Libraries,  Literary

The New York Public Library Turns 125!

New York Public Library
Photo by Ran Ding on Unsplash

The New York Public Library Turns 125 This Year!

The header photo is of the Main Reading Room at the New York Public Library. Isn’t it a gorgeous room? Look at all the beautiful details in the ceiling, the walls, and the lamps! What a lovely place to read and study!

The Library’s website is also celebrating the anniversary:

The Library’s 125th anniversary is a moment to honor and reaffirm the enduring power of libraries. Our values of trust, respect, and free and open access to knowledge and opportunity are as essential today as ever before.

This magnificent library is celebrating the anniversary in many ways, including announcing the Top Ten checkouts of all time!

The Most Checked-Out Books Of All Time

And the all-time most checked-out book is . . . The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats!

The Snowy Day
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

This charming book is a landmark in children’s literature. The 1963 Caldecott Medal winner has a universal appeal with a child’s experiences of the wonders of the first snowy day of the year. It was groundbreaking because the main protagonist in the story is African-American.

Many of the top 10 books are children’s books, but there is one obvious exclusion: Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown. The library does give it an honorable mention, but why it didn’t make the top 10 list is explained here:

How One Librarian Tried to Squash Goodnight Moon

Check out the other most checked-out books at NYPL and other events at the library here.

Here’s a video by CBS News about it here:

If you enjoyed this post, please read about the New York Public Library lions turning 100 years old!

Thank you for reading The Literary Lioness!

I love books, writing, film, and television.

2 Comments

  • Dee | Grammy's Grid

    Interesting!! I pinned this! Thanks so much for linking up with me at my #UnlimitedMonthlyLinkParty 8, this party will be open until January 26.

    My themed party 9 for All Things Crochet is open until January 25 if you have any appropriate posts.

    I would love to have you join me at my short story prompt party February 2 to 9 for fun and creativity. Just start typing and see what you come up with. Remember, no story is too short! The prompt is: The sun was shining brightly but then…

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