Nomination for Arezoo Moseni

Senior Librarian

The New York Public Library, Mid-Manhattan Library, The Art Collection

New York, New York

George Stolz

New York, NY

1. How long have you known the nominee and how did you come to know him or her?

I have known Ms. Moseni for approximately six years. I came to know her by chance, in the course of researching in the library. She quickly and efficiently assisted me with my specific tasks, and in the process, via her comments and conversation, revealed herself to be extremely knowledgable about art and at the same time deeply devoted to the library's role in society.

All my contact with her since has only reinforced this initial, positive impression.

2.  Please list a few ways in which the nominee has helped you and others and made your experience of the library a positive one.

Initially, Ms. Moseni was of great assistance to me in completing my research for a book I was preparing to edit. Not only was she able to locate and make available the material I was specifically looking for, but in addition – and ultimately more important – she shared her own broad base of knowledge and professional diligence with me, enabling me to discover resources and material that I might not have encountered on my own.

Since then, Ms. Moseni has assisted me with other research, and on her own has continued to alert me to material and activities that might be relevant to my interests.

On a different level, I have found witnessing Ms. Moseni's vision for the library to be deeply inspiring in my own life. She is dedicated to human communication, whether via books, art, contacts, events or shared sources of knowledge. The positive effect on those around her is both practical and ethical.

3. How has the library, and the nominee, improved the quality of your life?

The New York Public Library has improved the quality of my life by making such a rich and varied repository of resources so easily and efficiently available to me. This has been of great service to me professionally, but at the same time has enhanced many aspects of my non-professional life -- my reading for pleasure, my impulses of pure curiosity, my civic activity, my children´s education, etc.

Ms. Moseni has improved my quality of life by continuing to assist me with research and with the pursuit of various projects. She brings information to my attention that I would not otherwise have encountered. Ms. Moseni has also improved my quality of life by inspiring me with a newfound respect for what libraries can do for others.

4. How does the nominee make the library a better place? Please be specific.

Beyond her diligence as a librarian -- and I have seen her patiently working with children, elderly visitors, non-English speaking visitors, etc- -- Ms. Moseni makes the library a better place by means of her selfless dedication to generating high-quality social and cultural activity at the library. For instance, without disturbing the more quotidian function of the library, Ms. Moseni -- entirely on her own initiative, yet without assuming any public protagonism -- has been able to organize art exhibitions, lecture series, talks with artists, etc. within library, despite the lack of infrastructure or support. All of these activities have maintained a truly remarkable level quality in terms of contemporary art world issues, aesthetic criteria and even relevance to the local community. Working with great subtlety and elegance, she exposes the full range of the library's daily visitors and users to the highest calibre contemporary art, and at the same has created a venue for debate and discourse within the local art world. That she has done this within the Art Library itself adds further luster to her achievement.

5. How has the librarian made a difference in the community?

Ms. Moseni works to generate communication, and to make that communication available to elements of the library's public. She organizes dìsplays and exhibitions and events in such a was as to make them accessible -- literally and figuratively -- to the broadest possible public. She makes a point of including individuals and material
with whom different sectors of society might be able to identify, and thus
ensures that the events and exhibitions are made public to visitors
who might not otherwise be exposed to such activity.