New York Public Library
Public library system in New York City
Follow New York Public Library on Notably News to receive short updates to your email — rarely!
| June 2024 | Restored funding for Sunday library services. |
| 2023 | A public entrance is opened on the southern elevation of the library, adjacent to the Marshall Rose Plaza. |
| November 2023 | Suffered $75,000 in damage to the facade during a protest while closed for Thanksgiving. |
| November 26 2023 | NYPL discontinued Sunday services at select branches and reduced adult and children's programs due to budget constraints related to the New York City migrant housing crisis. |
| June 2023 | Opened the new 40th Street entrance to the public. |
| 2022 | Peng Shepherd's novel 'The Cartographers' features the New York Public Library Main Branch. |
| March 16 2022 | Opened the Charleston Library, the newest branch in the New York Public Library system, located in Staten Island. |
| 2021 | Launched the Polonsky Exhibition of The New York Public Library's Treasures, the first permanent exhibition of valuable objects in the library system. |
| October 5 2021 | Eliminated all late book fees and cleared existing patron debt, a policy initiated by library president Anthony Marx in 2011. |
| October 5 2021 | NYPL eliminated all late fees for book and item returns, clearing existing patron debts from their records. |
| 2020 | Mid-Manhattan Branch closes for renovations, with its 400,000 circulating volumes temporarily housed in the Main Branch stacks. |
| 2020 | The Mid-Manhattan Library completed renovations. |
| 2020 | Celebrated 125th anniversary by calculating and publishing a list of most checked-out books, with 'The Snowy Day' topping the list. |
| 2020 | NYPL celebrated its 125th anniversary by calculating and publishing a list of its most checked-out books of all time. |
| January 2020 | The Macomb's Bridge Library moved across the street to a larger space. |
| 2019 | The lion statues underwent another restoration in late 2019. |
| October 2019 | Opened the Center for Research in the Humanities on the second floor. |
| 2018 | The Main Branch began another expansion project. |
| July 2018 | Began renovations with construction on the Lenox and Astor Room, a scholar's center on the second floor. |
| July 2018 | The New York Public Library launched an initiative allowing NYC library card holders free access to 33 prominent New York cultural institutions, including the Whitney Museum and the Guggenheim Museum. |
| 2017 | The library is renamed the Harry Belafonte 115th Street Branch, honoring the nearby resident and cultural icon Harry Belafonte. |
| 2017 | The Mid-Manhattan Library began renovations. |
| 2017 | The Rose Main Reading Room and Public Catalog Room were separately designated as New York City landmarks. |
| November 2017 | Approved a $317 million master plan for the Main Branch, designed to increase public space by 20% and add new features. |
| August 2017 | Established an interim circulating library at 42nd Street, housing part of the Mid-Manhattan Branch's collection. |
| June 2017 | Launched Subway Library, a collaborative initiative with Brooklyn Public Library, Queens Public Library, MTA, and Transit Wireless, providing New York City subway riders with digital access to e-books, excerpts, and short stories. |
| January 2017 | Opening of the Milstein Stacks (Level 2) under Bryant Park, with plans to move 2.5 million additional books from the ReCAP warehouse in New Jersey. |
| 2016 | Installation of a $2.6 million 'book train' delivery system with 24 red carts, replacing the previous Ferris wheel-style conveyor system from the 1990s. |
| 2016 | NYPL released the SimplyE app, allowing patrons to explore and check out ebooks from multiple vendors with increased ease, and made the app's code open source. |
| October 5 2016 | Reopened the restored Rose Main Reading Room and Bill Blass Public Catalog Room. |
| June 27 2016 | The 53rd Street Library branch opened at 18 West 53rd Street. |
| 2015 | BookOps facility processed and sorted almost eight million library items, consolidating previously separate departmental functions into a single location for improved efficiency. |
| 2014 | Launched 'Library Simplified' project to improve e-book checkout processes for library patrons. |
| August 27 2014 | Van Nest Library was renamed Pelham Parkway-Van Nest Library after years of community support and requests. |
| May 2014 | Closed the Rose Main Reading Room and Public Catalog Room after a rosette fell from the ceiling, initiating a $12 million restoration project. |
| May 2014 | Abandoned the controversial Central Library Plan after six years of public opposition and two lawsuits. |
| 2013 | Stapleton Library renovations completed, including the addition of a new building. |
| December 16 2013 | Mariners Harbor Library opened, becoming the thirteenth branch of NYPL on Staten Island. |
| February 2013 | New York and Brooklyn Public Libraries announced a merger of their technical services departments, creating BookOps, a centralized facility in Long Island City aimed at saving approximately $3.5 million annually and improving library services. |
| 2011 | Stapleton Library began significant renovations and remodeling. |
| 2011 | Completion of the major restoration project. The Main Branch was renamed after Stephen A. Schwarzman in recognition of his significant financial contribution. |
| 2010 | NYPL reduced staff by approximately 16 percent as part of their consolidation program and moved back-office operations to a new Library Services Center in Long Island City. |
This contents of the box above is based on material from the Wikipedia articles List of New York Public Library branches, New York Public Library, 115th Street Library & New York Public Library Main Branch, which are released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.