Books&PeopleVolume 33, Number 1, Winter 2026Fall Children’s EventsPAGE 8Ongoing ExhibitionPAGE 6IN THIS ISSUELibrary Leaders Meet at NYSLPAGE 12 2025 was certainly The Year of the Renovation, and we are so grateful to donors who supported the changes and members who graciously tolerated the noise and dust. As we write this, everything is completed except for a few lingering items in renovated spaces and spruce-ups to others.RENOVATION ROUNDUP: Staff in Bright New SpaceAbove: Though not as visible as other spaces, one of the renovation’s great successes was the transformation of the former Closed Stack, opposite Stack 3, to a bright, comfortable new office space for 20 staff members.In masthead: Our member writers celebrate books published in 2025.BEFORE DURINGAFTER AFTER
PAGE 2 - Winter 2026 Books & People I can hardly believe it, but as I write this column in January 2026, our building renovation project is now all but complete. We’ve opened new spaces to work and study (Henry S.F. Cooper Jr. Room, Stacy Schiff Study Room), along with new bathrooms, a telephone room, and two new book stacks for our growing collection (Jean Weiller Leigh Book Stacks, Robert E. and Judith O. Rubin Book Stack.)The transformation of our building marks another chapter in the Library’s 271-year history of connecting books and people. Since 1754, our commitment to intellectual freedom has remained steadfast, and providing a safe and welcoming space and the resources to find and share knowledge remains our goal. So I want to thank all of you who have stood by us these past few years – renewing your memberships and contributing generously to our capital campaign and annual fund. Your support enabled us to carry out our mission and stay open and accessible throughout the construction, while continuing to provide our wide range of programs and services. As we head into 2026, I’m so grateful for your membership and everything we were able to accomplish this year. I’m looking forward to continuing our conversations in the year ahead, which is easier than ever, since you can now find me on the new fourth floor! Greetings from the Head Librarian RENOVATION ROUNDUP: Staff in Bright New Space continuedThe new staff space includes two comfortable restrooms (which can be shared with patrons at extra-busy times), a small conference room, space for cataloging, preparing books, and books-by-mail work, and well-lit, easy-to-use egress options in case of an emergency.—Carolyn WatersDirector & Head LibrarianAFTERAFTERAFTERAFTERAFTERAFTER
Welcome Back to the Reference Room! The Jean Weiller Leigh Book StackEven More Books and People SpaceOur beloved Reference Room has reopened to the public.The Jean Weiller Leigh Book Stack has transformed a dingy concrete patch to a handsome two-level space for semi-rare and older books, with state-of-the-art movable shelving. Above: The fourth-floor Marshall Room as our former Rare Book Reading Room, mid-renovation, and now as a cheerful new space ideal for hybrid meetings and writers’ groups; Below: Immediately behind the circulation desk is the Robert E. and Judith O. Rubin Book Stack (Stack 4), which had staff crammed in cubicles and is now being filled with books, permitting us years of expansion to our collections. BEFOREBEFOREBEFOREAFTERDURINGAFTERDURING AFTERDURING AFTERBooks & People Winter 2026 - PAGE 3
PAGE 4 - Winter 2026 Books & People Clockwise from top left: Wendy Belzberg and Stacy Schiff celebrating the dedication of the Stacy Schiff Study Room on November 10; Celebration of the Capital Campaign taking place in the new Cooper Room on October 27; Jeannette Watson Sanger celebrates her commemorative Study Room on October 8; Emma Davidson Tribbs, granddaughter of Joan Kaplan Davidson, speaks at the celebration of the Joan Kaplan Davidson Conservation Studio on September 18; Trustees Timothy Wallach, George Frelinghuysen, and Jean Phifer with Jenny Lawrence at the Campaign Celebration on October 27; Alice Cooney Frelinghuysen and Carol Malone at the Celebration of the Capital Campaign on October 27; NYSL Book Conservator Werner Haun shows guests the new state-of-the-art Joan Kaplan Davidson Conservation Studio at the celebration on September 18.Celebrating the CAMPAIGN FOR BOOKS & PEOPLEA special shout-out to everyone who supported the Library in 2025. Whether in support of the capital campaign or annual appeal, your generosity demonstrates the strength of our community, showing what is possible when we come together in common cause. THANK YOU!
