Entrance to the Donnell Library
The New York Times is reporting that the Donnell Library branch (part of the NYPL) is closing at the end of this week.
The Donnell Library branch is special to me because it was the library that I went to first when I had to do research for various topics during middle school and high school (and some college too). While there was always the bigger Mid-Manhattan Library branch nearby, the Donnell Library was always just a bit more relaxed to be in for several hours at a time.
After 52 years as one of the most heavily used branches of the New York Public Library system, the Donnell Library Center on West 53rd Street will mostly close at the end of this week. A small circulating collection will remain open, in the basement, through the end of August. Then the building will be razed to make way for an 11-story hotel. When the $220 million hotel opens, sometime around 2011, a new Donnell will occupy part of the first floor and an underground area, coexisting with hotel guests paying $750 to $2,000 per night for a room.
The move will relocate and distribute the Donnell Library collection to various branches within the New York Public Library system, which really sucks because suddenly all of the material that you might want/need is all over the city.
At least one Flickr user has some photos of the empty bookshelves lining the inside.
Man, that’s just sad. :(
that is sad! this is the library i always visited when i was working on 55th & 6th.
Oh weird, I went in there a few weeks ago. Just happened to pass by. Yeah, LOTS of empty shelves!
Kinda sad, but kinda exciting. It is always sad to see a piece of history flitting away. But really. The building is in decay, and beyond repair. And for all of the thousands of people who have mourned its departure…where have you been? You haven’t been here at Donnell, that’s for sure. Not in a long, long time.
In its place will be a new library. A cutting edge library that is relevant to its community. Comfortable, safe, bright, and functioning. Until then? There will be a temporary site opening up in the neighborhood. And there are lots of other branches (90 to be exact) Winnie the Pooh has moved to a much more visible and exciting home at 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue, where soon there will be a children’s room and a teen center.
Change is hard. Letting go of a piece of our past is hard. But is also thrilling. There is so much potential, and I am excited to see NYPL trying some cool new things.
Jason you are an imbecile. There isn’t going to be any replacement library at Donnell, don’t you get it? The whole thing was a Madoff type scam. There wasn’t anything wrong with the building except the trustees decided to sell it to their friends for far less that what it was worth as real estate, forget about as a freaking library. You jack ass! And if you don’t believe me that there’s not going to be another library there, EVER, do me a favor and hold your breath until 2011 and tell me what you see there when it’s time to breathe.
Jason, either you are the biggest douche in the world or you work for the pr dept of the NYPL.