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The General Society Library With deep sorrow, the Small Press Center notes the death of former librarian and SPC Board Member, Eric Graeber. Eric, who suffered from cancer for the past two-and-a-half years, passed away on Tuesday, September 2, 2003. He was 51 years old. Eric worked with great dedication for the General Society Library for 22 years and was an active supporter of the Small Press Center, which is situated in the Library. We will miss Eric very much. The Small Press Center is an educational program of The General Society of the Mechanics and Tradesmen of the City of New York and is located in The General Society Library on the ground floor of The General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen's historic building. The General Society Library was founded in 1820, and is tied for second place as the oldest continuously operating library in New York City. The New York Society Library is the oldest (1754), and The Mercantile Library also opened in 1820. These are the three membership libraries in New York today. Click here for a list of new titles The library has more than 153,000 volumes in the collection and is especially strong in fiction (literature, romances, mysteries/thrillers, etc.), and general non-fiction (biography, history, social sciences, travel, et al.). There is also a special collection of Gilbert & Sullivan works. We pride ourselves in purchasing new books quickly and buying duplicate copies if necessary. There is a reserve system for the hottest new titles, with a cost of 30 cents per request. In addition, the library houses a wealth of older books that are hard to find elsewhere. One of the charms of the library is the building itself; it has been little altered since its construction in the 1890s. Its stunning skylight, marble pillars, ironwork, and wooden shelving, lend the reading room a bookish ambience that makes it a rare and pleasant place in which to study or browse. The reading room was named as one of "New York's 50 Best Places to Find Peace and Quiet," by Alan Ishac. The library is an integral part of The General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen of the City of New York. Organized in 1785 in a tavern on King Street, The General Society was patterned after European guilds, with the dual mission of assisting sick or distressed members and providing for their indigent widows and orphans. Its library, founded for the use of apprentices of members, was originally known as The Apprentices' Library. Even before its move to the present location (20 West 44th Street), the library had expanded its scope of books from a technical collection to a more general orientation. Andrew Carnegie, who was a member of The General Society, donated funds for renovating the building. The reading room, an architectural gem, once served as the drill floor and gymnasium for The Berkeley School for Boys. In 1985, The Small Press Center was established with the goal of bringing independent publishing to the attention of the public. It shares space with the library on the main floor. In addition to funding the library and The Small Press Center, The General Society also operates The Mechanics Institute, a free evening technical school that provides training in the building trades. Tucked away on the second-floor balcony is The Mossman Collection of Locks, one of the finest of its kind in the world. Also on exhibit in this space are various other items of interest which have been bequeathed to The General Society over the years.The library has a very active Friends of the Library Committee which organizes a yearly book sale in the first week of June. In the past, The Friends have promoted talks by mystery writers; Tom Wolfe; Garrison Keillor; and Ian Frasier. This year, The Friends have started a monthly reading group for members and their friends. A list of new books is compiled monthly and is available at the front desk. Click here to view the current list.
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Housed on a historic block in the heart of midtown Manhattan, opposite the Harvard Club and The Yacht Club, The General Society Library is a landmark building that is well worth the visit. THE GENERAL SOCIETY LIBRARY |