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A comment on What Can We Learn from Barnes and Noble's Surprising Turnaround?. Parent comment

Re:What Can We Learn from Barnes and Noble's Surprising Turn... by karmelapple on Wednesday December 28, 2022 @10:28PM (#34169122)
The most beautiful reading room I’ve ever been in. I wanted to go into NYC’s public library reading room, but they don’t allow visitors, which was a bummer. (Or at the very least it’s strongly discouraged unless you’re truly there doing work, rather than just wanting to sit there for a few minutes and soak it in or read a little)
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Re:What Can We Learn from Barnes and Noble's Surprising Turn... by hyperhopper on Wednesday December 28, 2022 @10:33PM (#34169162)
Maybe I'm missing something, but isn't "reading a little" the exact purpose of a reading room?"
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Re:What Can We Learn from Barnes and Noble's Surprising Turn... by karmelapple on Thursday December 29, 2022 @01:06AM (#34170035)
You’d think! Whatever the sign said (I didn’t take a photo), it was clear they were discouraging people to just step in quick to look around. Perhaps truly reading wasn’t discouraged, but compared to the lack of such a sign at Boston Public Library, it felt very different.

But the number of tourists in NYC compared to Boston is probably a big difference.

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Re:What Can We Learn from Barnes and Noble's Surprising Turn... by ghaff on Thursday December 29, 2022 @08:18AM (#34172305)
It's been a few years and, at one point, they were doing renovations but I've definitely hung out in the Rose Reading Room at the NYPL in the past. And there's nothing on the NYPL's current site to suggest it's not open for just sitting and reading.
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Re:What Can We Learn from Barnes and Noble's Surprising Turn... by echion on Friday December 30, 2022 @12:37AM (#34182177)
I live in NYC and showed a visitor the NYPL in July. The public was not allowed into the Rose Reading Room...only "researchers".
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Re:What Can We Learn from Barnes and Noble's Surprising Turn... by karmelapple on Sunday January 01, 2023 @03:03AM (#34204561)
Bingo, it was exactly this. I was pretty bummed, being a fan of libraries in general, a fan of Ghostbusters, and a fan of nice places to read and work.

If I’m coworking in NYC sometime, maybe I’ll ask what kind of research I must be doing to get to read there. I’m guessing with the physical books only available there?

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Re:What Can We Learn from Barnes and Noble's Surprising Turn... by riffic on Wednesday December 28, 2022 @11:50PM (#34169657)
I was able to visit the main New York Public Library reading room without issues, maybe you're thinking of the LOC reading room in DC?

Fun factoid about NYPL: it's a private nonprofit, not a municipal establishment like many other libraries.

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