About the Library: History

A Brief History of the New York Botanical Garden Library

by Stephen Sinon, William B. O'Connor Curator of Special Collections, Research and Archives

The Brittons, Torrey Botanical Club members, and others began to gather material to create a library in 1896, and at that time did not have a Librarian (Bulletin of the NYBG, Vol. 1, p. 112). The first home for the Library was the Lorillard Mansion (Bulletin of the NYBG, p. 126). The library now known as the LuEsther T. Mertz Library was installed in the Library Building (originally called the Museum Building) in December of 1899 (Bulletin of the NYBG, p. 298). It was ready to receive visitors and service staff as of January 1900 when the first librarian, Anna Murray Vail, was appointed (Bulletin of the NYBG, Vol. 2, p. 42). The full history can be found in the first edition of the Bulletin, which is held in our collections and available online via Mertz Digital.

As for the official date of the library's creation and opening, there are several possible answers. 1900 is often said to be the opening date, as that is when the Library Building opened for public access. 1896 is equally acceptable, as that is the date when the Library's creation began.

Incidentally, the Garden never held an official public opening ceremony/ribbon cutting of any kind. Our current perimeter fencing was not installed until 1923 and matches that of Fordham University, which was also installed at that time.