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Right now, there isn’t a single public library open anywhere in the Bronx, Brooklyn, or Manhattan on Sundays. Across the city, millions of students, scholars, inventors, and readers lack a quiet, accessible place to work on the day when most New Yorkers are free. Will you help change that? At a minimum, NYPL should keep the… Continue reading Keep the 42nd Street Library Open on Sundays!

The greatest publicly accessible research library in the world is being converted into a tourist trap by day and a party venue by night. Despite the pandemic, despite the battered economy, despite concerns among some trustees that the throngs of tourists interfere with library services, NYPL leadership is spending millions of dollars to supersize the… Continue reading The Vandals Are Inside the NYPL | Call Your Candidates & Officials | Weekly Candidate Forum

On Thursday the State Review Board voted unanimously to recommend the Carnegie Libraries of NYC to the State and National Registers of Historic Places. This means that the remaining 56 libraries constructed with funds donated by Andrew Carnegie will receive state and federal protection, making local designation by the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission more likely.… Continue reading Major Victory: Landmarking NYC’s Carnegie Libraries

Next Tuesday, November 12th—a week from today—from 5:30 to 7:00pm, the NYPL will hold a public meeting about “Midtown Campus Updates” at the Central Library in Astor Hall (42nd & 5th, in Bryant Park). The description of the meeting states only that “the latest information on the Library’s midtown master plan will be shared.” However,… Continue reading NYPL Master Plan Meeting Next Tuesday, November 12, 5:30 – 7pm

On September 18th, the New York Public Library cancelled a planned event with Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman’s private foundation after protests about his abuse of human rights. We would like to thank our allies Action Project and Code Pink for quickly mobilizing to oppose the event. The library’s announcement shortly followed the appearance of… Continue reading NYPL Cancels Saudi-backed Event After Protests

Last week, the New York Times reported on NYPL’s decision to keep the stacks at the 42nd Street Library empty indefinitely. In a letter to the editors published just before his passing, our friend Edmund Morris offers a brief comment on this sad state of affairs:  To the Editor: The Times has done New York and its… Continue reading Edmund Morris on NYPL’s Stacks Study

On Tuesday, February 5th, the Landmarks Committee of Community Board 5 met to discuss proposed changes to the 42nd Street Library that would create a new entrance and terrace on 40th Street. The new entrance would be paired with an inscription dedicated to trustee Stephen A. Schwarzman carved into the building’s marble facade (see image… Continue reading Alterations to 42nd Street Library Raise Alarm

This week we are launching a petition to expand the hours at the 42nd Street Library. Please join us in calling on library leaders to make longer hours a critical component of their 42nd Street Library Master Plan. Sign and share our petition with friends and colleagues: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/Expand-Hours-at-the-42nd-Street-Library We call on the New York Public… Continue reading Petition to Expand Hours at NYPL

In what has become an unfortunate annual tradition, the 42nd Street Library will be closed on Sundays for the remainder of the summer. With the Mid-Manhattan Library currently undergoing renovations, readers now have fewer opportunities to consult books and reference materials over the weekend. Instead, library patrons are redirected to the woefully inadequate 53rd Street… Continue reading Closing Time: Reduced NYPL Hours Burden Readers