Update on The New York Public Library’s Picture Collection

The New York Public Library is moving its Picture Collection to a new home within the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building.

The collection will move into Room 119 on the first floor of the building; it had been in a temporary space since 2017, when its long-time home the Mid-Manhattan Library across the street began a major renovation (that transformed library opened this year as the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library).

The Picture Collection will continue to circulate and be browsable in Room 119. Additionally, the Picture Collection’s expert staff will continue to serve patrons. A timeline for the move is not final, but it is expected to open in the new space in early 2022.

The Library has been evaluating the future of the Picture Collection following a decision to incorporate it into the institution’s renowned research collections. As it preserves visual culture and history, the Picture Collection (traditionally a part of the Library’s circulating collection) should be preserved in perpetuity.

The Library’s initial plan was to serve the Picture Collection from the same reading rooms that serve the Library’s Wallach Division of Art, Prints, and Photographs. The Collection would follow the same parameters as any other Library research collection: it would not circulate and be available upon request. However, following patron feedback that the Collection’s continued circulation and browsability are critical, the Library decided to maintain the current service model. It is grateful for the feedback, as the goal is always to best serve the Library’s patrons.

The Collection, part of the Wallach Division, will now be located in the Library’s Milstein Division of U.S., Local History and Genealogy corridor, with huge thanks to the Milstein family. The same expert Picture Collection staff will assist patrons on-site with their research needs and provide educational outreach. Virtual consultations and online reference assistance will also remain available.

Since its creation in 1915, the Picture Collection has provided New York's community of artists, illustrators, designers, teachers, students, and general researchers with images covering over 12,000 subjects to inform their work. In its new location, the Picture Collection will continue to serve those purposes.

The Wallach Divisions of Arts, Prints, and Photographs
Established in 1987 thanks to a gift from the Wallach family, The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs unites what had formerly been three separate departments under a single banner. Divisional holdings comprise works of art as well as reference materials on painting, sculpture, drawing, printmaking, photography and the history of architecture from prehistoric times to the present. The Wallach Division also serves as the access point to the Spencer Collection of fine bindings and illustrated books. Together, these collections include more than one million works of art in various mediums and formats, complemented by nearly 700,000 monographs and periodicals. The quality, depth and scope of these holdings have earned the Wallach Division an international reputation among a broad variety of scholars and lovers of art.

The Milstein Division of Local, U.S. History and Genealogy
The Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy collects publications documenting American history on the national, state, and local levels, including extensive holdings on New York City history. The Division has a renowned collection of family histories and other genealogical collections, with a particular focus on the New York region. Included in the collections are published works from the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society library, photographs, vertical files, postcards, and other visual ephemera.