After four long months, the Library is taking its first steps toward reopening its physical locations. Beginning today, we are opening eight of our libraries for limited, grab-and-go service. While we’re proceeding with care, we are set to begin the process of safely restoring some semblance of normalcy back to our city. We know that New Yorkers need us. We know that New Yorkers miss us—we certainly have missed you. We have been there for you with a wide range of virtual services throughout this public health crisis, and will continue to serve you in the digital space. But I am gratified that, as of today, we can begin offering some in-person services.

These last several months have been so hard, but we will get to the other side of this. As our city continues to reopen and awaken under unprecedented circumstances, we know the journey toward a new normal won’t be easy and may have reversals. But, to evoke our strong and stoic lions—who are now wearing masks, as we all should—I am confident that we will get there, with patience and fortitude. 

Hope to see you soon. Stay safe,

Tony

Anthony W. Marx
President, The New York Public Library

In the Spotlight

Grab-and-Go Service: Now at 8 Locations

Starting today, eight of our branch locations are now open for grab-and-go service as part of our phased reopening plan. Patrons can now reserve physical items for pickup, while we will continue to offer an array of other services online, including virtual programming, Summer Reading, and more. Don't forget to wear a mask and keep six feet apart from fellow patrons to help keep grab-and-go running smoothly. As we monitor the changing situation around the spread of COVID-19, please find more details on our website about health and safety precautions we're taking to keep New Yorkers safe.

Getting Started: What You Need to Know

Find out how you can start borrowing physical items from the Library while keeping yourself and your community safe. Reserve your items online or by phone, head to one of our grab-and-go branches for contactless pickup, and get to reading. Learn more about this new service and find answers to questions you might have about requesting or picking up books.

Summer 2020 Staff Picks for All Ages

Looking for a new summer read, but don't know where to start? Our expert librarians are ready to help with their favorites from our latest installment of Staff Picks. Whether you're getting away or, more likely, staying close to home, choose from more than 200 genre-spanning books for adults, kids, and teens—many available through our e-reader app, SimplyE. Happy reading!

For Kids & Teens

Have Fun & Learn New Skills with Our Virtual Summer Camp

Find adventure this summer without leaving home! Our Summer Reading program is bigger and better than ever with activities, programs, and a new six-week Virtual Summer Camp to keep kids learning while having fun all summer-long. Plus, find out how you can share your Summer Reading creative projects with us and earn a place in our online summer showcase!

Online Summer Reading Programs 

Friday, July 17 | 11 AM: Two Nutty Knights in WandQuest
Tuesday, July 21 | 11 AM: Fox Fables with WonderSpark Puppets
Presented as part of our Quest for Adventure Summer Reading program, join us for a series of engaging new events. On Friday, wacky, magical brothers Presto Pete and Incredulous Chris explore a medieval fantasy land and go on a quest for the most magical of magic wands! Then, on Tuesday, join the WonderSpark Puppets for a virtual puppet show. Stay tuned for more events throughout the summer!

E-Books to Get Kids Cooking This Summer

Cooking can be a great way to engage kids, and now may be the perfect time to get the kids in your life into the kitchen. Cooking teaches kids about nutrition, recipe-reading, measuring, and the pleasure that comes with sharing something they've made themselves. These cookbooks, all available to download as e-books, can help you get started and double as fun family-bonding activities.

For Teens: Online Graphic Novels, Classics & More

If you're stuck inside, escape summertime boredom with TeenBookCloud. Part of our popular TumbleBookCloud service, TeenBookCloud features a wide range of engaging reading material including graphic novels, YA titles, and classics your English teacher would approve of. Follow along at your own pace with TeenBookCloud's Enhanced Novels, a tool that provides professional narration and line-by-line highlighting as you read—perfect for hazy summer days!

Community Resources

Webinar: Networking in a Tumultuous Job Market

Tuesday, July 14 | 6 PM
Networking can be difficult in the best of times, and can be especially intimidating as we practice social distancing. But networking, properly done, is an opportunity to make your interests known and start a conversation with professional contacts that is mutually beneficial, strengthening our connections across the board. Join coach Win Sheffield and learn how to rethink the networking process and transform it into something we can do naturally and with ease—even online.

Webinar: How to Use Business Principles to Strengthen Relationships

Monday, July 20 | 2 PM
 It can be difficult to manage all the aspects of a well-rounded life when you're trying to succeed professionally. Business, relationships, health, money, social justice, family—how do you choose what to sacrifice? What if you didn't have to? Joe Pomeroy, author of How to Succeed as a Married Entrepreneur: The Foundational Guide to Starting a Business Without Ending Your Marriage, will share three steps you can implement to succeed personally, professionally, and socially, regardless of how busy life might get.

New & Noteworthy

The Librarian Is In July Book Club: Between the World and Me

In their latest episode, we join Frank and Rhonda to discuss the impactful and bestselling book Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates, featured on the Schomburg Center's Black Liberation Reading List. Did you read along? If so, don't forget to leave us a comment with your thoughts.

Available Now: Colson Whitehead's The Nickel Boys

Download the Library’s free e-reader app SimplyE to immediately start reading Colson Whitehead's The Nickel Boys. This Pulitzer Prize–winning book is one of many essential reads from the Schomburg Center's Black Liberation Reading List—also featured on SimplyE—and is this month’s pick for our virtual book club partnership with WNYC.

Reading Beyond Chinatown: Books from the Chinese Diaspora

Check out this collection of titles that encompasses a wide range of narratives and genres, and illustrates some of the varied experiences that extend across the global Chinese diaspora.

Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Library's Theatre on Film and Tape Archive

Join the Library for the Performing Arts in celebrating the 50th anniversary of its Theatre on Film and Tape Archive, the largest of its kind in the world. Curator Patrick Hoffman reflects on the history of this renowned archive—and announces an upcoming exhibition.

You've Got Mail: Old-Fashioned Letter Writing for Fun

In today’s fast-paced, tech-based world, letter writing can seem like an obsolete or quaint form of communication, but our librarians have put together this guide on the merits of letter writing to show you how rewarding an art form it can be!

Short Story Anthologies for Young Readers

Want to finish an entire story in one sitting? Don't have much time to read and don't want to get totally caught up in a book and then have to put it down? Try a short story. 

Make Your Mark: A Celebration of Bookmarks

Bookmarks can be any shape, any color, any material. They can say anything, or nothing at all. Sometimes they sit for years in a single book on the shelf, waiting patiently for you to return to the exact spot where you left off. Do they get the appreciation they deserve? To find out, take a look at some of our staff's favorite bookmarks.

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