1. The Morgan Library and Museum
Location & Neighborhood: | 225 Madison Ave – Murray Hill |
Closest Train Station: | The Grand Central – 42nd St |
Hours: | Saturday 10:30AM–5PM Sunday 10:30AM–5PM Monday Closed Tuesday Closed Wednesday 10:30AM–5PM Thursday 10:30AM–5PM Friday 10:30AM–7PM |
Don’t Miss: | Original Michelangelo drawings |
This is the private library of industrialist titan J.P. Morgan. It’s a private collection and museum that cannot be missed. Here, you’ll find original music manuscripts, Americana such as John Steinbeck’s original manuscripts and more. The building’s stunning architecture alone makes the library worth visiting.
2. Stephen A. Schwarzman Building – New York Public Library
Location & Neighborhood: | Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street – Midtown |
Closest Train Station: | 5 Av OR 42nd St-Bryant Park |
Hours: | Monday 10 AM–6 PM Tuesday 10 AM–8 PM Wednesday 10 AM–8 PM Thursday 10 AM–6 PM Friday 10 AM–6 PM Saturday 10 AM–6 PM Sunday 1 PM–5 PM |
Don’t Miss: | Rose Main Reading Room |
This is the flagship location of the New York Public Library system. The building houses numerous collections of historical works, American and English literature, research literature, photographs, and more. The library’s Rose Main Reading Room is an iconic, grand reading hall perfect for immersing oneself in the library’s one of a kind literature.
3. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture – NYPL
Location & Neighborhood: | 515 Malcolm X Boulevard – Harlem |
Closest Train Station: | 135th St |
Hours: | Monday 10 AM–5 PM Tuesday 10 AM–5 PM Wednesday 10 AM–5 PM Thursday 10 AM–5 PM Friday 10 AM–5 PM Saturday 10 AM–5 PM Sunday CLOSED |
Don’t Miss: | Boundless: 10 Years of Seeding Black Comic Futures or Conversations in Black Freedom Studies |
This is one of NYPL’s most renowned research facilities. Containing one of the largest collections of Black Literature, the Schomburg Center is a world leading cultural institution. They are entirely devoted to the research, preservation, and exhibition of materials focused on African American, African Diaspora, and African experiences.
4. Jefferson Market Library – New York Public Library
Location & Neighborhood: | 425 6th Ave – Greenwich Village |
Closest Train Station: | Christopher St Station OR 14 St |
Hours: | Temporarily closed – Check website for updates |
Don’t Miss: | The New York Collection; downstairs in the Reference Room |
Jefferson Market Library is another branch of the New York Public Library system. The building is a National Historic Landmark, with impressive Gothic architecture reminiscent of a mini-castle. The building is currently undergoing improvements, and it will be exciting to see what the future brings for the library.
5. The Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library – NYPL
Location & Neighborhood: | 40 West 20th Street – Flatiron District |
Closest Train Station: | 23 St |
Hours: | Monday 10 AM–5 PM Tuesday 12 PM–7 PM Wednesday 10 AM–5 PM Thursday 12 PM–7 PM Friday 10 AM–5 PM Saturday 10 AM–5 PM Sunday CLOSED |
Don’t Miss: | Group workshops and events |
Heiskell Library is a vast collection of accessible reading material in the Flatiron District. They provide free reading materials to patrons who are blind, visually impaired, or are otherwise unable to read standard print. The formats include braille, apps, players, talking books, and more. Be sure to check out the group workshops.
6. The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center
Location & Neighborhood: | 40 Lincoln Center Plaza – Upper West Side |
Closest Train Station: | 59 St – Columbus Circle or 72 St |
Hours: | Monday 10:30 AM–6 PM Tuesday 10:30 AM–6 PM Wednesday 10:30 AM–6 PM Thursday 10:30 AM–6 PM Friday 10:30 AM–6 PM Saturday 10:30 AM–6 PM Sunday CLOSED |
Don’t Miss: | Theatre on Film and Tape Archive |
As part of the NYPL system, the Library for the Performing Arts houses one of the world’s most wide-ranging and large-scale research collections of theater, film, dance, music, and recorded sound materials. There are a variety of collections circulating for the public, as well as special collections reserved for those who create a Special Collections Account.
7. Poets House
Location & Neighborhood: | 10 River Terrace – Battery Park City |
Closest Train Station: | Chambers St or World Trade Center |
Hours: | Monday CLOSED Tuesday 11:00 AM–7 PM Wednesday 11:00 AM–7 PM Thursday 11:00 AM–7 PM Friday 11:00 AM–7 PM Saturday 11:00 AM–5 PM Sunday CLOSED |
Don’t Miss: | Poets House Showcase |
“Poets House is a comfortable, accessible place for poetry—a library and meeting place which invites poets and the public to step into the living tradition of poetry. Poets House seeks to document the wealth and diversity of modern poetry, to stimulate dialogue on issues of poetry in culture, and to cultivate a wider audience for the art.” – Mission Statement pulled from organization’s website Poets House is guided by their commitment to inclusivity and diversity. They seek to utilize the power of poetry to “promote a deeper conversation between individuals, communities, and cultures.”
8. New York Academy of Medicine
Location & Neighborhood: | 1216 5th Ave – East Harlem |
Closest Train Station: | 103 St |
Hours: | Monday 9:00 AM–5 PM Tuesday 9:00 AM–5 PM Wednesday 9:00 AM–5 PM Thursday 9:00 AM–5 PM Friday 9:00 AM–5 PM Saturday CLOSED Sunday CLOSED |
Don’t Miss: | 2022 Event Series |
The New York Academy of Medicine’s library houses one of the most extensive, significant, and important collections of medicine and public health research information in the world. They seek to safeguard the heritage of medicine to inform the future of health. The materials include anatomical atlases, cardiology, cookery, dermatology, health, historical medicine of NYC, neurology and much more.
9. New York Society Library
Location & Neighborhood: | 53 East 79th Street – Upper East Side |
Closest Train Station: | 77 St |
Hours: | Monday 9:00 AM–5 PM Tuesday 9:00 AM–7 PM Wednesday 9:00 AM–7 PM Thursday 9:00 AM–7 PM Friday 9:00 AM–5 PM Saturday 11:00 AM–5 PM Sunday 11:00 AM–5 PM |
Don’t Miss: | The Organization’s Staff Recommendations |
The New York Society Library has a growing collection of nearly 300,000 volumes that reflect the locals’ interests over the years. The library has an extensive array of fiction and literature, as well as biographies, history, social sciences, the arts, travel, and books about the city.
10. National Archives at New York City
Location & Neighborhood: | One Bowling Green, Room 328 – Financial District |
Closest Train Station: | Bowling Green or Wall Street Station |
Hours: | Monday 10:00 AM–5 PM Tuesday 10:00 AM–5 PM Wednesday 10:00 AM–5 PM Thursday 10:00 AM–5 PM Friday 10:00 AM–5 PM Saturday CLOSED Sunday CLOSED |
Don’t Miss: | The Research Room |
The National Archives at NYC hold permanent records created by Federal agencies and courts in NJ, NY, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. These archives hold everything from founding documents to family history, genealogy, and more. Many New Yorkers are able to tie their personal family history and roots back to the origin when they visit the research room.
The Best Manhattan Movers
If you’re dreaming about what it would be like to live in Manhattan with all of these amazing libraries and research institutions in such close proximity, you’ll need a team of professional, reliable movers to get you there. Get a quote today and you’ll be on your way to living the life you envision for yourself in Manhattan.