August 31, 2020—The New York Public Library will reopen 20 additional neighborhood branches for limited, grab-and-go service beginning on Tuesday, September 8. 

With these additional locations, The New York Public Library system (which serves the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island) will have 50 branches open for grab-and-go service, or more than half of its neighborhood locations. The system, which temporarily closed all of its physical locations in mid-March to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, began gradually opening locations in phases on July 13.

The following NYPL branches will reopen on September 8:

The Bronx

Manhattan

Staten Island: 

For a full list of open branches visit www.nypl.org/locations. Hours for all of the new grab-and-go branches will be 11 AM to 6 PM on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday; 12 PM to 7 PM on Wednesday; and 11 AM to 5 PM Friday and Saturday. 

The reopened branches will offer contactless service as recommended by health and safety experts. At this time, New Yorkers:

  • Can access a small area of the open branches to pick up and return checkouts placed online or on the phone (the process will be contactless)
  • Must wear masks or face coverings (this is mandatory, as per State guidelines)
  • Must physically distance from staff and other patrons
  • Must respect capacity limits inside the open locations 
  • Must leave the libraries as soon as their pickups or returns are complete; at this stage, there will be no browsing, in-person reference, or computer use.
  • Can continue to access programming, e-books, research databases, classes, and more virtually, via enhanced digital offerings that will remain in place; for the time being, in-person programs and classes will not
  • Can check out materials without accruing fines for the time being (fines will not accrue on items checked out before temporary closure or during this first phase of reopening)
  • Please note: all returned items will be quarantined for 96 hours before being recirculated, as per updated guidelines from public health authorities including the REALM Project (a research partnership between OCLC, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and Battelle). 

*Please note that research libraries, including the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building on Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, continue to remain temporarily closed during these initial reopening phases, but are offering expanded Electronic Document Delivery (EDD) service for all collections. Patrons will be able to request scans of eligible general collections material via the Shared Collections Catalog. For more information on this, patrons should visit nypl.org/scananddeliver.

The Library temporarily closed on March 14 due to COVID-19. While the Library continues the gradual reopening of its physical locations, it will continue to offer a wide range of free educational, cultural and business programs online for all New Yorkers, which are available here. This includes e-books via the Library’s e-reader SimplyE. New Yorkers can also apply for an online library card at www.nypl.org/simplye.

For updates about open branches and continued plans for reopening, visit www.nypl.org/reopening.

About The New York Public Library

For 125 years, The New York Public Library has been a free provider of education and information for the people of New York and beyond. With 92 locations—including research and branch libraries—throughout the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island, the Library offers free materials, computer access, classes, exhibitions, programming and more to everyone from toddlers to scholars, and has seen record numbers of attendance and circulation in recent years. The New York Public Library receives approximately 16 million visits through its doors annually and millions more around the globe who use its resources at www.nypl.org. To offer this wide array of free programming, The New York Public Library relies on both public and private funding. Learn more about how to support the Library at nypl.org/support.