New York Public Library for the Performing Arts

Hands down the best library I have ever been to. This library has amazing events that are usually free and open to the public. You can rent movies here, watch classic Broadway shows in house, search song catalogs, study for a role in a play or movie by watching another actors prior performance, the list goes on for how great this library is. The Midtown branch near 34^th Street is amazing too with a ton of career help including resume writing and career coaching. Both branches have friendly and knowledgeable staff and computers you can use at your leisure.

Absolutely gorgeous library with one of the world’s most extensive collections of materials related to the performing arts! The architecture and the décor is stunning. And it’s in Lincoln Center Plaza! The library is known for ‘historic recordings, videotapes, autograph manuscripts, correspondence, sheet music, stage designs, press clippings, programs, posters and photographs.’ Look for exhibitions. Excellent staff.

It’s embarrassing how many times I’ve been to and around Lincoln Center and never realized this library existed. Thanks to a writing date with a friend in the know, I have a new awesome spot to get some writing in. AND it’s inspiring because… it’s a library! But it’s also clean and quiet and there are plugs on the long tables so you can keep working when your battery is dying.

I live on the UES so I came here to get away and explore a potential new study spot. This library passed with flying colors! Upstairs, there are long tables with tons of sunlight streaming through the giant windows from the courtyard. Everything is clean and modern, and the staff are very friendly. The wifi is strong and reasonably fast (there were a number of people on the weekend), especially for a public area. Bonus: after studying, I went downstairs and enjoyed the wonderful Frank Sinatra exhibit. I’ll definitely spend lots of weekends here!
ATMOSPHERE: ⁴⁄₅
WIFI: ³⁄₅
OUTLETS: ⁵⁄₅
SEATING: ⁵⁄₅
STAFF: ⁵⁄₅
OVERALL: ⁵⁄₅

This is a most wonderful library with a huge collection in music, dance, and drama. Although it can get crowded at times, it still has many different pleasant areas to sit and read or study.
I particularly enjoy the large selection of circulating sheet music for piano and harpsichord.
The exhibits are often skillfully curated. The current Frank Sinatra retrospective is excellent and should not be missed by committed Sinatra fans.
The small park-​like area outside the library and across from Julliard is a lovely place to sit and read the books you have just borrowed or to have a little picnic with your friends– when the weather is better than the current heat wave.

This is easily the best public library branch in all of NYC. Obviously this honor could not have been possible without the staff that actually make efforts in keeping this location clean, quiet, and comfortable for those of us in need of a quiet space to sit and study. Shout outs to the nice and dedicate staff, namely the flamboyant security lady who always finds a way to brighten up everyone’s day.
Keep it up NYPL

This is a review of the exhibition, Sinatra: An American Icon presently at the New York Public Library For The Performing Arts. If you’re a Sinatra fan don’t miss this one, and by the way it’s free. It concentrates on his professional life with some information on his personal life, which was often stormy and volatile like his romance and marriage to the gorgeous Ava Gardner. Also his generous philanthropic activities, the out-​patient clinic at Memorial Sloan Kettering hospital is named after Sinatra in recognition of the millions he raised for the hospital, is glossed over. But if you want a comprehensive look at his career as a singer, actor, and entertainer then this is for you.
It starts with his teenage years growing up in Hoboken, N.J. which he turned his back on, but then returned many years later to receive an honorary degree from Steven’s institute, an engineering college in Hoboken.
Many items in the exhibit have never been displayed publicly and belong to the family, like his money clip and golf clubs. There’s loads of music you can listen to and interviews with both Frank Jr. and Angelo Lucchese, the Jack Daniel’s salesman that Frank dealt with, Jack Daniels was Sinatra favorite whiskey, and also Nancy his daughter describing his early career singing at the Rustic Cabin which was in Englewood Cliffs, N.J. His movies are there, his hobbies, painting modern art and model railroading are also mentioned. So again for all Sinatra fans don’t miss it.

