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Thousands Of Items Still Missing From The Occupy Wall Street Library
By
Jen Carlson
Published Nov 16, 2011
Modified Nov 16, 2011
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Nov 16, 2011
Modified Nov 16, 2011
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The library's remains, including a destroyed Bible.
Yesterday there was a bit of a panic when the Occupy Wall Street library was taken by the Department of Sanitation. Many believed the entire contents of the tent went in to the trash, but then Mayor Bloomberg's office Tweeted a photo of boxed up books, saying they were safe and sound. Some questions remain, however. Did the DSNY dig back into the trash after the media took aim, only salvaging some of the contents of the library? How many items are missing? And where is the structure that Patti Smith funded to house the library?
Today, the OWS Library blog has updated the situation, saying they are still missing thousands upon thousands of items (their list is below, and is a work in progress). We called the DSNY this morning to ask about the missing and destroyed items, but we were told it would take some time to get some answers—we'll update when we hear back.
As of now, the protesters say they only received 25 boxes of books, and many of the books are destroyed, along with the reclaimed laptops. The tent and shelves all seem to be MIA, and the belief is that the DoS may be digging back into "their giant trashpile at [the] back of [their] building" to come up with more of the library's destroyed contents. In the meantime, the librarians are calling upon Mayor Bloomberg for answers, saying "he lied."
PEOPLE'S LIBRARY MISSING ITEMS LIST
- Between 2,000 and 4,000 books (we’ll know if it looks right when we see it ), this includes five boxes of “Reference” materials many of which were autographed by the authors;
- Our custom made “OWS library stamps;”
- 5 (4?) laptop computers;
- Our wifi device;
- Miscellaneous paper supplies;
- A round portable table;
- A rectangular portable table;
- 6 metal shelves (five of which had been set up in two pieces);
- Three sets of wooden drawers;
- A periodicals spinning rack;
- Approximately 60 plastic tubs/bins of varying sizes (most small, but several big);
- Archival materials (I was starting to collect some stuff in the library);
- Posters (including many original posters created by OWS participants);
- Two lamps;
- Four solar lights;
- 7 (or so) chairs;
- A wooden dinner table (that was our’s right?);
- Periodicals/newspapers/zines (not counted in our book total);
- Our awesome tent;
- Signage;
- Personal belongings of librarians
Tagged
department of sanitation
dos
dsny
library
occupy wall street
ows
the people's library
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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