Posts by Angela Montefinise

Reporter Shane Harris (second from the right) receives the 2011 Helen Bernstein Award for Excellence in Journalism. Pictured (left to right) are NYPL President Paul LeClerc, Helen Bernstein, Harris, and Committee Chairman Jim Hoge. Photo: Jonathan BlancIt’s not every day that a former national security advisor recognizes you, taps you on the shoulder, and apologizes for not returning your calls.

But that’s exactly what happened to journalist Shane Harris in March 2004 at a small, invitation-only discussion on homeland security at 

I must be out of my mind. What the heck am I doing here, on a Saturday afternoon, blindfolded inside a Staten Island library, grasping the shoulders of a total stranger in front of me? This is truly insane.

That’s all I could think of on March 5, when I attended BARK, a performance by dance troupe Dana Salisbury and the No-See-Ums. They perform what they call “unseen dance” — original dances experienced through senses other than sight. It sounded very quirky and cool, so I decided to 

Portrait of Evert Duyckinck. NYPL, Print Collection, Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs.University of Missouri Ph.D. candidate Steven Carl Smith was sitting in a coffee shop near campus when he got the e-mail that changed his life as a young historian.

It was from The New York Public Library, informing him that he had received one of 21 fellowships to do short-term research at its landmark Stephen A. Schwarzman Building on Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street.

“I had to really 

Toby Daniels. Photo: CrowdcentricToby Daniels is a proud, self-proclaimed enabler.

The founder of Social Media Week (which is happening in nine cities, with an opening reception at NYPL, its global event partner) has worked tirelessly for years to bring social media tools into the hands of individuals, businesses, and non profits.

“These tools are essentially available for free,” he said of social media outlets like Twitter, Facebook, and so on. “The tools and technology are not a boundary to entry.