Library Resolutions To Make (and Keep) in 2023

This year, make a resolution that's easy to keep—getting the most out of The New York Public Library! Whether you're already a frequent user or you're ready to get into the groove, we hope you make this the year to maximize your library experience. So have your card handy and discover all the ways the Library can enrich your life.

Here are some ideas for Library Resolutions to make in the new year:

If you haven't had a library card since you were a kid, had one long ago and let it expire, or haven't signed up for one since moving to New York, what are you waiting for?

Anyone living, working, or attending school in New York State is eligible for an NYPL library card. Get one at your nearest NYPL location or apply online for a digital card. While supplies last, get NYPL's special, limited-edition Spider-Man library card available in branches across the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island.

You can also get a card through our free e-reader app, SimplyE. Not in New York? Get in touch with your local public library to get their card.

So, you HAVE your library card, but are you USING it? Your card is the key to unlocking so many things at the Library. Here are just a few:

Check out books: Patrons can access over 6 million items from NYPL’s circulating collections, including physical books, e-books, audiobooks, DVDs and CDs. Stop into a branch to browse or use our catalog to reserve materials to pick up. Or, download the SimplyE app and read or listen from anywhere on any iOS or Android device.

Read digital magazines and newspapers from home: Your library card gives you access to thousands of US and international magazines (like Time, Bon Appétit, and Vogue) and newspapers (like The New York Post, The Guardian, and The Chicago Tribune) online via PressReader and Flipster in English and many other languages. You can also access The New Yorker Digital Archive and The New York Times Database, both of which are current.

Stream music at home: Naxos Music Library, which has 2.7 million tracks of music (primarily classical music and also world and folk music), is free to use with your library card.

Learn a Language: Mango Languages provides step-by-step lesson plans for 71 different languages. Create an account with your library card to track your progress.

Enjoy free visits to cultural institutions around the city: NYC library cardholders can borrow passes for two or four people at cultural institutions like The American Museum of Natural History, Bronx Museum of the Arts, and Museum of the City of New York via Culture Pass.

Our staff hosts online and in-person events and classes for adults, teens, and kids all year long. Learn a skill like Excel or Photoshop. Practice a new language in a conversation class. Show off your knowledge in a trivia hour. Meet like-minded people in a crafting, writing, or acting circle. Spend quality time with your kids at a storytime. Discuss anime and manga with other teens. Explore our in-person and online events calendar for something that's your cup of tea. 

We love connecting readers with the right book. Here are some ways we do that:

• Ask librarians at any branch for recommendations—we love to help!
• Explore our seasonal Staff Picks for adults, teens, and kids across many genres.
• Peruse the many book list blog posts we put together throughout the year for both general and genre-specific recommendations. 
• Check out our Best Books of 2022 lists to find our favorite reads from the past year. Want to know what fellow New Yorkers are into? See NYPL's Top Checkouts of 2022.
• Sign up for Book of the Day to receive a daily reading recommendation delivered straight to your inbox. NYPL librarians select fantastic fiction, nonfiction, and poetry reads to share.
• On Fridays from 10–11 AM, ask us on the NYPL Recommends Twitter account for book recommendations based on the kind of book you like or a specific title.
• Try Shelf Help, the Library’s personalized book selection service. Tell us your reading interests and we’ll handpick five books just for you.

Opened in the fall of 2021, The Polonsky Exhibition of The New York Public Library’s Treasures is a permanent exhibition on the main floor of the 42nd Street library with a rotation of rare and unique items from the Library's research collections. The exhibition now features increased access for students and the addition of new multilingual audio guides and print materials. Get free timed tickets. 

Additionally, there are exhibitions taking place throughout the year at the Library including:

• Virginia Woolf: A Modern Mind (through March 5, 2023, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building)
• Lou Reed: Caught Between the Twisted Stars (through March 4, 2023, Library for the Performing Arts)
• Fortune and Folly in 1720 (through February 19, 2023, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building)
• Focus Center Stage: 50 Years of the Theatre on Film and Tape Archive (through February 25, 202, Library for the Performing Arts)
• Been Seen (ongoing, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture)
• Boundless: 10 Years of Seeding Black Comic Futures (ongoing, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture)

Reading doesn't have to be a solitary endeavor. If you enjoy hearing what others think about a book, we have two great options:

"Get Lit" and join our Virtual Book Club

We've partnered with WNYC to bring you the "Get Lit" book club. Join us each month to read our selected book (extra e-copies of the titles available through the Library) leading up to a live conversation, in-person or online, with the author and Alison Stewart, host of WNYC's All of It. (Plus, don't miss out on our librarian-led book club discussions, hosted in-person and online. Find a discussion group.)

The January title is The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams by Stacy Schiff. Stacy Schiff will join us for an in-person event on Tuesday, January 31st at 6 pm. And we will be joined by musical guest, Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Rosanne Cash! Click here to reserve your free tickets now. 

Upcoming titles include Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James and I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai.

Subscribe to our podcast, The Librarian Is In

Join us every other week as librarians Frank Collerius and Crystal Chen talk books, culture, and what to read next. Recent book discussions include The Anomaly by Hervé Le Tellier, Also a Poet by Ada Calhoun, and Goliath by Tochi Onyebuchi. Start listening today!

Sign Up for NYPL Connect and More Library Updates

For the latest information on programs, cultural events, resources, and Library news sign up for the NYPL Connect newsletter. It's the best and easiest way to be in the loop and in the know. Plus, check out additional newsletters for Library lovers, including resources for young learners, biweekly resources from the Schomburg Center, updates from the Library for the Performing Arts, and more!

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