About the City Island Library

The City Island branch of the New York Public Library is located in the center of a mile long, three-block wide stretch of land in the Bronx, on the Long Island Sound.

City Island has been described as “Martha’s Vineyard with a Bronx accent”. It has been serving the island community since 1911, and had been in its current location on City Island Avenue and Bay Street since 1970. The branch has a unique 1,000+ volume Ship Collection on such topics as boat construction, naval history, pirates, the America Cup, naval history, famous shipwrecks, fishing techniques, lighthouses, sailing how-to’s, sea fiction, and surfing, just to name a few. Reference materials on City Island history are available for use inside the branch. In the spring of 1997, the City Island Library reopened after undergoing a complete renovation that more than doubled its size. The branch now features a separate reference and children’s section and a landscaped backyard garden for public use. A new community room can accommodate 45 people for programs and meetings. These are some of the programs presently being offered at the City Island library: We have lectures on all topics, films for all ages, book discussion groups and teen programs which include Yu-Gi-oh, Play Station 3, and Wii. In addition, we offer weekly computer class. We have a large number of laptops in addition to our regular computers. Also, we have a large collection of DVDs, CDs, and “talking books” available. We also have large print books of every type. Our children’s programs involve preschool story hours, picture book hours and the toddler program. We also invite schools to bring their classes where students can participate in library activities.