Opening Day at the 42nd Street Library
The 42nd Street Library was inaugurated with a dedication by President William Howard Taft in front of 15,000 people on May 23rd, 1911. It wasn't until the following day, May 24, that the Library opened to the public, and stayed open for 13 hours, 9:00 am to 10 pm, welcoming more than 50,000 visitors. At the time, the building - which took 16 years to design and complete - was the largest marble building in the U.S.
The First Book Request
The first book requested from the main stacks was Delia Bacon's Philosophy of the Plays of Shakespeare Unfolded. The book, much to the staff's chagrin, was not in the catalog and a staff member donated the book two days afterward. Fifty years later it was discovered that the interchange had been a setup; the staff member had hoped to generate publicity for the book. The first book to successfully be delivered from the main stacks, a speedy seven minutes after the call slip was deposited, was Nravstvennye idealy nashego vremeni (Moral ideas of our time: Friedrich Nietzsche and Leo Tolstoy) by Nikolai I. Grot.
Image source: "LIBRARY TRICKED ON FIRST REQUEST" New York Times (1923-), May 26, 1961 via New York Times (1851-2017) w/ Index
Readings About Opening Day
- Proceedings at the Opening of the New Library Building, May 23, 1911.
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This book, published by the New York Public Library in 1911, details the Library's opening day, including ceremonial procedures, photos, and speaker transcripts. - Ceremonies on Laying Its Corner-stone. MDCCCCII.Before opening day, the Library held a ceremony to commemorate laying its corner-stone in 1902.
- Our First Reader: David Shub and His Time in Biblion, Volume 3, No. 2This article offers a scintillating look at the life and times of David Shub: the Library patron who requested the first book to be delivered from the main stacks.
Carrère & Hastings
Carrère and Hastings, Architects by Call Number: IRH 07-1827Publication Date: 2006Carrère and Hastings, the firm of John Merven Carrère and Thomas Hastings, was one of the outstanding American Beaux-Arts architecture firms. The firm rose to national prominence by winning the competition for the New York Public Library in 1897. This book takes a close look at records related to architects, including a catalog of Carrère & Hastings's work, a roster of the firm's personnel, a complete bibliography, over 800 duotone photos, and nine gatefold plates.
Open Before May 1911?
Opening Day in fact was the second time the public was invited to the Library. The first event was in March of 1911 when a wake was held in the third floor Rotunda for John Carrère who had passed away following a taxi cab accident. This is detailed in the New York Times article below:
- 2,000 View Body Of John M. Carrère: Prominent Men And Women In Throng That Passes Coffin In New Public Library RotundaNew York Times Mar 04, 1911, via Proquest's New York Times (1851-2017) w/ Index
Hon. John Bigelow arriving at the opening of Central Building from Digital Collections
From the "New York City — New York Public Library" Folder in the Picture Collection
From the "New York City — New York Public Library" Folder in the Picture Collection