The New York Public Library
Spanish writer Irene Vallejo shows us around the New York Public Library, one of the city’s most treasured institutions. Founded in 1895, it houses more than 56 million items and is currently the most visited library in the world.
Originally envisioned as “a free library and reading room in the city of New York” by its main promoter, Samuel J. Tilden, The New York Public Library has been headquartered at its landmark 5th Avenue, Beaux-Arts building since 1911.
Commissioned to up-and-coming firm Carrère and Hastings ten years prior, the place soon became known for its distinctive marble façade and unprecedented logistical complexity; in 1910, 75 million miles of shelves were needed in order to store the library’s collections.
Since its inception in the early 20th century, the Library has opened 92 branches all across Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island. Among its services are English, technology and literacy classes, as well as free exhibitions and a plethora of online resources for users around the world.
Irene Vallejo
Writer
Irene Vallejo, doctor of classical philology from the universities of Zaragoza and Florence, is also a writer. She is the author of a dozen books.
Irene Vallejo’s El Infinito en un Junco won the prestigious Spanish Premio Nacional de Ensayo in 2020. It is an account of writing, books and the numerous ways in which the two have shaped the world over the last three thousand years. The book was translated into English as Papyrus by Charlotte Whittle. Published in 2022 by Hodder & Stoughton, the translation won the Queen Sofia Spanish Institute Translation Prize in November 2023.
