[originaltext] One of New York’s most beautiful and valuable buildings is in

One of New York’s most beautiful and valuable buildings is in danger---the New York Public Library, in the heart of the city at 42nd Street and 5th Avenue, may have to close its doors.
   The library is a very special place. Even though it is in the busiest part of the city, it has grass and trees around it, and benches for people to sit on. The library has over thirty million books and paintings. It owns one of the first copies of a Shakespeare play, a Bible printed by Gutenberg in the 15th century, and a letter written by Columbus in which he tells of finding the new world.
   Every New Yorker can see and use the library’s riches free. But the cost of running the library has risen rapidly in recent years, and the library does not have enough money to continue its work. In the past, it was open every evening and also on Saturdays and Sundays. Now it is closed at those times to save money.
   The library is trying in every possible way to raise more money to meet its increasing costs. Well-known New York writers and artists are trying to help. So are the universities, whose students use the library, and the governments of Now York City and New York States. But the problem remains serious.
   Yet a way must be found to save the library because, as one writer said, "The public Library is the most important building in New York City--it contains all our knowledge."