The Sixties: An Era of Pop Cultural Revolution in America | The New York Public Library (2024)

What do TheRolling Stones,TheSupremes,TheBeach Boys,Elvis Presley, The Velvet Underground, andWoodstockhave in common? They were cultural symbols and products of the Sixties.The Sixties gave birth to a popular culture in film and music that reflected and influenced the decade's social upheavals:the rise ofCold War politics, civil rights movements, student protests, and the Vietnam warall profoundly affected American society and culture.

Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones

Legendary guitaristKeith RichardsofThe Rolling Stonescame to LIVE from theNYPL on October 29, 2010, to give a talk about his new memoir,Life.Watch the conversationonline >>

To honor the legacy and impact of popular culture of the Sixties in America, NYPL will host a freepublicprogramon Wednesday,November 30, 2011 at 6 p.m. inSouth Court Auditoriumat theStephen A. Schwarzman Building.

Ride the Wild Surf, 1964

At NYPL, we have a huge collection of books, films, and music from and about the 1960s relating to history, politics, culture, sociology, literature, etc. You can find them all in our newLibrary catalog: BiblioCommons. You can review, rate or tag the items you have recently viewed and share them with others. The quickest way to find films and music at NYPL is in the catalog:search by TITLEor by KEYWORD,and then switch the formats to DVD for movies or Music CD for music. If you are researching this time period, search under SUBJECTand type or copy/paste "United States -- History -- 1961-1969" for a list of collection relating to that period. You can also narrow down your search by location.

If you are researching archival and manuscript collections from the 1960s, consider searching the Find Archival Materials Tool,where several divisions in the research libraries store these collections.

The NYPL also recently acquired the papers of the influential psychologist and author Timothy Leary, "whoseadvocacy of the use psychedelic substances to promote psychological well-being, increased creativity, and spiritual renewal made him a key figure in the counterculture of the 1960s and 1970s." Read more >>

Riding the surf at Waikiki

New York Public Library

This public program will highlight some of the key developments in popular film and music and consider the role of political and social factors in shaping popular culture, as well as the impact of pop culture on society. AuthorTom Lisantiwill explore some of the popular films from the Sixtiesbeach movie genre, such as Beach Party, Ride the Wild Surf, and Beach Blanket Bingo, while Professor and MusicianSusan Schmidt Horningwill discuss popular music fromMotowntoWoodstock.After the presentations, a conversation will be moderated by ProfessorJoan DelFattore, one of NYPL'sAllen Roomscholarsand a specialist in American culture.

We hope you can join us for this exciting conversation on popular movies and music of the Sixties!

A pickey line demonstration in 1965

Kay Tobin Lahusen, Digital ID 1605765, New York Public Library

Requesting and holding items at NYPL >>

NYPL's new catalog, BiblioCommons >>

Social movements in America >>

A blog postabout rock n' roll in the Sixties

NYPL's research collections on music and film at the Library for the Performing Arts >>

The Sixties Pop Culture Series on PBS >>