6. The Gottesman Research Library

Gottesman Research Library at the AMNH Gilder Center

The serene, high-ceilinged David S. and Ruth L. Gottesman Research Library and Learning Center gives visitors access to a range of research bases, an extensive digital repository, and scientific books—including those from its rare book collection. Dramatic views to the West remind us that we’re in the middle of the Upper West Side. The library inside the Gilder Center offers an exhibition alcove, a reading room for scholars, a group study room, and comfortable sofas and chairs.

Dog models inside the Gottesman Research Library

The library has many charming touches, including these miniature hand-painted, plaster model dogs of various breeds and types from the Amory C. Simons Collection.

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A dinosaur model inside the Gottesman Research Library

We all now know, alas, that the dinosaurs and sauropods that we had come to love were in part made up by exuberant scientists. Here is a model of Camarasaurus by Erwin S. Christman (c. 1919).

Ceiling of the Gottesman Research Library

The library’s extraordinary ceiling evokes a tree fanning out above us.