The Branch Libraries

Tottenville Branch, Staten Island

The Branch Libraries of The New York Public Library form one of  the largest and finest urban public library systems in the world. Each year, more than 11 million books, films, recorded materials, magazines, and pictures circulate among the Library's 2.3 million cardholders. With 85 locations in the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island, the branches are often the first -- and sometimes the only -- contact the people of New York have with the Library. They reach far beyond the traditional lending role usually associated with neighborhood libraries to provide, at no charge, an extraordinary range of vital services and programs to the community. As one Staten Island resident recently explained, "Our local branch library is the unsung hero of our neighborhood main street. It holds the street together, gives it focus, direction, and life."

The Branches Online
The Branch Libraries help make the public's search for electronic information far easier, quicker, and more thorough. With LEO (Library Entrance Online), The Branch Libraries' online catalog and information system, up to 1,800 users can simultaneously get catalog information, use databases, and access the Internet.
 
The system also acts as a gateway to CATNYP, the catalog system of The Research Libraries (the Humanities and Social Sciences Library, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, and the Science, Industry and Business Library), and to the catalogs of other library systems.
 
With LEO, the public can not only search the entire Branch Libraries' collection, but also check if items sought are actually available for borrowing. Through LEO, users may place reserves ("holds") on circulating material, cancel holds, renew checked-out items, and review their circulation records, which give details of items borrowed along with any fines owed. Anyone with a personal computer and Internet access may reach all LEO services from home by logging into LEO via the Library's World Wide Web home page .
 
Patrons may also use their telephones to dial into LEOLine, The New York Public Library's automated telephone system, at (212) 262-7444 to renew checked-out items, cancel holds, and review borrower accounts.

Jefferson Market Regional Branch, Manhattan

Programs and Services
In addition to storytelling, poetry readings, and book discussions, The Branch Libraries offer literacy and English-language courses; information about drug, alcohol, and pregnancy counseling; career and job search information; instruction on use of the Internet; and afterschool and weekend programs for children. Nearly all branches offer free use personal computers, along with help in their use by computer pages -- young people from the community who have been specially selected and trained for this purpose. Public libraries are the only places in New York City where the general public may use computers at no charge.
 
Demand for the services and opportunities provided by The Branch Libraries has never been greater. Last year, over half a million New Yorkers took advantage of the more than 25,000 free programs offered in their local branches. Special programs throughout the Library included English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and literacy tutoring at the Centers for Reading and Writing for English-speaking adults. Over 500,000 braille books, talking books, and other materials were circulated to more than 16,000 users who are blind or have physical disabilities. And The Branch Libraries are the City's largest single distributor of free information about AIDS.

The Connecting Libraries and Schools Project (CLASP)
Initiated in 1991 as a national pilot program with private funding, CLASP is a unique collaboration between libraries and schools that brings together teachers, school and public librarians, and parents to encourage children to read at an early age. With public funding, the project is being gradually phased in throughout New York City. Additional funds provided in the Fiscal 1998 City budget will make CLASP available in 13 school districts citywide.
 
CLASP librarians visit local schools to sign up children and parents for library cards, to reach out to teachers and school librarians, to excite students about good books, and to provide workshops for parents to promote reading at home. In a recent initiative, CLASP staff trained teachers on library computers to search LEO and the Internet. The teachers then prepared classroom activities for their students that incorporated these library technologies.

Morrisania Branch, Bronx

The Adopt-A-Branch Program
A number of The New York Public Library's branches have benefited from the Library's extremely successful Adopt-A-Branch program, through which private donors join public funders to restore branch libraries.
 
The renovation of the West Farms Branch in the South Bronx is a recent example. Other Adopt-A-Branches include the new Morrisania Branch in the Bronx, the Aguilar Branch in East Harlem/El Barrio, the Tompkins Square Branch in the East Village, and the Sedgwick Library in the South Bronx.

The Central Library Units
While 80 of the branches are tailored to serve the needs of their local neighborhoods, the branch system also includes five Central Library Units that offer broader reference and periodical holdings and specialized services. These are the Mid-Manhattan Library, the Donnell Library Center, the Andrew Heiskell Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, and the circulating collections of The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts and of the Science, Industry and Business Library.
 

• The Mid-Manhattan Library, 455 Fifth Avenue at 40th Street, located diagonally across the street from the Humanities and Social Sciences Library, is the headquarters of The Branch Libraries and serves Manhattan's busy midtown section. With over one million items, it contains the largest circulating and reference collection in The Branch Libraries system. 
  Special divisions include the Picture Collection of more than 5 million illustrations and photographs clipped from books and magazines -- the largest collection of its kind in any public library system. This is a frequently consulted resource for artists, designers, architects, fashion designers, advertisers, and picture researchers. 
  The Job Information Center provides up-to-date information for anyone looking for a job or researching a career. This includes information on job-search strategies, resume writing, and DISCOVER, an interactive computer career-choice program. 
  Also located at the Mid-Manhattan Library is Project Access, which provides information and adaptive technology to help patrons with disabilities use materials within the library, and an extensive reference collection of disability-related materials.
• The Donnell Library Center, 20 West 53rd Street, houses the World Languages Collection, the largest circulating collection of materials written in languages other than English -- including nearly 100,000 books in 80 languages, as well as a large selection of international magazines. Another special focus of the Donnell Library Center is services for children and young adults. The Central Children's Room is a nationally recognized children's resource containing 100,000 volumes, including a large selection of material on the history and criticism of children's literature and related topics, heavily used by teachers, authors, and  illustrators. An important collection of rare and early children's books, along with such memorabilia as the Mary Poppins's umbrella, round out the collection.
  The Nathan Straus Young Adult Center contains a large collection of young adult fiction and nonfiction materials, including many items relating to college search and financial aid. The Media Center, one of the largest of its kind in the nation, includes thousands of film, video, and audio materials, especially one-of-a-kind works by independent film and video makers.
• The Andrew Heiskell Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, 40 West 20th Street, sets a new standard for library service for persons with disabilities. In addition to accommodating on-site users with a thoughtfully designed, barrier-free environment and providing a state-of-the-art array of special-format materials and equipment, the Andrew Heiskell Library operates an extensive, free, mail-order system for qualified users who are unable to use standard printed materials. Every day the library delivers thousands of braille and talking books for home use throughout New York City and Long Island.
• The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, contains the world's most extensive combination of circulating, reference, and rare archival holdings on dance, music, theatre, and other performing arts. One of the four research libraries of The New York Public Library, it also serves a Branch Libraries' function, enabling users to borrow a large variety of materials dedicated to the performing arts, including videotapes, audiocassettes, books, scores, and compact discs.
• The Science, Industry and Business Library (SIBL), 188 Madison Avenue at 34th Street, is the world's largest public information center devoted solely to science and business. An Electronic Information Center, with 73 computer workstations, connects users to hundreds of internal and external information sources. One of the four research libraries of The New York Public Library reflecting advances in information and computer technology, SIBL also serves a Branch Libraries' function, with a circulating collection of 40,000 titles.

George Bruce Branch, Manhattan

Origins of the Branch Library System
The vitality and strong traditions of community service that characterize The Branch Libraries can be traced back to the very foundation of The New York Public Library. The branch system was established in February 1901 after consolidation with The New York Free Circulating Library. A month later, steel baron Andrew Carnegie offered $5.2 million to the City of New York to build 65 branch libraries in all five boroughs, on the condition that the City agree to provide the sites and maintain their future operations. Today, The New York Public Library's 85 branches are funded primarily by the City of New York, with additional support from New York State and other private, foundation, and corporate sources.
 

Branch Libraries homepage
 

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