Free Events and Programs
Library branches across the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island are offering free summer events and programs for all ages. See what’s happening in your neighborhood!

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LIVE from NYPL
Join us for free events at The New York Public Library’s premier cultural series. Enjoy free events, conversations, and performances featuring the best writers, artists, and thinkers—as well as our rooftop happy hours!
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Save the Date! Dance Party NYC 2023
One day, five boroughs—join us for Dance Party NYC, a joyous citywide festival of music and movement! Part of Summer at the Library, Dance Party NYC will take place on August 5, 2023, at more than 20 venues across the city, including events at many library branches and at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building.
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Get Free Tickets to Shakespeare in the Park
This summer, NYPL has teamed up with The Public Theater to distribute tickets to free Shakespeare in the Park performances of Hamlet. Ticket vouchers distributed at library branches are redeemable only for same-day performances. Find out when and where you can get yours!
Image: James Earl Jones in Hamlet (1972), Photo by Friedman-Abeles © Billy Rose Theatre Division
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Workshops with Roundabout Theatre Company
Join the Library for artistic workshops with teaching artists from Roundabout Theatre Company designed to spark your creative process! Through theater games, improv, writing, and more, participants will dive into ensemble building and create their own original piece of theater.
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Join Us for Creative Green Programs
Celebrate the natural world in NYC with the Library's free Creative Green programs. From landscape painting to birdwatching, cyanotype prints to book discussions, and seed libraries to plant swaps, there are countless ways to get thinking about the environment.
Summer Staff Picks
Our expert librarians have curated a wide array of fun, thought-provoking, and inspiring books for all ages to read this summer! Check out these books for adults, including fiction, nonfiction, graphic novels, and libros en español! Many are also available in accessible formats.
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Charles Darwin: A Life in Letters
Through Aug 5 | Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
Featuring correspondence, maps, and objects from the famed naturalist’s world, this exhibition offers an intimate view of Charles Darwin, whose ideas and indefatigable research launched a scientific revolution. Presented in partnership with Cambridge University Library.
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The Wondrous Willa Kim: Costume Designs for Actors and Dancers
Through Aug 19 | Library for the Performing Arts
Join The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts in celebrating the long and colorful career of costume designer Willa Kim in her first-ever major retrospective exhibition, featuring an assortment of designs and costumes from her long and prolific career.
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Marking Time: Art in the Age of Mass Incarceration
Through Dec 4 | Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
Documenting the work of more than 30 artists, including people in prisons, formerly incarcerated artists, and work by nonincarcerated artists concerned with state repression, erasure, and imprisonment, this traveling exhibition is now on view throughout the Schomburg Center.
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Polonsky Exhibition of The New York Public Library’s Treasures
Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
Explore a wide array of highlights from NYPL’s collections in this free, permanent exhibition, which showcases some of the most extraordinary items from the 56 million in our collections.
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Border Crossings: Exile and American Modern Dance
Opening June 8 | Library for the Performing Arts
The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center celebrates the fundamental contributions of immigrant and BIPOC dancers to the canon of modern art in a new large-scale exhibition.
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All Exhibitions
The Library offers free major exhibitions and special displays at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, the Library for the Performing Arts, and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, plus community showcases at many branch locations throughout the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island.
Culture Pass: Get Free Access to NYC Museums with a Library Card
Explore New York City’s museums and attractions with Culture Pass! If you have a library card, you can get free admission to dozens of cultural institutions. Save money and discover more about your city this summer.
For Educators & Caregivers

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E-Books & Audiobooks
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Get a Free Library Card
Get a free library card today and explore all the Library has to offer, including books, e-books, audiobooks, music, and movies!
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No More Late Fines!
Did you know? There are no more late fines at the Library, so you can borrow books and more from any branch with no worries.
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Stay Connected
Get the best from the Library direct to your inbox! From our free programs, events, and exhibitions to activities for kids and research news, there's something for everyone.
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NYPL App
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Friends of the Library
The New York Public Library depends on donors like you to support our essential services. Friends of the Library will be vital as we expand access to our resources, including job help, community outreach, and language learning materials. Make a membership gift now and enjoy benefits all year long.
Explore Summer at the Library
Get creative and express yourself all summer long at The New York Public Library with free events for all ages, programs for kids and teens, reading recommendations, exhibitions, and much more!
Explore Summer at the Library for all ages in español (Spanish), 中文 (Chinese), বাংলা (Bengali), Русский (Russian), and English.
Thank You
Major support is provided by the New York Life Foundation, the 2023 city-wide sponsor for the Summer Reading and Learning Programs.
Additional support is provided by The Rona Jaffe Foundation; New York Yankees Foundation; anonymous donors; and the continuing major support of the Andreas C. Dracopoulos Family Endowment for Young Audiences.
These programs and initiatives are part of the Library’s overall commitment to our branch patrons and 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.
