Children’s Collection Returns to NYPL’s 42nd Street Library
By SLJ Staff -- School Library Journal, 11/25/2008
The New York Public Library’s 42nd Street branch is about to see a lot more kids walking through its doors. After a nearly 40 year absence, the Humanities and Social Sciences Library in midtown Manhattan will be home to a circulating collection for children.
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The New Children's Center at 42nd Street. |
“Having kids in this historic library is simply wonderful,” says Library President Paul LeClerc. “We feel certain that youngsters who begin using libraries under the watchful gaze of our Lions Patience and Fortitude will be inspired to a lifetime of reading and pursuit of knowledge.”
When the New York Public Library opened in 1911, it had a special room for children with their own collection of books, librarians to help them, and pint-sized furniture. But those materials were eventually moved to other locations in the library system. Now the new Children’s Center returns to the library’s earlier tradition, but with the addition of state-of-the art technology and other advancements.
Children will enjoy the new Children’s Center’s colorful bean bags, plush couches; stuffed animals, and a bright green circulation desk. Large windows run the length of the room creating a bright and cheery space that highlights a specially commissioned mural by artist Susy Pilgrim Waters.
There’s also an open programming space and a cozy reading area for children and families that will also serve as an exhibition space for special displays. And for those tech-savvy kids, there’s a flat screen cable television with gaming equipment, eight computer stations, a printer, and wireless Internet access.
Of course, the center’s walls are lined with picture books, story books, novels, musical CDs, audio books, video games, and DVDs that have been moved from their previous home in the Central Children’s Room at the Donnell Library Center.
The Donnell Library Center closed in August and will be replaced with a new state-of-the-art library, which will be housed in the same building as the Orient Express Hotels. The original Winnie-the-Pooh and friends have moved to the 42nd Street library as well and will return to its permanent display in the near future.
