Follow us: Instagram | Twitter | TikTok | Facebook

New! Read Issue 3 of Teen Voices, Our Special Freedom to Read Edition

As part of our National Teen Writing Contest, we asked teens across the country to tell us why the freedom to read is important to them, and published the winning entries in a special Freedom to Read issue of Teen Voices! Read it online now, or pick one up at your local NYPL branch while supplies last.

Freedom to Read issue of Teen Voices Magazine displayed on a muted teal green background.

Combat the Heat: Fresh Book Recommendations by Teen Civics Ambassadors

Need something to read to during these hot summer days? Check out these great new book recommendations for teens from NYPL’s Teen Civics Ambassadors.

Learn More

Announcing the Winners of Our Frankenstein Short Story Contest!

In early 2024, to tie in with the Fate of Frankenstein display in the Polonsky Exhibition of the New York Public Library's Treasures, NYPL launched a special contest inviting teens to submit their original writing and art inspired by Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Read the 10 winning entries in a just-released digital anthology!

Art by Yoojung Shin.

Learn More

More from Teens

Hear from teens across different NYPL branches and communities what they’ve been up to—from preparing for college and careers, to mentoring younger kids and making art.

Learn More

  • New! Explore Our Enhanced Teen Centers

    Hang out, get creative, and much more at the Library's newly expanded and enhanced Teen Centers. These welcoming spaces in select locations across the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island have been created just for teens and are open for you to collaborate, make new friends, read, and enjoy all the Library has to offer. From video equipment to gaming consoles to art supplies—everything is free to use!

    Find a Teen Center Near You

  • More from NYPL for Teens

    Discover free one-on-one homework help, college and career counseling, volunteer opportunities, book recommendations, free resources, and more that the Library has to offer teens.

    Learn More

  • Keeping Up with Gen Z

    Created by teens, for teens, Keeping Up with Gen Z is a podcast discussing a wide variety of topics, from woke culture to book recommendations to school, voting, and more. Tune in!

    Learn More

  • Portal Magazine

    Portal is a magazine written, designed, and edited by NYPL’s Teen Reading Ambassadors. Aimed at an audience of kids ages 6–12, Portal contains stories and features, fun facts, comics, activities, and much more specially created by the Teen Reading Ambassadors for each of our issues.

    Collage featuring the cover of four issues of NYPL's Portal magazine for kids.

Thank You to Our Supporters

These programs and initiatives are part of the Library’s Tisch Youth Education Programs, led by the Merryl and James Tisch Director of Branch Libraries and Education. Major support for educational programming is provided by Merryl H. and James S. Tisch.

Major support for children's and young adult programming is provided by the Andreas C. Dracopoulos Family Endowment for Young Audiences. 

Lead support for Teens 360º is provided by the City of New York. Additional support is provided by Arthur W. Koenig, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, the Best Buy Foundation and the Joly Family Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. Evan R. Chesler, Google.org, and Michael ByungJu Kim and the MBK Educational Foundation.

College & Career Pathways has been made possible thanks to the generous support of The Helen Gurley Brown Foundation.

The Teen Civics Ambassadors program is made possible by the generous support of The Gottesman Fund.