Professor Rodwell

FIQWS Work and Family

November 19, 2018

Public vs Private Organizations

A library can symbolize wisdom, knowledge, order and more. The same can apply to a business such as a chain of bookstores.  Anyone can walk into the New York Public Library, Society Library or a bookstore.  Membership libraries such as the New York Society Library but one must pay a yearly fee. In this critical analysis of the comparison of both libraries, I will introduce the history of these establishments, and compare them side by side based on my personal observations and research. I believe people take advantage of what is offered free to them rather than invest in an institution that requires yearly payments or pays for books. This can differ when it comes to the social class but typically families will prefer a public library.

Today the New York Society Library requires you to scrounge up $335 for Household, $260 for single, $100 for an e-membership every year. If you divided these prices up to monthly payments, it does not seem so bad but still remains very expensive. At first, it was a group of men who wanted to get together and read. The library was once looted by soldiers during the revolution, and many of their books were torn up to make waddings for riffles and some sold for rum. According to Tom Glynn, “It was the first successful “public library” in the colony and one of the first in North America. As a public institution, its history from the colonial era through the early republican period mirrors changes in the ways that the public, as well as public and private activity, was conceived during these years” (Glynn 2005).  The library was developed on certain values and from what I have seen it still represents what the founders believed in. I was not able to get into specific places or know the full utility of the library but was very intrigued by what I did see and hear. It has had five branches in the past and is currently located at 53 E 79th St, New York, NY 10075.

The New York Public Library is open to everyone in the city. All of the recourses in the NYPL are open to all. The events are free and the only fees you would pay are late fees. The NYPL was founded in 1895. There was a need for libraries that were available for the public. Samuel J. Tilden, who was a governor donated about 2.4 million to form free libraries and reading rooms for the New York Community. This started out as a way to merge the democratic tradition in post-war times. For instance, Preer states “With the outbreak of war, librarians turned their attention from parochial professional debates to the practical matter of supporting the war effort. Other professional priorities, including the nascent quest for federal funding, were put on hold as librarians plunged into the Victory Bond campaign and turned their libraries into War Information Centers. The war heightened rhetoric about library and democracy” (Preer 136). The New York Public Library wanted to educate the public on the war agenda and started to make a difference and found a ‘middle ground’. They made their role as a community center. The library became a major resource for research to the people of New York.  The founders believed “that by providing books to all members of the community, they would elevate the status and production of the community as a whole. To those founders, a community with a public library was better off intellectually, culturally, morally, and (they hoped) economically than a community without one.” (Tyckson 2000). The New York Public Library today is the most recent product of the evolution of libraries. At first, there were social libraries, which you had to pay for. Subscription libraries, which had a lower cost and the free library.

I initially observed the New York Society Library after making an appointment with Mia, who works at the circulation desk. I would be allowed to sit in their reference room and take notes based on their environment. While I was observing, I felt very left out. The Men, Women and the Children entering the New York Society Library wore very formal clothing and the majority of them were white. The New York Society Library is decorated regally. They had a crystal chandelier that I observed people would see first. I found it to be very elegant for my taste. There have been about five branches with the 77th street location being the fifth. The range of families and students is members. Members consider the NYSL homier and more private than a public library. She notes that the business is very regular but differs expendable when the summer comes.  I was given a tour of their library. The book conservation and the White-Ridge room caught my eye. This was because the room was designed with Chinese ceramics that was designated for older members such as teens, and adults.

After my first observation at the New York Society Library, I emailed them asking if I could observe one of their children’s events. I was denied so I decided to change my observation location to Book Culture, a bookstore that hosts children’s events near 23rd Court Street in Long Island City. I picked this location because It was very similar to libraries except for the fact that you have to pay for books. Book Culture was opened in 1997 as Labyrinth Books by the current owner and a partner. It became an independent chain when Chris Doeblin, the owner bought out his partners. It has four branches in New York City that host similar events and design. Every location has a reading area for children filled with books, toys, and plushies for the kids and their families. I found that space made parents and children very comfortable and influenced them to socialize since it is a small space. They maintain and “fulfill the essential role of being an independent source of ideas and literary art” (“About Us and History”, n.d).

In my first attempts at observing the New York Public Library, I was denied at the public library where I live but I was able to attend a story-time at another location and compare to what I have seen at my second and my third site. I was not able to ask any questions after the story time, but I asked beforehand. I attended the library on 42nd Street where Bryant Park is located.  In the library there were four stuffed animals behind a glass panel: a bear, baby kangaroo, mule, mouse, and what I assume is a tiger. These were part of the collection belonging to Christopher Robin Milne when he was a little boy. The boy named the bear Edward Bear, but it was later named Winnie the Pooh. Christopher’s father A.A Milne and Ernest H. Shepard made the decision to create a bedtime story. I found that parents were more interactive with their kids, and sometimes very patient if any of the kids attempted to act out in public. I saw that the library has more attractions that are meant for children, rather than the NYSL. In the library, there is a Clifford the big red dog stuffed animal. I noticed tourists would come in and take a photo of this. I counted at least 15 parents taking a picture of this. I felt much more comfortable due to the colorful walls and the positive energy.

