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The New York Society Library (NYSL) is the oldest cultural institution in New York City. It was founded in 1754 by the New York Society as a subscription library. During the time when New York was the capital of the United States, it was the ''de facto'' Library of Congress. Until the establishment of the New York Public Library in 1895, it functioned as the city's library as well. It has been patronized by a wide variety of literary and political figures, from George Washington to Wendy Wasserstein. Its special collections include books from the libraries of John Winthrop and Lorenzo Da Ponte. Since 1937 the library has been housed in the former John S. Rogers Mansion on Manhattan's Upper East Side, the fourth location in its history. The stone Renaissance Revival building was one of the earliest recognized as a New York City landmark in 1967, and was further listed on the National Register of Historic Places (as the John S. Rogers House) in 1983 in recognition of both its architecture and the library's historic role in the city. The library's collection of 300,000 volumes includes audio recordings and periodicals as well as books on a broad range of subjects. It is open for browsing and research by the general public; only members may borrow or use the upper floors. The library is a non-profit organization supported primarily by its membership fees and endowment. ==History== Six residents of the city, then located primarily on what is now Lower Manhattan, formed the New York Society in 1754 on the belief that a library, which the city did not have at the time, would be useful to it. They convinced Colonial Governor James DeLancey to let them use a room in the original City Hall, at Wall and Broad streets, for that purpose. In 1772 the society received a charter from George III.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.nysoclib.org/history.html )〕 During the Revolutionary War, New York was occupied by the British Army. Its small collection suffered from extensive looting. Soldiers tore book paper up to make wadding for their muskets, or sold the books for rum. After independence, in 1789, the New York State Legislature recognized the charter. During that time, Congress was meeting in New York City pending the establishment of Washington, D.C. as the permanent national capital. The NYSL effectively served as the first Library of Congress for two years, and its records show borrowings by George Washington, John Adams and Alexander Hamilton, among other early American notables, from that time.〔〔 Washington is believed to have failed to return two books due in 1789; the library has announced that it plans to waive the $300,000 fine but is still seeking the return of the books. After Congress moved out, the library built its collection back up again to 5,000 volumes, and moved to its own building on Nassau Street. It continued to grow in membership and volumes, remaining there through 1840, when it joined the New York Atheneum at Leonard Street and Broadway. Among the visitors recorded at that location were Henry David Thoreau and John James Audubon.〔〔 Edgar Allan Poe and Ralph Waldo Emerson lectured at the library.〔 Like other subscription libraries at the time, members paid a membership fee to access the collection. A board of trustees was elected which hired the librarians, chose materials for the collection and drafted and enforced regulations about library use. The nature of the collection represented the ideals of the library and contained works of a great variety. Although Christian theological texts were included, so was the Koran and books on Catholic saints and popes. There were a variety of natural philosophy texts alongside works by Shakespeare. 〔 Resources were also available for a variety of vocational purposes, including manuals for merchants and farmers. By 1856, the collection had reached 35,000 and it was once again time for the library to move. A larger building for its exclusive use was erected at 109 University Place, reflecting the city's continuing northerly expansion. Herman Melville and Willa Cather were among the visitors to that location.〔〔 It had a double-height central reading room and shelf space for 100,000 books.〔 This building would serve the NYSL for 81 years. In 1937, with the collection having grown to 150,000 volumes, the library moved to its present location at 53 East 79th Street, on the Upper East Side between Madison and Park avenues, with the help of a generous donation that enabled the purchase of the building, a mansion built just 20 years earlier. Notable patrons at the present location have ranged from W. H. Auden and Lillian Hellman in the early years to David Halberstam and Wendy Wasserstein more recently.〔〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「New York Society Library」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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