Like most of the other places that we have visited this semester I had no idea that Tamiment Library even existed. The entire concept which Tamiment is built around, labor and the Left as well as progressive politics, is such a unique concept that everything that was presented to us was quite authentic. I could barely wrap my head around the size of ‘The Masses’ collection which the librarians presented to us. The fact that NYU is able to preserve such an amazing moment in history through public resources is quite extraordinary.
Being that my concentration in Gallatin is Gender, Politics and Culture I found it to be rather intriguing to know that NYU has an entire section of their library dedicated to documenting the history of radical politics which includes socialism, communism, anarchism, utopian experiments, the cultural left, the New Left, and the struggle for civil rights and civil liberties. Having such an exceptional research center at our fingertips is incredible. But I have to admit that it was a little overwhelming knowing just how much information is contained in Tamiment Library. I am glad that I now know such a place and all of its resources are available for me to use but I don’t think I would know where to beginning if I were to use it for research.
Although it was not something which we discussed during our visit to Tamiment Library, I conducted a bit of my own research and I think what I love most about Tamiment Library is the Tamiment Library Logo. On their webpage Tamiment Library describes the history of their logo, the red rose, and I think they do the best job of capturing the significance of the red rose so I will use their words instead of mine to recreate ‘the magic’. “The red rose has always been an important symbol with anti-authoritarian associations.” Even today the red rose continues to be seen as a progressive symbol which is why the Tamiment Library has adopted it as its very own logo; in my opinion one that is quite fitting!
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