Library for the Performing Arts

Readers may consult most materials in the Research Collections Reading Room, but rare and fragile materials must be used in a staff-supervised reading area, the Katharine Cornell-Guthrie McClintic Reading Room. When necessary, readers are referred to this room.

What’s so special about “Special Collections”?

The Library for the Performing Arts has one of the world’s most significant collections of research materials about music, dance, theatre, and recorded sound. A large part of this collection falls under the umbrella of “special collections,” which means that these materials are rare, unique, very old, and/or fragile and are available for researchers only onsite at the library. These materials can be rare books and manuscripts, photographs, music scores, film, video and audio recordings, scrapbooks, clippings and program files, set models, artwork, and ephemera, as well as archival collections that include published and unpublished materials documenting the life of an individual, the work of a group or company, or a particular subject. Because these materials are special, they require careful handling, security, and storage so that LPA can protect and preserve them for researchers today and in the future.

 While descriptions of many of these materials can be found in the NYPL catalog and archival materials search on the NYPL wesbite, many more items can also be uncovered through printed card catalogs onsite at the LPA. In addition, we are always adding images from our Special Collections to the NYPL's Digital Gallery. We welcome everyone who wants to explore these “special collections” firsthand in the Katharine Cornell-Guthrie McClintic Special Collections Reading Room on the 3rd Floor of the LPA.