The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts

Access for Persons with Disabilities

The renovated building of The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center is fully accessible to individuals with disabilities, including the incorporation of ADA-compliant ramps, doorways, restrooms and elevators. In addition, its screening facilities feature wheelchair-accessible viewing carrels, individual laptop computers enabling non-verbal communication, and volume-enhancing headphone adaptors. The Library for the Performing Arts also serves as a source for many performance accessibility projects at Lincoln Center and throughout the area.

Queries about services at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts can be made by telephone at (212) 870-1605, and by e-mail at performingarts@nypl.org. The Library's staff is always available during your visit for clarification and assistance.

Services for Individuals with Visual Impairments

All four reading rooms are equiped with a variety of adaptive technology resources for the visually impaired. In each, a Kurzweil Personal Reader computer has the capacity to articulate to patrons who are visually impaired. All of the public access computers are equipped with font enlargement functions and the Accessibility Wizard feature of Windows2000 Professional. Near the main lobby, a list of events going on at the Library is displayed in large type on a large-screen television. Braille signage is located inside and outside the elevators, as well as at the entrance to each room.

Services for Individuals with Audial Impairments

All of the Library's public computers can be supplied with headphone which have adjustable volume levels that conform to ADA recommendations for people wth hearing impairments. On the Plaza level, a room is outfitted with individual sound stations for patrons to listen to CDs and cassettes from the circulating collections, which include all forms of music, spoken word and dialect tapes. On the third floor, patrons can request items from the vast holdings in recorded sound, film and video. In addition, there is a silent piano in the Music Division reading room, which patrons may use with headphones to audition and rehearse music.

Services for Individuals with Mobility Impairments

The building and all divisions of the Library for the Performing Arts are wheelchair accessible, as is the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts campus. All reading room computer carrels and reading tables are situated at a comfortable height for wheelchair-bound patrons. In addition, the corner computer in each reading room is specifically designated for wheelchair users for Internet and e-mail access. The multi-media galleries, Technical Training Center and Bruno Walter Auditorium are all wheelchair accessible. Accessible restrooms for women are on the Amsterdam Level and the 2nd and 3rd floors, and for men on the Amsterdam level and 3rd floor.