Untrustworthy Trustees

It can be safely assumed that the rich of bygone days were no less greedy than the current crop. Yet one thing is very different now: the rich of yore went about their business before a notion like Creative Destruction was conceivable, much less institutionalized.

New York's "The 100 Most Powerless" reinforces Fran Lebowitz's observations here (after 2:00).

The Voice ranks the powerlessness of NYPL librarians # 13, and links to this in The Nation—

... Since 2008 its workforce has been reduced by 27 percent. In a recent newsletter to library supporters, the institution reported that its acquisitions budget for books, CDs and DVDs had been slashed by 26 percent.

Despite these austerity measures, NYPL executives are pushing ahead with a gargantuan renovation of the Forty-second Street library, the crown jewel of the system. The details of the Central Library Plan (CLP) are closely guarded, but it has already sparked criticism among staff members, who worry that the makeover would not only weaken one of the world’s great libraries but mar the architectural integrity of the landmark building on Forty-second Street and Fifth Avenue, renamed the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building in 2008, following the Wall Street billionaire’s gift of $100 million. (Every staff member I spoke with demanded anonymity; a number of them talked openly about their fear of retribution from management.)

The NYPL's history starts with money and collections bequeathed by 19th century multi-millionaires. Lenox, Astor, Tilden were no longer around when the Fifth Avenue main library began as a monumental construction project: the creation of an architectural gem, "known for the lions without and the learning within," and containing "75 miles of shelves... to house the immense collections."

This time around, a living plutocrat gets the Fifth Avenue library renamed for himself, and the NYPL board is gleefully ready to pull the joint down. That's in response to the 100 mill tax write-off by one of their own members, who made his billions through this little outfit.

Regarding the library, I want to reach for a canary in a coal mine kind of phrase.

But this is the opposite of an early warning signal. What's happening to the NYPL—as to public and university libraries around the country—is more like managerial catch-up: after 30 years of asset-stripping everywhere else, it's time for managers to come for what's left of public institutions and our cultural inheritance.
And as some people try renewing the culture by taking to the streets: more of the Voice's powerlessness ratings—

34. The librarians of the Occupy Wall Street "People's Library"

One of the most fun aspects of Zuccotti Park this fall was the "People's Library," a wide selection of books that sparked freewheeling discussions. Volunteer librarians (like Bill Scott) guarded it with professional care. Although they protected it from Mayor Bloomberg's first threatened raid on the park (by taking the books away via Zipcar to an "undisclosed location"), the librarians were rendered utterly powerless after the city launched its surprise raid and returned the collection looking like shit.