When conducting my observations, I kept in mind how these public and private organizations develop funds. The New York Public Library mostly works on donations, government funds. The New York Society Library has membership fees and private donations. In the 2017 annual report, The NYSL earned a total revenue of $1,690,072 from subscriptions, donations, book sales, and more. Their total expenses were $2,875,921. (The NYSL Annual Report 2017) The New York Public Library had a total of $1,913,203 including contributions from the government, investments, collections, and others. However, the operating revenues totaled about $341,061 and this is spread throughout the branches. (The NYPL Annual Report 2017 41.) I attempted to seek out the funds for Book Culture, but I was not able to find it. I found this similar when the Hemmingway, the author of “Public library, private management” stated “Many of the staff were unionized city employees. LSSI ultimately retained over 90 percent of the inherited employees, but they became private employees, not union members armed with collective bargaining pressure. Public libraries like those in Los Angeles County have decided not to hire LSSI because of resistance […] But that may be their loss. Public libraries face new challenges today: fresh technology demands, higher service standards, a need for cost containment, even mergers across old boundaries” (Hemingway 2002).  He argues that many public libraries will cease to exist in the century if this continues to happen. When one hears ‘privatization’ many families may fear that they are not able to attend or may not cater to the area anymore. While this may not be a threat but represent gentrification according to one of the parents I briefly interviewed at my home library. It may be true that it can benefit what resources libraries but drastically change that area.

When comparing public and private institutions factors such as size, funding, community involvement and more have to be considered. The NYPL and NYSL branch I observed were both located in high-income areas. The branch at Book-Culture was located in a higher-middle class area. All four branches seem to be located in known areas of NYC.  I found very extreme differences in what they offered to children. The NYPL had a variety of events tailored to all ages. Book Culture hosts weekly events such as story readings, and not only in English at their branches and special events. The NYSL offers several events by comic-book writers, creation stations, where you craft with your child and more but they are mostly for members. There are a few events that you can pay up to fifteen dollars to the public. A study was written by Galbraith, Merrill, and Outzen compares the effect of gender and minority status on public and private ARL libraries. Public and Private libraries can have the same objectives but there are certain social perceptions that one is more elite. It focuses primarily on salary differences between librarians at public institutions. They state “employees in private institutions making substantially more (Brainard, 2011, Byrne, 2008). This trend has existed for over 40 years and has become more pronounced in the early 2000s (Rippner & Toutkoushian, 2015).” (Galbraith, Merill, and Outzen 2018). This is thought to be because public institutions to have necessary insurance and retirement benefits that can cause pay transparency. Private institutions such as private libraries and bookstores are sometimes not required to provide this unless you are a longtime worker.

 

Bibliography

Hemingway, M. (2002). Public library, private management. (Enterprising: business as an act of creation). The American Enterprise, 13(5), 52. Retrieved from                              https://link-galegroup-com.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/apps/doc/A88584005/AONE?u=cuny_ccny&sid=AONE&xid=c2b58698

Tyckoson, D. (2000). Of the People, for the People: Public Libraries Serve Democracy. American Libraries, 31(4), 40-41. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/25637579

Galbraith, Q., Merrill, E., & Outzen, O. (2018). The Effect of Gender and Minority Status on Salary in Private and Public ARL Libraries. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 44(1), 75–80. https://doi-org.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/10.1016/j.acalib.2017.10.005

Glynn, T. (2005). The New York Society Library: Books, Authority, and Publics in Colonial and Early Republican New York. Libraries & Culture, 40(4), 493-529. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/25541948

Preer, J. (2001). Exploring the American Idea at the New York Public Library. American Studies, 42(3), 135-154. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/20777607

New York Public Library -History of the New York Public Library

https://www.nypl.org/help/about-nypl/history

New York Public Library-2017 Annual Report

https://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/17788_annual_report_2017_130718_online.pdf

New York Society Library-History of the Library ,

https://www.nysoclib.org/about/history-library

New York Society Library-2017 Annual Report

https://www.nysoclib.org/sites/default/files/pdf/flipbooks/2017-annual-report/mobile/index.html#p=6

Self Reflection:

Self Reflection for Critical Analysis

The purpose of this essay was to focus on a specific position in relation to your chosen topic and explore it more deeply. I introduced the history of my three observation sites and attempted to compare them. I had to conduct a deep analysis and be critical.  I argued people will take advantage of what is offered free to them rather than invest in an institution that requires yearly payments or pays for books although they might offer similar events. I introduced the pay gap and the different events they offer. The main support I had for my sites were my observations, my sources and the websites of the sites itself. I applied this evidence, but I felt I did not connect all of the evidence together to my research sites. I believe I included enough facts, but my tone does not demonstrate that I am truly reliable. This is because my observations were very limited in one of my research sites. I designed my paper into the thesis, history of each cite, summing up observations then I went into comparing my sites side to side.

While writing this critical analysis I explored the New York Public Library, New York Society Library and Book Culture. I introduced each of these facts, but I did not provide a transition to them. While reading over my sources I was not sure how to include them fully, so I took some quotes from each one to insert into my essay. I was motivated by what I observed at the private library. I picked this topic because when I was intrigued by what the NYSL offered but did not have enough observations to compare only two research sites. My purpose was to compare the three of the research sites but I did not offer an in-depth comparison but included background information. I included what was in the libraries to offer the audience a small glimpse of what I observed.

When I revised my essay, I found that I had to edit out the majority of what I wrote in my draft before I picked my third research site. I introduced the Public Library, Society Library, and Book Store in order, so I did not confuse the reader. Regarding this essay, I found that drafting it beforehand helped make the writing process easier of what I had to include and not as I continued my observations and research. I revised what content I put into the essay. For example, I had included what kind of population attends the libraries but did not include them because I had no data of what population went into the bookstore in my third site. I initially wrote how the people working at my research sites and even the visitors acted but thought that it was not relevant to the essay. This was because I did not think it was important and would be comparing similar observations. I included what I thought was important to the main points of my essay.

When picking my sources, I picked the ones that directly related to public and private organizations. I used ‘for instance’, and ‘for example’ to introduce them and then explained why I used these quotes exactly. When I read over my paper, I realized I should have picked one less private-public specific article because It did not make whole sense when I used that to then mention the bookstore. I looked for more sources specific to a bookstore but did not know what to pick so I used the website and my observations instead.