New York Public Library

For the main branch at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, also frequently referred to as "New York Public Library", see New York Public Library Main Branch.
Not to be confused with New York State Library.

New York Public Library
The New York Public Library Main Branch in Manhattan
Map
40°45′11″N 73°58′55″W / 40.75306°N 73.98194°W / 40.75306; -73.98194
Location476 Fifth Avenue, New York City, New York, U.S.
EstablishedMay 23, 1895; 129 years ago (1895-05-23)
Branches92[1]
Collection
Size55 million[2]
Access and use
Population served3.5 million (the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island)
Other information
BudgetUS$302,208,000 (2017)[3]
Endowment: $1,448,838,000[3]
DirectorAnthony Marx, President and CEO
Brent Reidy, Andrew W. Mellon Director of the Research Libraries[4]
Employees3,150
Websitenypl.org

The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second-largest public library in the United States behind the Library of Congress and the fourth-largest public library in the world.[5] It is a private, non-governmental, independently managed, nonprofit corporation operating with both private and public financing.[6]

The library has branches in the boroughs of the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island and affiliations with academic and professional libraries in the New York metropolitan area. The city's other two boroughs, Brooklyn and Queens, are not served by the New York Public Library system, but rather by their respective borough library systems: the Brooklyn Public Library and the Queens Public Library. The branch libraries are open to the general public and consist of circulating libraries. The New York Public Library also has four research libraries, which are also open to the general public.

The library, officially chartered as The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations, was developed in the 19th century, founded from an amalgamation of grass-roots libraries and social libraries of bibliophiles and the wealthy, aided by the philanthropy of the wealthiest Americans of their age.

The "New York Public Library" name may also refer to its Main Branch, which is easily recognizable by its lion statues named Patience and Fortitude that sit either side of the entrance. The branch was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1965,[7] listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966,[8] and designated a New York City Landmark in 1967.[9]

  1. ^ "About The New York Public Library". Archived from the original on January 27, 2022. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  2. ^ "New York Public Library General Fact Sheet" (PDF). Nypl.org. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 2, 2014. Retrieved November 24, 2012.
  3. ^ a b "New York Public Library Annual Report 2017" (PDF). Nypl.org. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 20, 2018. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
  4. ^ "President and Leadership". Nypl.org. Archived from the original on April 30, 2011. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
  5. ^ Burke, Pat (July 2, 2015). "CTO Takes the New York Public Library Digital". CIO Insight. Quinstreet Enterprise. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  6. ^ The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations. Financial Statements and Supplemental Schedules, June 2016, p. 8.
  7. ^ "New York Public Library". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. September 16, 2007. Archived from the original on December 5, 2007.
  8. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007. Archived from the original on October 2, 2007.
  9. ^ "New York Public Library" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. January 11, 1967. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 7, 2017. Retrieved June 24, 2016.