Love this library. It’s so pristine, clean and peaceful. I’m so glad I’m only a four minute walk away. So
is a pretty legit website which make it easy to order books online and have them shipped to your nearest NYPL branch. I love using the library because it’s a pain to accumulate books in a small NYC apartment.
The Performing Arts library is a great place to study and read. They have great views on the second level with plenty of tables and plugins for your laptop. It’s relatively quiet here and you’ll be able to get your work done without any bother. The librarians here are also quite nice and helpful. One librarian offered to link my wife and my accounts so we could check out books for each other. Super nice and considerate of her!
Love this library!

Great library that’s very ideal for studying located right near Lincoln center. The space is kept quite clean (except for the bathrooms) and is very, very quiet. Staff is very helpful and there’s a good mix of college kids, grad students, and adults… doing stuff or studying stuff.
There are plenty of communal tables, cubbies, and variety of different study areas and spaces. However, the library itself is actually small and I only saw two floors when I was there.
Despite there being free wifi, the internet is EXTREMELY slow. I tried doing some coursework here and had to stop and use the offline version simply because the wifi was impossible.

They have a spectacular Beatles exhibit on display until May 10! My only complaint is that the entrance is on the plaza level… but when we asked a guard near Lincoln Center’s Burnin Theater how to access the exhibit, she sent us around the block to the rear entrance instead of the real entrance just up the stairs from where we were… Is better training needed? I think so!

Singers, has all the Nico Castel books for in-​library use and a great selection of opera scores and CDs. Awesome 2^nd floor study lounge looking onto Lincoln center with lots of natural light. A great place to study. Free wi-​fi.

This is easily my favorite New York Public Library in the city. It’s clean, it’s regulated (security guards at every entrance), it’s filled with art, clean bathrooms, and there are no smelly bums. I have to credit this lovely place for doing well in school and acing exams.
The second level is an ideal study place, as there are plenty of communal tables with plugs, as well as public computers, next to the librarian. Most people who go upstairs are people seeking to get work done, so it’s pretty quiet for the most part minus the background noise coming from the first floor. When you need a study break, meander around the many floors of the library and see some free exhibitions.
Tip: bring a sweater during the summer as the AC is quite strong.
My only complaint, which really isn’t a big complaint, is that they don’t open until 12pm. If you’re an early riser, go to the Riverside Branch library across the street or just hang out in the beautiful grassy area of Lincoln Center.

Dropped in on a February evening for their Ladies and Gentlemen… The Beatles! exhibit. Signs weren’t exactly informative, contrary to the central goal of all libraries, but it’s a nice space across from the projects. The exhibit was well-​attended and well-​curated, and the rest of the Library facilities were well-​maintained.

This is my new favorite place for quite time, especially if you need to study in peace or browse the web, or work… yes some of us just need a laptop and miracles happen!
Anyway this is really a nice place if you’re into Arts in general. I couldn’t find what I was looking for but my top was very tough, the librarian was very helpful to me though and told me if I need I can take a look at some publications at the library if I have a specific request, which is nice.
They have a lot of music scores and many books about contemporary topics as well. This my new favorite library to go to! (No drinks allowed inside, nothing new but just thought to add)

Service: Helpful before 3pm, very difficult to find someone to thoroughly help you between 3−5pm. Payment for printing is very antiquated (you need to purchase a print card via a machine that only accepts cash)
Books: Forget about checking out any of these books. Very difficult to check a book out like one would normally do at a public library (I don’t know why). The quota for copying any book is no more than 10% of the book/​document.
Ambiance: Must check all bags in at the desk, VERY quiet on the 3^rd floor.
Conclusion: Will only be using this facility when desperate.

