Scott Sherman, a contributing writer to The Nation who wrote about the controversy, argues that the library’s 87 branches, some in the city’s poorest neighborhoods, should be the library’s first priority.

Sherman is also concerned that researchers will play second fiddle to computer users and e-book consumers. “The 42nd Street library is one of the world’s great research libraries,” Sherman told WNYC’s Leonard Lopate in March. “And the Central Library Plan is basically a plan to turn it into a giant Internet cafe.”