æt ðə tˈaɪm, ðə sˈɪɾi dɪdnˌɑːt hæv ɐ lˈaɪbɹɛɹi, ænd ðə nˈuː jˈɔːɹk səsˈaɪəɾi bᵻlˈiːvd ðæt sˈʌtʃ ɐn ˌɪnstɪtˈuːʃən wʊd biː jˈuːsfəl tə ðə kəmjˈuːnᵻɾi.
At the time, the city did not have a library, and the New York Society believed that such an institution would be useful to the community.