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Article: Bookshelves of the vanities; Tom Wolfe, Jackie O. and other literati lavishly raise millions for the New York Public Library. So why don't they care that the neighborhood branches are dying?
- Article from:
- The Washington Monthly
- Article date:
- June 1, 1991
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1991 Washington Monthly Company. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Tom Wolfe, Jackie O, and other literati lavishly raise millions for the New York Public Library. So why don't they care that the neighborhood branches are dying? his winter, a New Yorker writer paid a visit to the modest St. Agnes branch of the New York Public Library (NYPL) and found the demise of Western civilization reflected in its ugly, modem door. This portal of knowledge on West 8 1 st was soon to be closed on Saturdays, a casualty of New York City's budget crisis. As the writer sat "elbow on the table, chin in hand," it seemed only a matter of time before erudite tears would begin to flow.
The New York Public Library, that redoubtable emblem of Manhattan ...