About
This page features books and articles that describe the contents in each collection at 42nd Street Library as they have developed over time. These sources are valuable for anyone who want to know where the Library's materials originated from, how they were collected and organized, and the myriad of ways the Library's materials have been made available to the public.
Classifying Collections
The Library's classification systems have their own fascinating histories which provide another entry point to exploring the history of the institution as a whole. The research collections at NYPL have been categorized in three distinct ways: Billings (1890), Fixed Order (1956), and Library of Congress (2006). The accompanying texts provide overview histories of the three categorization systems at NYPL and can be found using the Research Catalog.
- Rules for Filing Cards in the Dictionary Catalogues of the Reference Department.
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Published: 1931
Call number: *HND (NYPL) p.v. 2 - Memorandum of Classification in the New York Public Library by J.S. BillingsBook: Classification schedules for printed, microcopy and phonorecord materials in the Reference department, 1955.
Call Number: JFE 90-7439 - The Classification Schemes of The Research Libraries of The New York Public Library by Karen M. HsuJournal: Cataloging & classification quarterly, 1995
Call Number: JFL 94-143 - "Library Makes a Change for the Clearer." The New York Times (Aug 17, 2006): E1This article discusses the move from fixed order to the Library of Congress classification system.
- “Talk of the Town: Nine Million Cards.” The New Yorker 44 (June 22, 1968): 21–22.An interview with the Chief of the Research Libraries about the metamorphosis of the card catalog.
Historic Library Handbooks
Staff prepared these booklets as introductions or handbooks for patrons learning to use the Library's collections. Below, you'll find a century of research advice!
Central Building Guide- This link opens in a new window
Call Number: *HND (NYPL) (New York Public Library. Central building guide)Publication Date: 1915Do you want to discover how the Library operated on the first day? This book was created to introduce researchers to the "Central Building" in its early years of operation. It includes a floor-by-floor summary of the 42nd Street Library's rooms, descriptions of the officers and central building employees, and rules.
Handbook of the New York Public Library.- This link opens in a new window
Call Number: *HND (New York Public Library. (1895-). Handbook) copy 1Publication Date: 1916 (first edition), 1921 (second edition)In June 1916, the New York Public Library printed 25,000 copies of the inaugural edition of the Handbook to assist users in utilizing our collections. This was revised and shared in a new edition in 1921.
Books, Please! The New York Public Library in 1936.- This link opens in a new window
Call Number: *HND (NYPL) p.v. 23Publication Date: 1937A 1936 guide to the 42nd Street Library about ways one might use the collections to explore personal interests. It is one example of annual publications released in the 1930s and 1940s to share information about the Library with the public. See others - including "Sixteen million books" (1935), "No More Books" (1938), and "Books, Front & Center" (1942) - which are available in the catalog and digitally via HathiTrust.
The Library by Call Number: F-10 387 no. 1-9Publication Date: 1956This brief introduction to the Library's resources, which first appeared in The New Yorker on January 27, 1940, is helpful for its images and discussion of reference problems handled by librarians during the 1940s and 1950s.
Search & Research : the Collections and Uses of the New York Public Library at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street by Call Number: *R-RMRR Z733.N63 .Z5 1961Publication Date: 1961Zinsser lucidly analyzes the different collections housed in the building, some of its remarkable holdings, and its role as a significant cultural and scholarly resource in American life, referring to the Library as "a classical white marble temple, incongruous amid the drab skyscrapers at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street."
Beyond the Lions : a Guide to the Libraries of the New York Public Library / [Prepared by the Staff of the New York Public Library]- This link opens in a new window
Call Number: Z733.N63 N427Publication Date: 1980-01-01Staff at the New York Public Library developed this brief, colorful introduction to visiting the 42nd Street Library in 1980.
User's Guide / the Research Libraries of the New York Public Library.Call Number: JFE 09-741Publication Date: 1989A guide prepared for users of the 42nd Street Library with information about how to navigate the collections, descriptions of Library divisions, and instructions for using both the card catalog and online catalog.
