Access to Offsite Collections

In order to provide space for growing collections, NYPL is housing lesser-used research materials at a shelving facility in Plainsboro, NJ, operated jointly with Columbia University and Princeton University. A courier service delivers material to the research centers before opening time Monday - Friday.

Identifying offsite collections:

Material is identified in The Catalog by the location "Offsite."

Delivery schedule:

An item will usually be delivered the next business day (Tuesday - Friday) if the request is placed before 2:30 p.m.  Although most off-site materials will be available within one business day, some may require up to four business days.

Requesting material:

If an item you want is "Offsite," you can fill out a call slip and bring it to the service desk.  Staff will place the request and tell you when you can expect the item to arrive. Please call (see phone numbers below) before returning to the Library to confirm that the item has been delivered. Many items can be delivered to any NYPL research center reading room, though some materials have restrictions on use.

You may phone or e-mail requests for closed stack and offsite materials at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building and the Science, Industry and Business Library (some limitations apply). Exact call numbers are required. Contact the appropriate Library for more information:

Electronic delivery:

A single article or book chapter of up to 50 pages can be delivered electronically if you have an e-mail address. The document will be scanned and posted on a website. You will be notified by e-mail when the item is available, and given a URL and Personal Identification Number (PIN) to access it. The item will remain online for two weeks. You can speak to a staff member at a service desk for more information.  If your request cannot be filled electronically, the item will be delivered to the reading room where you placed the request, and it will be held on reserve for one week for you.