The New York Public Library's famous Rose Main Reading Room will be closed for about two weeks, after a piece of plaster fell from the ceiling Wednesday night, a library spokesman said Friday.

The reading room, in the library's landmark Fifth Avenue building, is among the city's most impressive public spaces. Its 52-foot-tall ceilings are decorated with wood paneling and painted clouds.

The library's facilities team is inspecting the reading room, and the adjoining Bill Blass Public Catalog Room, to ensure public safety, said library spokesman Ken Weine. He said the chunk of fallen plaster was about a foot wide.

The rest of the Stephen A. Schwarzman building remains open, and additional spaces in the building are being opened to accommodate patrons.

The building, designed by Carrère and Hastings, opened in 1911. A restoration of the reading room was completed in 1998.