Posted June 23, 2003.

Harry’s Phoenix Rises at NYPL Well Before Witching Hour

In a ceremony at 11 a.m. on June 20 on the steps of the New York Public Library, NYPL President Paul LeClerc accepted the first autographed copy of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix to arrive in the United States. A special gift from publisher Scholastic, Inc., which is also donating 1,200 copies for circulation, the book arrived in a Dunbar Armored Van—a flourish befitting the long-awaited fifth installment of the wildly popular children’s series whose contents were even embargoed from book reviewers until June 21 at 12:01 a.m. Author J. K. Rowling inscribed the book “To the People of New York with Love and Admiration,” according to the June 20 New York Newsday.

The event kicked off the library’s summer reading program. The autographed copy will go on permanent display at the Donnell Library’s children’s collection, joining Mary Poppins’ umbrella and the original Winnie the Pooh stuffed toys.

Thirteen hours later, the Order of the Phoenix began flying off the shelves of bookstores nationwide. At least one library joined in the late-night party scene: The Salt Lake City Main Library hailed Harry’s release with an 8 p.m.–midnight bash.

The series that topped the American Library Association’s list of most challenged titles for four consecutive years, the Harry Potter series has been accused of promoting witchcraft. Rev. Doug Taylor of the Oneness Pentecostal Church took out three ads in mid-June editions of the Lewiston (Maine) Sun Journal urging parents to “forsake Harry Potter,” the Chicago Tribune reported June 19.

Libraries in the U.S. and Canada are reporting recording-breaking waiting lists to borrow the new book.

Posted June 23, 2003.