We are inaugurating one of the single most important and beautiful libraries in North America.

You can sit here and you can visit the national library of Australia, of Great Britain, of France, of Germany, ... And that's the nature of reading today.

[The library's board sees it differently.] Ours was a decision to get out of the picture business, ... It was not a decision taken cavalierly, nor was it market-driven. Paintings are simply not part of our mission.

Ours was a decision to get out of the picture business, ... It was not a decision taken cavalierly, nor was it market driven. Paintings are simply not part of our mission.