Talk:Mercantile Library Company (Philadelphia)

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Philadelphia Mid‑importance

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A fact from Mercantile Library Company (Philadelphia) appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the Did you know column on 7 July 2024 (check views). The text of the entry was as follows:

Did you know... that after after operating for 168 years and moving to three buildings, the Mercantile Library in Philadelphia was closed due to concerns of asbestos?

A record of the entry may be seen at Wikipedia:Recent additions/2024/July. The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Mercantile Library Company (Philadelphia).

Wikipedia

Did you know nomination

The following is an archived discussion of the DYK nomination of the article below. Please do not modify this page. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as this nomination's talk page, the article's talk page or Wikipedia talk:Did you know), unless there is consensus to re-open the discussion at this page. No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was: promoted by SL93 talk 01:58, 30 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

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Comment or view
Article history

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... that Philadelphia's Mercantile Library moved to three different locations over the course of its 168-year existence?

Source: No single source but can be connected from here and here

ALT1: ... that the Mercantile Library was originally founded as a subscription library to serve merchants in Philadelphia? Source: "It was established in 1821, and it was originally intended to serve primarily merchants and merchants’ clerks. However, its membership eventually expanded beyond the mercantile industry, and it became a popular library among the general public."
ALT2: ... that after after operating for 168 years and moving to three buildings, the Mercantile Library in Philadelphia was closed due to concerns of asbestos? Source: "The building was closed in 1989 due to concerns over asbestos and has sat vacant for twenty-six years."
ALT3: ... that the Mercantile Library's Modern building was only added to the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places a year after it was closed and abandoned? Source: "The building maintained a minimalist allure years after its closure in 1989. It was placed under the legal protection of the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places in 1990 ..."
Reviewed: Template:Did you know nominations/Utter (horse)

5x expanded by AdoTang (talk). Number of QPQs required: 1. Nominator has 10 past nominations.

AdoTang (talk) 04:58, 17 May 2024 (UTC).[reply]

@AdoTang: Hi, I'll be reviewing this.

General: Article is new enough and long enough
New enough: Long enough:

Policy: Article is sourced, neutral, and free of copyright problems
Adequate sourcing: Neutral: Free of copyright violations, plagiarism, and close paraphrasing:

Hook: Hook has been verified by provided inline citation
Cited: Interesting:

QPQ: Done.

Overall: Article properly expanded, no copy vio. Sources used appear reliable. I've done some minor copy edits. ALT0 is rather uninteresting and dull, ALT1 in the hook it is mentioned as "subscription library" and this term has been used in the lead as well, but with no citation although the fact is cited later on in the History section. But as DYK hook rules suggest, the terms used in the hook should be cited in the article somewhat as is. Currently, the cited description in the history section does not mention the word subscription, and the sources do not mention it directly, which is fine here as we can calibrate that easily from the stated info. But it'd be better if you made a mention of that word in that section as well. ALT2 is the most interesting of the bunch. However, it needs a bit of rewording. The source cited mention "due to concerns over Asbestos" but the hooks states directly "due to asbestos". This should be reworded. Moving to ALT3, it feels rather mundane. Ping me once you've made the adjustments. Regards. X (talk) 02:50, 18 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

@Xoak: I've decided to lean into ALT2 and ALT3. Reworded ALT2 as you suggested, and clarified what I was going for with ALT3 (the interest part was that it was only added after it was closed). Half-considering adding an ALT4 about how the Modern building was the first such building to be added to the Register, but I'm banking mainly on ALT2, which I agree is the most interesting. I was also thinking of adding another hook about how the 1877 fire originated from Fox's American Theatre considering it was in DYK recently, but I can't find a source that clearly states the connection and I doubt it would be particularly interesting to anyone except Philadelphia architectural historians. AdoTang (talk) 16:38, 19 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Approving with strong preference for ALT2.X (talk) 17:29, 19 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

@AdoTang and Xoak: I've had to pull this article from queue, since I don't believe that Mural Arts Philadelphia or OCF Realty are reliable sources. theleekycauldron (talk • she/her) 06:40, 9 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

@Theleekycauldron: I have added another reference for ALT2 to the article Source: [Philadelphia Daily News Tue, 22 Aug 1989 Page 32 via Newspapers.com "The Mercantile Library - the business oriented branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia - has been forced to close due to an asbestos-related problem."]. TSventon (talk) 20:03, 10 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

@Xoak:, I have copied the sentences with disputed sources to the talk page and removed them from the article. Can you recheck and reapprove the nomination? @AdoTang: has not edited for a week, but hopefully will return in due course. TSventon (talk) 11:41, 16 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

New reviewer needed unless Xoak returns. Z1720 (talk) 15:15, 27 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

@AdoTang: The sentence 'In 1952, the Mercantile Library moved to a newer building at 1021–1023 Chestnut Street, part of the site of the former Chestnut Street Opera House.' needs an end-of-sentence citation.--Laun chba ller 11:25, 28 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I don't remember if this was cited before but had its citation removed, but I've added a citation and removed the Opera House mention. AdoTang (talk) 22:34, 28 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Not sure how much I like there being three references for it, but it does comply with WP:CLUMP and it checks out to ref #6 (Hidden City Philadelphia), so approving.--Laun chba ller 06:22, 29 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Unreliable sources

AdoTang, the DYK nomination has been put on hold, due to doubt whether Mural Arts Philadelphia and OCF Realty are reliable sources. The easiest way to resolve the issue would be to remove the sentences involved. what do you think?

The disused library building remained the property of the Philadelphia city government until it was sold to a private investor in 2006.^[1] Though it has changed hands over the years since, no serious attempts have been made to expand or restore the building, and it has reportedly experienced water leak damage from neglect.^[2] A mural commemorating the library's 20th century history was painted on the Mercantile Library building in 2019. Though the mural was intended to be temporary, it remains on the building.^[2]^[3] TSventon (talk) 18:55, 11 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I have removed the sentences above and but has been vacant and left in a state of disrepair since from the lead. TSventon (talk) 12:29, 16 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Sorry for not checking in. Yeah, that sounds fine. I just went for those sources because there are very few I can find on this. AdoTang (talk) 16:44, 19 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

References

^ "Does Anyone Want the Mercantile Library Building?". OCF Realty. 2011-08-17. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
^ ^a ^b "What's Up at 1021 Chestnut Street?". Mural Arts Philadelphia. 2019-05-16. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
^ "Mercantile Library Mural". Hagopian Arts. Retrieved 2024-05-16.

Also you said you were also thinking of adding another hook about how the 1877 fire originated from Fox's American Theatre considering it was in DYK recently, but I can't find a source that clearly states the connection. What kind of connection are you looking for, I believe that The Philadelphia Inquirer mentions both buildings? TSventon (talk) 10:45, 12 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

[1] "Does Anyone Want the Mercantile Library Building?". OCF Realty. 2011-08-17. Retrieved 2024-05-17.

[:2-2] "What's Up at 1021 Chestnut Street?". Mural Arts Philadelphia. 2019-05-16. Retrieved 2024-05-17.

[3] "Mercantile Library Mural". Hagopian Arts. Retrieved 2024-05-16.

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