Collection Histories
A Guide to the Reference Collections of the New York Public Library by Call Number: *R-RMRR Z733.N6 .R4 1941ISBN: 9781528392204Publication Date: 1941A guide, index, or handbook to the Library's Reference Department's collections, including remarks on certain of the Circulation Department's collections.
Guide to the Research Collections of the New York Public Library by - This link opens in a new window
Call Number: *R-RMRR Z733.N6 W54 1975Publication Date: 1975-12-01As a replacement for the earlier version, this guide included a complete history of the materials in each collection at the time (where they came from, how they were acquired, and other details).
Dictionary Catalog of the Research Libraries of the New York Public Library, 1911-1971. ( by - This link opens in a new window
Call Number: Pub. Cat. v. 1-800Publication Date: 1979The preface to these 800 printed volumes (available only in volume one) covers the nature and layout of the catalog and its history, with the latter focused on the Astor Library's beginnings and precursors. The Bill Blass Public Catalog Room and the Rose Main Reading Room have copies.
"'A Coral Island'; A Century of Collection Development in The Research Libraries of The New York Public Library, by Call Number: *R - *HND (N.Y.P.L.) 96-1199Publication Date: 1995This piece was published in a special edition of Biblion (Spring 1995, no.2), which also included several other articles regarding the Library's history. See the Phyllis Dain papers in the New York Public Library Archives for more on Phyllis Dain and her work documenting the Library's history.
Divisional Histories
In the Library's Research Centers, divisions house materials focusing on specific subject areas. These sources are centered on particular materials at the Library and how they've evolved over time:
Brothers: The Origins of the Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature by Call Number: JFE 85-2885ISBN: 0871042819.Publication Date: 1985-01-01This book is a biographical tribute to two brothers and philanthropists, Dr. Henry W. and Dr. Albert A. Berg, who established the Library's Berg Collection of English and American Literature, and a description of their original collection.
The Carl H. Pforzheimer Collection of Shelley and His Circle by Call Number: Pub. Cat. PR5433 .W34 1996ISBN: 0871044439Publication Date: 1996-07-01The Collection of Shelley and His Circle at the New York Public Library is one of the world's foremost repositories for studying English Romanticism. This illustrated volume includes a brief history of Shelley's life and writings, biographical biographies of the persons in his circle, descriptions of the collection's origins, and an informal inventory of its items.
The Color of a Flea's Eye: the Picture Collection by Call Number: JQG 21-658Publication Date: 2020-12-01The Color of a Flea's Eye by Taryn Simon is a history of the New York Public Library's Picture Collection, a legendary collection of over one million prints, pictures, postcards, posters, and images from obsolete books and periodicals.
Rarity Revealed: The Benjamin K. Miller Collection by Call Number: Pub. Cat. HE6207.M55 T74 c.2ISBN: 9781891568060Publication Date: 2006The Benjamin K. Miller Collection of U. S. Postage Stamps, regarded as one of the world's finest collections of United States stamps, has been housed at The New York Public Library for over 80 years. Rarity Revealed explores the tale of Benjamin K. Miller and his famed collection for the first time. The New York Times published a story in 1977 on the search for the stamp collection's theft.Slavic and Baltic Library Resources at the New York Public Library by
Call Number: Pub. Cat. Z2483 .N59 1994ISBN: 0871044382Publication Date: 1994-11-01This brief guide to The New York Public Library's Slavic and Baltic Division's collections, access tools, patron services, and organizational structure gives a historical overview of the collection's history.
Words on Pictures by Call Number: JQE 20-70ISBN: 9781734640908Publication Date: 2020-12-07The Picture Collection provided free circulation of prints, pictures, postcards, and other clippings to artists, illustrators, advertisers, and business people during the pre-digital period, the age of mechanical reproduction. It was essentially the Google Images of its day. The tale of the Picture Collection is also the story of Romana Javitz (1903-1980), the Picture Collection's director from 1929 to 1968. Words on Pictures includes previously unpublished articles and interviews by Javitz that illustrate her extraordinary knowledge of the societal influence of print and film media, particularly photography and cinema.
