Research at NYPL: Remote Access to Collections and Services

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Many of The New York Public Library's research collections and services are available remotely. From personalized email consultations with research librarians to remote access to our online research databases, the Library offers a variety of ways to engage with our collections wherever you are.

Online Research Assistance

Research librarians and curators are available to answer research-specific questions via email or through online research consultations. Learn more.

For questions about your library account, downloading e-books, and other technical assistance, connect with Ask NYPL staff via live chat and email.

Access Online Research Databases to Find Full-Text Articles

Blue house-shaped icon

Databases with this icon are accessible remotely with a valid NYPL card and PIN. Please explore the A-Z list of Articles & Databases and limit your search to “available at home with library card.” There are hundreds of resources available from home. These key resources are good places to start:

As the Library continues its phased reopening, we are pleased to offer access to the following critical resources:

The following specialized business databases are now available remotely:

Browse Academic E-Books

The Library has acquired thousands of scholarly e-books from hundreds of publishers, including Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Harvard University Press, Sage and many others. Browse by title and subject in databases such as Project Muse, University Press Scholarship Online, Cambridge Core, Sage Knowledge, and De Gruyter E-Book Collections.

The Library also offers remote access to thousands of foreign-language academic ebooks in the humanities and social sciences through CAIRN (French), Digitalia (Spanish), and Torrossa (Italian and Spanish). These platforms provide access to scholarship, primary sources, journals, and popular magazines.

E-Book Central

Explore more than 300,000 e-books and e-audiobooks available for free at NYPL—from children's books to bestsellers. Find accessible e-book offerings, learn about downloading e-reader apps to your device, and more.

Digitized Research Books

The Library, in partnership with Google, has digitized more than 400,000 books from its historic collection. These books published before 1925 are in the public domain and can be found here in Google Books. Additional public domain books digitized from NYPL and other research library collections can be found at HathiTrust.

In addition, NYPL has developed Digital Research Books, an early beta test of a new project that collects digital versions of research books from many different sources — including Open Access publications — into one convenient place to search. There are multiple digital versions available for many books (from various editions and sources or in multiple formats) and Digital Research Books makes it easier to understand the differences between them.

Digitized Collections

View hundreds of thousands of digitized images, manuscripts, and ephemera from the research collections at our Digital Collections page.

Archives Portal

Examine finding aids and information spanning more than 10,000 archival and manuscript collections on our Archives Portal, including links to digitized material where available.

High Resolution Digital Reproductions

The Library can deliver high resolution digital files of previously digitized collection material, many of which can be found on our Digital Collections website. Please contact Permissions at permissions@nypl.org for any further questions.

Research Guides to Online Resources

Whether you are researching an artist, exploring your family history, or researching the African diaspora, our expert staff have developed research guides that will point you to the best resources.

Graduate Test Preparation Materials

Are you studying for a graduate admissions test like the GRE, GMAT, LSAT, or MCAT? Or are you practicing for professional exams like the NCLEX for nursing or PRAXIS for teaching? Learning Express Library includes dozens of practice tests, tutorials and e-books to support you.

More Remote Library Services

Need to manage your account after hours or remotely? Whether you're at the Library, at school, or at home, you can access a wide range of our resources with your library card.