This is the library I have spent more time in than any other library in my life! The library has changed over the years.
One thing I used to do is to study for dance roles I had in my previous career is go to the Lincoln Center library and study the pieces that were performed at Lincoln Center.
All of George Balanchine’s ballets and the operas that have been performed at Lincoln Center in the past can be viewed for free at the New York public library for the performing arts.
I was fortunate enough to be able to meet George Balanchine or Mr. B before he became too ill to work so for me Lincoln Center has a very personal meaning and rich memories.
If you and your family can not afford to see a performance at Lincoln Center you can take them to The Lincoln Center library for the performing arts and view past performances for free.
From 1998 through 2001, the building was closed due to a $ 38 million renovation project. During this time, the research collections were serviced from the NYPL’s Annex (at 10^th avenue and 43^rd street), and the circulating collections were housed at the Mid-​Manhattan Library at 40^th Street and Fifth Avenue. LPA reopened to the public on October 29, 2001.
One of the buildings was named after Dorothy and Lewis B Cullman.
When the building opened in 1965, each research division had a separate reading room. The renovation removed these and consolidated public areas into a single unified public reading area, with separate rooms for the Theatre on Film and Tape Archive (its screening room named for Lucille Lortel) and Special Collections (it’s room named for Katharine Cornell and Guthrie McClintic). Subsequently the Special Collections reading room was moved into a portion of the main reading area of the 3^rd floor, while a screening room for the Reserve Film and Video Collection (originally part of the Donnell Media Center) took it’s place.
One of the main features of the renovation was the laying of wiring which enabled installation of numerous computers on each floor. There are nearly 200 publicly accessible computers in the building. Most are restricted to use of the library catalog and electronic databases. Those on the first floor provide full Internet use, or for playback of online music and video.
The renovation also created a Technology Training Room. It is equipped with twelve desktop computers for users and one for a teacher, as well as a projection screen.
In 2008, LPA absorbed staff and the film and video materials of the Donnell Media Center. This collection is now called the Reserve Film and Video Collection.
The renovation was not without detractors. Joseph Horowitz criticized the third floor in particular. Where previously each division had its own reading room, the renovation united all public reading areas into one room, resulting in less intimacy and more noise. Edmund Morris characterized the Special Collections reading room as «a charmless space… which exudes a dispirited air of neglect.»
The departments in this library are — — — — — — — — — — — -
1) Music division
2) Theater on film and tape Billy Rose Theater archive– is one of the largest and most comprehensive archives devoted to the theatrical arts. It is now the largest research division at the library, with holdings primarily focused on the theater, but also relating to film, vaudeville, magic, puppetry, and the circus, among other subjects. It maintains a relationship with Actors Equity.
3) Rogers and Hammerstein Archives of recorded sound.
4) Branch Circulating collections– IMO the most fascinating history of the library is in this department. The beginnings of the circulating music collection are due in great part to its first head librarian, Dorothy Lawton. Her passion for dance enabled her to get unusual publications, so much that dance critic John Martin complimented her on the growing collection of dance books. There is so much to be said about this department that if interested you will need to visit the library itself.
5)The Jerome Robbins dance division is on the 3^rd floor.
6) Shelby Collum Davis Museum-http://www.nyc-arts.org/organizations/22 148/​Donald-​and-​Mary-​Oenslager-​Gallery-​Shelby-​Cullom-​Davis-​Museum-​The-​New-​York-​Public-​Library-​for-​the-​Performing-​Arts-​in-​Lincoln-​Center

