What belongs in a libary? And of those things, which are the most significant? A recent exhibit at the New York Public Library makes me wonder.

“If the devil himself wrote a book, we’d want it in the Library.” So said Edwin Hatfield Anderson, director of the New York Public Library from 1913-1934. He took the reins when the landmark library building with the lions out in front was still brand new. Though John Jacob Astor left money to establish a public research library in 1848, it was not until 1895 that Astor’s library combined with other trust libraries to create a central public library in New York. And then it took them years to build a structure big enough to hold all the books. (more…)