"Our Centennial exhibition, which opens May 14, celebrates the depth and breadth of The New York Public Library’s collections, which now contain more than 50 million items. Library curators have always been guided by the philosophy that all knowledge is worth preserving, and over the past century, NYPL has radically expanded its holdings.
The exhibition includes highlights from the Library’s diverse collections, including a Gutenberg Bible, a Tale of Genji scroll, a handwritten manuscript by Jorge Luis Borges, one of Malcolm X’s journals, costume designs for the Ballets Russes — even Virginia Woolf’s walking stick. Many of the items on display are of obvious historical value, while others — dance cards, a board game, and a dime novel — may confound. Still others, such as a copy of Mein Kampf, may disturb. As Edwin Hatfield Anderson, director of the Library from 1913 to 1934, boldly stated, “If the devil himself wrote a book, we’d want it in the Library.”"
ALSO
