New York, NY (November 19, 2025)—Public libraries are crucial, providing free access to all kinds of information, literature and the arts. Protecting libraries and that access is a patriotic thing to do, but it also requires money in an era where the Homes of the Tomes are increasingly both underfunded and under threat of censorship. Facing that head-on, The New York Public Library has hosted an annual Library Lions event since the 1980s to raise funds, and the evening has grown to become one of the most anticipated on New York City’s cultural calendar. On Monday, November 3, 2025, the NYPL inducted its 2025 class of distinguished Lions—Bruce Springsteen, James Patterson, Shonda Rhimes, Louise Erdrich, Daniel Kehlmann and James McBride—and New York’s L&M Sound & Light was on hand for the event.
L&M Sound & Light provided audio and lighting design and production across most of the event, including the Library’s grand entrance, Astor Hall, and the sound for the Rose Reading Room. The Room is no mere room, however—it’s 297 feet end-to-end, with 52-foot ceilings and lots of hard stone surfaces. Despite those challenges, L&M created an audio system designed to meet the space’s demanding acoustics and architectural characteristics, utilizing 1 Sound loudspeakers. Four 1 Sound Tower Systems were placed at the front of the stage as the mains, providing even coverage for speeches and live performances—including a surprise performance by Bruce Springsteen.
The Audio of Oasis Live 25, Part 1
The Towers’ controlled directivity with a wide dispersion pattern and narrow throw of 5º off the top of the loudspeaker prevented reflections bouncing off the vaulted ceiling, while the speakers’ active cardioid cancellation helped maintain clarity for both spoken word with live lectern microphones and live music, minimizing sound spill onto the stage.
Each Tower System included three Tower LCC44 loudspeakers and a CSUB610 subwoofer, deployed horizontally in omni mode. For delay coverage, three Contour CT28 loudspeakers per side provided coverage needed across the full length of the Reading Room, allowing for the 540 attendees to keep their attention and focus on the front of the room.
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For Springsteen’s performance, L&M used four 1 Sound CM38 cardioid concert monitors—low-profile enough not to obstruct sightlines and high-powered to deliver detailed audio.
The CM38’s linear passive cardioid behavior provided an 8 dB reduction behind the monitor, preventing excess stage spill and maintaining clarity for the first rows of seated guests. As Vogue reported, “Much to the audience’s delight, Springsteen had also agreed to a surprise concert… Before launching into ‘Thunder Road,’ The Boss paused to acknowledge that while he has played at fireman’s fairs, weddings, and bar mitzvahs, and in bowling alleys, pizza parlors, hockey rinks, and football stadiums during his five-decade-long career, this was a career first. “I have never played a f*cking library!”
