schwarzman
Building, sandwiched between the lions on
5th Avenue and Bryant Park, sits on a deep
pit of knowledge. The stacks beneath the
library hold three million volumes. Under a
plan designed to push New York’s last temple
to the analogue into the present, these books
could find themselves stored in New Jersey.
The renovation, which would see the library
circulating more books, has sparked a debate
between those charged with charting the
library’s future and traditionalists eager to
preserve an inspirational building.
The common ground in the debate is
reverence for the library’s lasting role in
American letters. Huffington has compiled
a sample of books for which the library has
served as muse or research assistant.
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