This library is amazing. It’s an extremely important place where any music student eventually has to spend a decent chunk of hours (especially if you’re doing any level of graduate work). Scholars sometimes come from out of town to utilize the special collections.
When using the reserve room on the 3^rd floor, it can be a bit of a challenge. The librarians are merely trying to keep everything in order and in perfect condition, but all the precautions can seem unnecessary.
The stacks are sometimes a bit disorganized, but are generally in order. When you can’t find something that should be there, the advice they give you is to put in a request online so that someone can go look for you and they’ll notify you when it’s ready for you. The plus is that you can have that request delivered to any branch to pick up, but the drawback is that you went all the way to Lincoln Center only to walk out without what you wanted.
My main problem with this library is its hours. Lately I’ve been working all day and going to grad school at night, therefore cutting down on the hours during which I can get here to search for both editions of Berio’s «Sequenza» for flute. It’s a music library. I feel like it should be open until 9 or 10 every weeknight, and should definitely be open, even if only for a limited number of hours, on Sundays, when it’s now closed. I realize it’s a public library, and those additional hours would cost a lot of money that it doesn’t have, but the more they push for that, the better chance we have of being able to use it during the times that we need it. Anyways…
Even if you’re not an arts scholar, it’s a neat place to check out. If you’re looking to expand your classical music knowledge, or to watch amazing dance, or just want to know what they have there, definitely check it out. You may find something you love that you never even knew about.

Our public services are under attack by libertarians who are simply anarchists. In their mind, the government can do no good. So it is always a pleasure to find a public program, in this case a library, that is truly world class. It’s not only doing good, it’s doing great.
The New York Public Library at Lincoln Center has a specialized collection focused on music, theater, opera and dance. The Jerome Robbins Archive of the Recorded Moving Image is their reference collection of dance films and videos.
Much of the collection does not circulate, and some recordings require written permission in advance from the artistic creator to view. For the unrestricted work, after finding the item in the catalog, you make a request and the library staff will bring the item and set it up for viewing. If you are passionate about modern dance or ballet, you could have a sweet viewing of a performance as a daytime romantic interlude with your love. Many dance performances, at their very best, are very sexy and will never be on Netflix.
The library also has a large research collection of reviews, programs, posters and more.
Did I mention all this is free? It’s a miracle this collection is in a public library and not, say, at Columbia or NYU. The library has also done an admirable job at private fundraising.
A world class archive of dance on film and video in the modern dance capital of the world, New York, New York!

This particular branch was technically the one closest to where I grew up but since it was a specialized library for the arts I didn’t use it all that much and would walk a few blocks north to the other branch when I was younger.
Located in the Lincoln Center complex, this location houses a huge collection of «non-​book materials such as historic recordings, videotapes, autograph manuscripts, correspondence, sheet music, stage designs, press clippings, programs, posters and photographs.»
This branch definitely has lots of free programs and exhibitions each week, such as the Rock and Roll Icons photo exhibit.
Check their website for the current opening hours as budget cuts keep reducing the hours of operation.

This place is awesome… A few years ago, I pretty much lived here — when I was first discovering cinema, before so many options were available on dvd, while I still had a vcr, I was here at least three or four times a week… On offer are many things which are obscure, out of print, or rare — and you have access to them (dvds, 10 at a time, some for a couple weeks and others for only one week) completely without charge (except for late fees)…
This is where I learned the films of Dovzhenko and Klimov and Lutsik and Pudovkin and Ozu and Satyajit Ray — the collection is huge, and anything that’s not at this location you can look it up in the online library catalogue and they will very quickly (usually only a day or two) ship it to this location for you free of charge — I would stay up at home til all hours of the night and go back first thing when I woke up…
They have lots of listening stations, so you don’t have to wait until you’re home for gratification, this is how I learned a lot of music previously unknown to me – Conlon Nancarrow, Marin Marais, Laurie Anderson — there are thousands upon thousands of cds… Currently I really only visit to check out dvds of operas, previewing them and auditioning them before possible purchase — the selection is terrific…
There are about a dozen computers for public use, very easy access to the internet — there’s never very much of a wait, I come here sometimes before concerts (they’re open til 8pm on Monday and Thursday) to check my email and waste time…
There’s are two galleries for various rotating exhibits/​installations, and there’s also a concert hall where at least once a week they give a free concert… There are a lot of people who work here, they’re all very friendly and helpful — even the security guards will joke around with you… And then there’s the music manuscripts collection…
There are a few bathrooms which are all very clean, and perhaps best of all there are no homeless people lurking around.