414 stories from The New York Public Library
The end of the year frequently inspires introspective comparison of one’s ambitions against one’s accomplishments and increased (if temporary) resolve to close the distance betwe…
Like many who spent their early childhood in those years before home video technology (VCRs, DVDs, Netflix, etc.) became ubquitous, I have fond memories of watching the annual television bro…
In the late 1800s Harvey Wilcox and his wife Daeida purchased 160 acres in the rolling California hills for a housing subdivision. They called it Hollywood. In 1911 the first filmm…
Perhaps you have heard of real-time captioning, or CART (Communication Access Realtime Transcription), as it is often called. This is the provision of captions to accompany a presentation or…
A Guest Blog by Project Co-Director, William Everett
Orientalism and propaganda were common themes in American musical theater and popular song during the years surrounding World War I. Rev…
The photographs that you see here were taken on a tour of the Bridgeport, CT Columbia Records factory in 1946. They provide a fascinating look at how music was reproduced in those days. The …
A few weeks ago, the news broke that NYPL's Jerome Robbins Dance Division had received a major gift of materials from Mikhail Baryshnikov,* the celebrated dancer, actor, and founde…
A Guest Blog by Project Co-Director, William Everett
The German-born composer Gustav Luders (1865-1913) was firmly established in the U.S. when he teamed with librettist-lyricist Frank Pixle…
I needed a couple of extra archival boxes a few weeks ago, so I went over to a building where the Library keeps materials that do not fit in the main storage areas. While I was there…
On October 22, “Wikipedia! The Musical!” was staged at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Despite its whimsical name, it was not really a musical but an editath…
This last week of October, 2011 is Magic Week. Perhaps it's a good time to tell this true story about how I found a life at The New York Public Library:
In the spring of 1923, my grandfathe…
Most New Yorkers, when asked to name NYC landmarks, will conjure up the familiar array of iconographic symbols that make up our city: the Statue Liberty, the Empire State Building, Times Squ…
Boris Karloff, who will be paid tribute to in a Thursday, October 27 program at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, played Frankenstein’s Monster in three films, the f…
Joseph Papp conceived of a marathon at the Public Theater of every one of Shakespeare’s plays, in the order in which they were written. This began under Papp in 1988 and was continued …
The text of the next Musical of the Month will be released around the middle of October. However, to tide you over until then, I have several exciting announcements.
First, we can now offic…
This fall from October 18 - November 20, 2011, the Public Theater will be presenting a new production of what many consider Shakespeare’s greatest tragedy, regal, emotionally powe…
A second blog post from guest blogger Tracey Chessum:
Here’s a question: If John Philip Sousa wrote at least 10 comic operas, most of which were well received not only on Broadway but …
Nicholas II with the Second Pacific Ocean Squadron
on board the battleship "Prince Suvorov" in Libava in 1904. This photo from the Digital Gallery shows Tsar Nicholas II paying a r…
Those who take an interest in patents will have heard by now; the U.S. has a new patent law, the "Leahy-Smith America Invents Act." It's too early to tell whether the changes that …
And she proceeded to burn perfume...,Gulnare of the sea,
Digital ID 1704102, New York Public LibraryFrom ghost-hunting reality-TV shows to feature films like The Hereafter, the paranormal ha…
On Wednesday September 14th, over 200 patrons came into New Dorp Library to visit our Art Gallery!
Children, Teens and Adults had a blast as they walked around our Community Room exploring…
There's lots of English conversation activity around NYPL this week! Participants are signing up for the We Are New York English conversation programs in several library branches, and r…
We hereby announce a new blog series When They Trod the Boards, designed to highlight notable film or television actors who have a substantial background in stage work as documented in the c…
In 1831, Omar ibn Said, a Senegalese trader and Qur'anic teacher enslaved in North Carolina, wrote his autobiography in Arabic. It is the only known surviving slave narrative written in that…
Thanks for joining us for this month's edition of the Reader's Den! We have a special treat for followers of the Reader's Den... a live appearance by Michael Scott Moore, author of "Swe…
