New York Public Library II - Rose Reading Room

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American Dreams of Having One of My Stories on the Shelves

By Norma Jaeger Hopcraft

You know that I'm passionate about the Map Room, but I decided to try something new today. I'm in the Rose Main Reading Room on the third floor. It's one of the largest uninterrupted interior spaces in the city--almost as long as a football field. 

Three kinds of heads, including a sleepyhead, at my table.

The people behind me to one side.

The people behind me to the other side. Past the glare of the windows, you can see skyscrapers lurking on the edges of Bryant Park, behind the library.

The fantastic ceiling, and most important, the cutie directly across from me. When my flash went off inadvertently, he scowled, I said sorry, and he didn't rip the camera from my hand. A nice New Yorker!

Each spot at the big tables is numbered. The catalog says there's room for 636 readers, but obviously that's not true. You can see the laptop that's responsible for this blog. 

Two people talking quietly. It's quite quiet in here. You can work but feel like you have company.

Dreams of Being Published at New York Public Library

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American Dreams in an Auspicious Place

By Norma Jaeger Hopcraft

On a recent visit to the New York Public Library, I approached it by walking on East 41st Street, which is NYC's answer to the Hollywood Walk of Stars. Many plaques with quotes from great writers are embedded in the sidewalk. This is my favorite, the one I'm keeping in mind while I write a book about my journey around America (see blog posts from September 2011 - February 2012).

This is by Virginia Woolf. If you haven't read her, please do! Especially "Mrs. Dalloway."

Here it is!

Not too shabby for a front door, no?

A cafe under one of the staircases. On the walls of the gift shop, people wrote the names of the books they were currently reading:

Excellent book!

Love the title! I want to read it. Also on the walls, sayings:

Then I went into the Map Room because it's beautiful, it has free wifi, and it's a great place to work.

It's actually "The Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division." Step inside and look up.

Pretty fabulous, huh?

Look at the corners, where all the patterns come together.

A detail of the ceiling above one of the windows.

But the Map Room doesn't take itself too seriously.  Among its collection of priceless maps are these -- a child's globe and a bouncing rubber ball.

See why I like to be here? The world at your fingertips…

Do you ever go the New York Public Library? Or your town library? What's your favorite place to sit? Comment below, and tell a friend about this blog!