Books & People Winter 2026 - PAGE 5RENOVATION ROUNDUP: Signing Off!Celebrating gifts and pledges to the Campaign for Books and People as of December 31, 2025Caroline Alexander Study RoomBeinecke Family Study RoomByard Conference RoomHenry S.F. Cooper Jr. RoomJoan Kaplan Davidson Conservation StudioFrances FitzGerald Study RoomLefer RoomJean Weiller Leigh Book StackMiss Havisham Study RoomRobert E. and Judith O. Rubin Book StackJeannette Watson Sanger Study RoomStacy Schiff Study RoomFrances Taliaferro Study RoomElizabeth Winthrop Reading NookRobert E. and Judith O. Rubin Book StackBYARD CONFERENCE ROOM
After a show opens, I’m like a doctor—I’m on constant call. Every time the phone rings I am sure that some actor or actress has been replaced, requiring more fittings, new costumes.After a show opens, I’m like a doctor—I’m on constant call. Every time the phone rings I am sure that some actor or actress has been replaced, requiring more fittings, new costumes.PAGE 6 - Winter 2026 Books & People Irene Sharaff & Mai-mai Sze: An Introduction Sharon Simpson and Sophie Maize, Exhibition CuratorsThe exhibition Irene Sharaff and Mai-mai Sze In Their Own Words, which opened on September 17, 2025, has led to interesting and unexpected encounters and experiences. • While researching the exhibition, we contacted and interviewed Mai-mai’s niece Irene Tseng for the catalogue. To our delight, her sister Amy de Rahm and her husband Jerry came from Rhode Island for the opening event, and we gave them a sneak preview of the exhibition, during which we learned so much more about both women. Before the exhibition closes, Irene will visit from Arizona, and we look forward to meeting her and learning more.• Three book publishers visiting from Shanghai came in for a tour of the Library, and one of them recognized Mai-mai’s name on an exhibition sign. He shared that he had recently written an article about China’s response to historical epidemics, including Mai-mai’s father Alfred Sao-ke Sze’s role in building hospitals in China. They were excited to share the catalogue and their photos with colleagues back in Shanghai.• Two Library members who run a small feminist press contacted us after seeing the exhibition. Captivated by Mai-mai’s story, they have expressed an interest in possibly reprinting two of her books, which have been out of print for decades.• An eagle-eyed circulation desk staff member spotted a visitor’s last name in the exhibition guest book. Although his name was spelled “Sharaf” with one “f” we nevertheless wondered: could he be related to Irene Sharaff? Indeed he was. Intrigued by the Library’s street banner, he came in. He was as charmed to discover an exhibition about his legendary relative as we were to meet him, and he was able to confirm the suspicions unearthed by our research: Irene had chosen to become estranged from her family, the reasons now lost to time, her real identity further hidden by the addition of an extra “f” in “Sharaff.” Irene Sharaff and Mai-mai Sze In Their Own Words is currently on view in The Assunta, Ignazio, Ada and Romano Peluso Exhibition Gallery. Catalogs are available for purchase at the circulation desk for $10.The exhibition Irene Sharaff & Mai-mai Sze In Their Own Words is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and generous funding from the Arthur F. and Alice E. Adams Charitable Foundation, the Felicia Fund, and The H. W. Wilson Foundation. The 2026 exhibition program at the New York Society Library is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. We [the Chinese War Relief Committee] have an office lent by a Chinese friend in his place for Chinese antiques. We do all the office work . . . and we have meetings which are wonderful mixtures of Chinese politeness and attempts at American efficiency.After a show opens, I’m like a doctor—I’m on constant call. Every time the phone rings I am sure that some actor or actress has been replaced, requiring more fittings, new costumes.Above left: Mai-mai Sze speaks at Bloomington-Normal (Illinois) Forum at Unitarian church on Chinese-Japanese war, 1941. Charlotte L. Fitz-Henry. Copyright 2019 McLean County Historical Society.; Above right: Irene Sharaff dressing Elizabeth Taylor for the motion picture Cleopatra, 1961-62.Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.
Books & People Winter 2026 - PAGE 7Clockwise from top left: Members and guests enjoy a first look at the In Their Own Words exhibition (including this stunning Irene Sharaff costume design for Funny Girl), September; exhibition contributor Barbara Cohen-Stratyner with co-curators Sophie Maize and Sharon Simpson at the opening; Jessica Francis Kane speaks on her new novel Fonseca; Donald Lopez talks about The Buddha: Biography of a Myth; Susana M. Morris presents Positive Obsession, her biography of Octavia E. Butler, in conversation with Brittney Cooper; Thomas Mallon discusses his published diary The Very Heart of It with Alexandra Isles. Another Great Season: Adult Events
PAGE 8 - Winter 2026 Books & People Another Great Season: Children’s and Young Adult EventsTop row (left-right): George O’Connor book launch for his new graphic novel, Loki; Chanté Timothy leads young writers during a Comics Café in September; Middle row (left-right): O’Connor signs books for fans; Getchie Argetsinger entertains during a slightly spooky storytime; Mika Song creates characters during a December Comics Café; Bottom row (left-right): David Ezra Stein and Miriam Kessler perform a puppet show; he then signs books including Interrupting Chicken Saves the Nutcracker; YA books discussed during our first YA Snack Chat in December.
