Writer Edmund Morris, historian David Nasaw, social science expert Joan W. Scott and Princeton professor Stanley N. Katz have sued the New York Public Library.
They hope to thwart the institution’s plan to move the inaccessible book stacks out of the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building site and replace these stacks with circulating books. The New York Times had a statement from the library:
The renovation of the 42nd Street library will improve service for scholars, preserve the library’s collections for future generations and provide a state-of-the art circulating and business library. The library is working with all relevant state and city agencies, and we will let the outcome of this legal action — which we have not yet reviewed — speak for itself.
In the complaint, the plaintiffs raised concerns that the central library location will no longer be able to serve its patrons as a top research facility.
What do you think of the library’s plan?