Stephen A. Schwarzman Building

FAQ (frequently asked questions)

In General

• How many books does the Library have?
• Where are the books?

Access to the Collections

• Who can use The Research Libraries?
• How fast are the books delivered to a reader?
• Why can't I take books out of The Research Libraries?
• Can I borrow a book from the The Research Libraries on Interlibrary Loan through my local library?

Other Services

• Do you have copying facilities?
• Is everything in the catalog?

Life and Lore

• Do the Pages really wear roller skates?
• What are the names of the lions in front of the building?
• What movies and literature feature the Library?
• Were all of the library scenes in Ghostbusters really filmed here?
• How did New York City come to be known as "The Big Apple"?

How many books does the Library have?

System-wide Statistics are available on the New York Public Library Website.

Where are the books?

Visitors to the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building are often surprised to find that Astor Hall, the main lobby inside the 42nd Street entrance, contains no books. Each of the Library's eleven reading rooms, including the vast Deborah, Jonathan F.P., Samuel Priest and Adam R. Rose Main Reading Room (Room 315), includes basic reference books which are available for browsing and consultation directly by the reader.

 Most of the collection, however, is kept in "closed stacks," storage areas not accessible to the reader. Materials from the stacks are requested by filing a call slip at the appropriate divisional reference desk. Items are then retrieved for readers by Library employees, called Pages, and delivered to the reading rooms where they may be used.

 For more information, see How Do I Find a Book.    

Who can use The Research Libraries?  

Generally speaking, the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building's resources are available to all without qualification.

 Materials in the Special Collections (the Rare Books Division, the Manuscripts and Archives Division, the Photography Collection and the Print Collection among them), require a card of admission before readers are admitted to these specialized reading rooms.

Adults may also wish to use the Branch Libraries as a first resource, since there is likely to be a facility close to home or work, the collections are browsable, and most of the books are available to check out to qualified borrowers.

How fast are the books delivered to a reader? 

In the General Research Division, books delivered from the stacks to the Rose Main Reading Room are often available to the reader in twenty minutes or less. The amount of time it takes for a book to reach a reader, however, is affected by many variables: the number of readers requesting service at the time, the number of staff members on duty, and especially the proximity of the book's shelf location to the reading room (the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building includes over 88 miles of shelving!) Books stored in the more remote stack levels, including the Bryant Park Stack Extension, which reaches underground to Sixth Avenue, can take 45 minutes or more to deliver.

The Library is very proud of its ability to deliver materials on demand and so quickly. Researchers who work in some European research libraries, for example, must request books a day or more ahead and return to the library to use them.  

Why can't I take books out of The Research Libraries, with the exception of the Children's Room in the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building? 

The Research Libraries of The New York Public Library are non-circulating, with the exception of the Children's Room in the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building. That means that the collections have been assembled as a permanent record of civilization, and keeping them all on-site at all times helps ensure that materials will remain in the collections forever.

Although at times the non-circulating nature of the materials may seem to limit readers' work, the policy also makes all materials are available to all readers at all times the Library is open.  

Can I borrow a book from The Research Libraries on Interlibrary Loan through my local library?  

The Research Libraries maintain limited interlibrary loan agreements with Research Libraries Group (RLG) member libraries. However, there may be photocopy or other document delivery options which satisfy a request. For more information, contact the Cooperative Services Division at (212) 930-0878.

Do you have copying facilities? 

Self-service photocopiers are available in the Rose Main Reading Room (room 315, North Hall), and in the DeWitt Wallace Periodicals Division (room 108). Self-service copying in the Rose Main Reading Room requires librarian approval. Many Stephen A. Schwarzman Building materials may be copied only by Library staff. This helps to maintain the condition of research materials which are often both rare and fragile. (See the discussion on the non-circulating nature of the collections, above). Staff-assisted quick copies may be ordered at the Copy Services desk in the North Hall of the Rose Main Reading Room. Other kinds of copying, such as microfilm or photography may be ordered in the division holding the material. A large format copier for flat materials is available in the Map Division (room 117).  Self-service microform reader/printers are located in room 100. Printing from computer workstations is available throughout the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building. Fees vary according to the kind of copying.

Is everything in the online catalog? 

The online catalog of the New York Public Library contains bibliographic information on books and other materials cataloged since 1972, as well as earlier materials added as part of ongoing retrospective conversion projects. See more detailed information on the catalog.

Materials cataloged before 1972 appear in the Dictionary Catalog of the Research Libraries, 1911-1971.

Many divisions and special collections in the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building maintain separate book catalogs, card files, and electronic files and databases to control additional holdings. For more information, contact the appropriate division.  

Do the Pages really wear roller skates?

Only in the Francis Ford Coppola movie You're a Big Boy Now. Most wear sneakers.

What are the names of the lions in front of the building? 

The New York Public Library lions, sculpted by Edward C. Potter in pink Tennessee marble, have been known by various nicknames since they were placed in front of the Central Research Library (now the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building) in 1911. Although they have no official names, they are commonly known as Patience and Fortitude today. More information about the lions.

What movies and literature feature the Library?

Movies where you'll get at least a glimpse of the Library
• Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)
• You're a Big Boy Now (1967)
• The Possession of Joel Delaney (1971)
• Network (1976)
• Chapter Two (1979)
• Exposed (1982)
• Ghostbusters (1983)
• Off Beat (1985)
• Regarding Henry (1991)
• Quiz Show (1994)
• The Thomas Crown Affair (1999)
• Maid in Manhattan (2002)
• Spider-Man (2002)
  

Books whose plots or characters are involved with the Library

• Jane Smiley. Duplicate Keys.

Were all of the scenes in Ghostbusters really filmed here? 

Yes and no. Library exteriors and Main Reading Room (South Hall) shots were filmed at NYPL. The stack scene featuring the female ghost knocking books and shelflist cards all over the place was filmed at the Los Angeles Public Library's main building in downtown L.A. That building was the victim of arson a short time later, but has now been beautifully restored.

How did New York City come to be known as "The Big Apple"? 

Alternate explanations from Barry Popik and the Gotham Center for New York City History.

There is no single, authoritative answer as to why New York City is known as The Big Apple. That the term is now widely known may be due to a tourism publicity campaign launched by the New York Convention and Visitors Bureau in 1971.

 Certainly, the term was used before that. The most recent research traces the phrase back to a book published in 1909. In a New York Times article of February 1, 1989, David Shulman refers to The Wayfarer in New York, a collection of essays edited by Edward S. Martin. On page xiv of that book, Mr. Martin wrote that the rest of the country "inclines to think the big apple gets a disproportionate share of the national sap." This is the earliest use of the term yet brought to our attention.

 Previously, the phrase had been linked to jazz slang, or to the popular dance named the Big Apple. The Dictionary of American Slang (Wentworth and Flexner) and The Morris Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins both trace the phrase in this way, but this only takes it back as far as the 1930s.

 John Ciardi (New York Times, 7/19/78) relates the phrase to the Spanish term "manzana principal," which denotes a city's main section. He goes on to say: "Translated as Big Apple by New Orleans jazzmen around 1900 with the sense "the big time," the idiom passed into show bizz..."