Books & People Winter 2026 - PAGE 9Top Center: Eric Wolf, Ruchelle L. Perry, Administrative Coordinator at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Carolyn Waters, Jane Berin (member and docent), Tienya Smith, and Norma Schofield (member and docent). Bottom Right: Keith Glutting (Grolier docent and Library member), Yuzhi Wang (exchange docent), Yue Ma, Director, China Institute’s Art Education Program (DCTA), Tienya Smith, Eric Wolf, Tallulah Reiser (member and docent), Carol Binkowski (member and docent), Pat Coyne (member and docent), and Gary Williams (member and docent).In its second year, the Library’s docent program continues to thrive with fourteen volunteers. At its core, member volunteers share the Library’s rich history through building tours. But beyond that, docents facilitate new member teas, welcome new members at various events, and, most recently, they also represent the Library on docent exchanges with other cultural institutions. This part of the program launched this past May, promoting the Library’s partnerships with our sister cultural institutions. During these outings, each institution’s docents learn about the other’s organizations, missions, and gallery spaces. Our first exchange was with the China Institute of America. The photos below come from their exhibition Eternal Offerings: Chinese Ritual Bronzes. The docents also visited The Grolier Club’s After Words: Visual and Experimental Poetry in Little Magazines and Small Presses, 1960-2025. In the photo below, docents from both the China Institute and Grolier Club visited the Library to see our 30 Years of the New York City Book Awards exhibition. Docent Exchanges create opportunities to share ideas By Tienya Smith
PAGE 10 - Winter 2026 Books & People A Twelve-Stack Program, concludesAnother Great Season: Adult Events continuedClockwise from top left: Umair Kazi and Keith Riegert bring us a thoughtful discussion of copyright in the age of AI; Daniel Mark Epstein debuts his collected poems; Amanda Vaill talks about her biography of the Schuyler sisters with Honor Moore; Graydon Carter shares the tales of his memoir When the Going Was Good; Susan Cheever provides insights into the creation and meaning of John Cheever’s short stories in conversation with Jonathan Galassi; Nancy Matsumoto discusses the women changing the food system with Richa Mehra of Slow Food NYC.
Lawyer Ralph S. Brown Jr. joined the Library’s Board in 1997 and served faithfully as Board Secretary and on a number of committees and capacities, moving on to Trustee Emeritus status in 2021. In particular, Ralph provided organized and intelligent leadership for the Long-Range Planning Committee, whose work culminated in 2001 with a valuable overview of the Library’s staffing, collection care, building needs, and relationship to technology, setting the agenda for later renovations and other projects to guide our historic institution into the 21st century.Romano I. Peluso was a cherished benefactor to the Library as well as a dedicated reader. In addition to his distinguished career in finance and as an insightful writer on financial subjects, Romano and his sister, Trustee Emerita Ada Peluso, made a transformative gift recognized in the Assunta, Ignazio, Ada and Romano Peluso Exhibition Gallery, the Library’s public exhibition space. Peggy Sue Salwen was the Library’s first children’s librarian, building the foundation of our modern children’s collection and programs from 1975 to 1982. Although she then moved on to positions with the New York Public Library, she frequently visited us and filled in as a staff member for weekends and special events. Peggy’s reliable wisdom and delight in spreading the love of reading will have a lasting influence on all who were fortunate enough to know her.Warren Wechsler, a Library member since 2003, served on the New York City Book Awards jury from 2014 to 2019, including as its chair 2016-2019. As jury chair he was hardworking and knowledgeable, and his lively presentations at the annual awards ceremonies were always a highlight. In April 2024, he brought us a standing-room-only event on a passion he shared with many readers – discussing Kevin Baker’s The New York Game: Baseball and the Rise of a New City with the author. Books & People Winter 2026 - PAGE 11In Memory
53 East 79th StreetNew York, NY 10075T. 212.288.6900nysoclib.org@nysoclibThis newsletter is availablein electronic form atnysoclib.org/about/newslettersOne More PhotoThe Library was honored to host the annual gathering of the Membership Libraries Group in October. Directors of subscription or membership libraries from around the country used the shiny new Cooper Room for three days of conversation, workshop, and fellowship.