A "rethinking of the fundamental nature of what a library is": Michael J. Lewis contends Central Library Plan proposed for NY is a form of "philanthropy tyranny".
"In the breathless and upbeat public relations campaign on behalf of the CLP, everything is presented as an augmentation or enhancement of what the library already is and does. It is not stated, even obliquely or winkingly, that it represents a rethinking of the fundamental nature of a library. It would be better to acknowledge honestly that far more is at stake here than a bouquet of improvements in customer service. After all, Billings and his architects were well aware that their building was itself a bold and unflinching confrontation with the library-building type as it had swiftly evolved during the nineteenth century. Alas, so successfully did Carrère and Hastings carry out their Roman antique theme that it is generally assumed that the building itself was trapped in the past. Nothing could be further from the truth." -- Michael J. Lewis, the New Criterion
