Nomination for Arezoo Moseni

Senior Librarian

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

New York, New York

Tobi Zausner

New York, NY

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

I have known Arezoo Moseni for eight years in The Art Collection of the Mid-Manhattan Library. She has always been extremely helpful and has an unfailingly gracious manner.

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.

She has been an enormous help in the research for my recent book When Walls Become Doorways: Creativity and the Transforming Illness, which is about the influence of physical illness of the creativity of visual artists. Arezoo has always helped me find just what I was looking for and extras too.

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

She has consistently helped me to find the correct materials for my research. Arezoo has vast knowledge of the Art Collection in the library and art in general. I was not surprised to learn that she is an artist in her spare time. Perhaps this is one of the reasons that she is so dedicated to the field.

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

She is not only an excellent librarian but she coordinates evening programs for adults, specifically targeting the artist community. She initiated the Artist Career Development Lecture Series to address the growing need of independent artists in the city. She has been a vital force in the excellence of our visual culture.

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

Arezoo has asked me to present a lecture on my book and have some of the artists in the book present. This will inspire many people with disabilities and other physical difficulties to turn to creativity as an adjunct healing modality and they will have learned this because of Arezoo’s program in the Mid-Manhattan Library.