If you have to read, go outside

I said earlier this year I would write about libraries, and I will, but for now the subject is the New York Public Library, an institution I had a tour around a few days ago.

I mentioned recently how embarking on a challenge such as this had opened my eyes in other areas of my life and I'm not sure I would have gone on such a tour before the start of this year. But then the Wench and I were in the neighbourhood, saw the tour and I thought 'that might be interesting'. And it was.

Apart from the magnificent building, the 88 miles of bookshelves, the 18 million books, one of the world's largest public resources and so on, I particularly liked the annual stipend (grant) the library makes available for budding authors to use offices within the library to work on their books.

Just outside is Bryant Park, a grassy area with chairs and tables, where something called the Reading Room is located during the summer months. This haven of literature allows passers-by to borrow books or newspapers while they have lunch or just want to escape from their busy lives.

Its location in central Midtown, on Sixth Avenue and 42nd Street, is one of the busiest areas of New York, just a couple of blocks from Times Square in one direction and Grand Central Station in the other. All around, the hustle and bustle continues, but office workers exit the neighbouring skyscraper office blocks to come across to Bryant Park and pick up some reading material for a brief while.

The second time we passed the park, an author was giving a talk about her new book, and people were gathering around in their droves to hear what Kelly Cutrone, a fashion publicist and reality TV star, had to say about her memoir If You Have to Cry, Go Outside: And Other Things Your Mother Never Told You.

As I walked by she was denying she was a lesbian, and it sounded like a lot of drivel to be honest, but as one of a host of planned literary events, non-exclusive and easily accessible to everyone, it's a great idea in my book.