Pasculano Learning Center at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library (SNFL) Officially Opens with Open House

Photo of a long wooden table in the Pasculano Learning Center inside of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library (SNFL)

The Pasculano Learning Center on the 6th floor of the new Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library (SNFL) officially opened with an open house that showcased all of the critical resources and programs being offered to lifelong learners: English language and literacy classes, career services, technology courses, and a state-of-the-art recording studio, among others. The new center in the Library’s completely transformed central circulating library is made possible by a $15 million gift from philanthropists Richard and Lynne Pasculano.

Image credit: Max Touhey

Phase II Construction Continues at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building; Work Begins on the 40th Street Entrance and Plaza

Rendering of the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building near the 40th Street entrance, showing a courtyard filled with people

The Library’s project to upgrade, renovate, and add public space to the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building continues, with construction beginning on the new 40th Street entrance and public plaza, named for Trustee and former Board Chair Marshall Rose. The project was approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission in March of 2019 and is expected to be complete in 2023 (following COVID-19 related delays). Construction fencing and protective sidewalk scaffolding have been added to the 40th Street side of the iconic building so work can begin. The overall project at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building remains in its second phase, focused on  mechanical upgrades and updates to building flow and circulation.

Image credit: Mecanoo with Beyer Blinder Belle

The Polonsky Exhibition of The New York Public Library’s Treasures to Open on September 24, 2021

Photo of Gottesman Hall inside the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building

The Polonsky Exhibition of The New York Public Library’s Treasures will open on September 24, 2021, at the iconic Stephen A. Schwarzman Building on Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, giving the public an opportunity to see and explore over 250 rare and unique items from the Library’s renowned research collections. The objects—spanning 4,000 years of history and made possible with a generous $12 million gift from philanthropist Dr. Leonard Polonsky CBE—represent moments, movements, and stories that have helped shape the world. They continue to inspire curiosity, conversation, and a stronger understanding of the past to inform a better future. The exhibition draws exclusively from the Library’s research collections, which contain over 45 million objects and are accessible at the Library’s research centers: the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, the Library for the Performing Arts, and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. The exhibition is being held in historic Gottesman Hall, renovated and restored to hold this permanent exhibition. Free timed tickets are available at nypl.org/treasures.

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Image credit: Jonathan Blanc / NYPL

The New York Public Library Cuts the Ribbon on Its Completely-Transformed Central Circulating Library, The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library (SNFL)

Photo from the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library (SNFL) grand opening

The New York Public Library officially opened its completely-transformed central circulating library, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library (SNFL), at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on June 1. The library on 40th Street and Fifth Avenue, formerly named the Mid-Manhattan Library, was renovated, and completely transformed with generous support from New York City, and a landmark $55 million grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF)—the second largest one-time individual gift in The New York Public Library’s 126-year history. The building’s modern interior and overall inspiring design is by Dutch architect Francine Houben of Mecanoo architects, a “library whisperer” who also designed the renovation of the Martin Luther King Library in Washington DC, among others, along with the unique expertise of renowned New York City-based firm Beyer Blinder Belle.

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Image credit: Jonathan Blanc / NYPL

The New York Public Library Business Center to be Named for Publisher Thomas Yoseloff

The New York Public Library will name its new, world-class Business Center for publisher Thomas Yoseloff as part of a generous leadership gift from the Anthony A. Yoseloff Foundation, and Nanar and Anthony (Tony) Yoseloff.  This most recent gift, announced today at a meeting of The New York Public Library Board of Trustees, names the Business Center for Thomas Yoseloff, Mr. Yoseloff’s grandfather.  Mr. Yoseloff has been a Trustee of the New York Public Library since 2016.

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Richard and Lynne Pasculano Give $15 Million to The New York Public Library for New Adult Learning Center

Philanthropists Richard and Lynne Pasculano have given The New York Public Library a $15 million gift to support a new adult learning center focused on technology training, career counseling, ESOL classes, and more.

The Pasculano Learning Center—named for the Pasculanos, longtime donors to the Library, in recognition of this latest leadership gift—is on the sixth floor of the Library’s newly-transformed central circulating branch, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library (SNFL), on Fifth Avenue and 40th Street.

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Phase II Construction Continues at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building

Photograph of the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building exterior

The Library’s plan to upgrade, renovate, and add public space to the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building continues in 2021, with physical work on critical infrastructure upgrades beginning in late 2020. Specifically, the Library is currently working on upgrades to the building’s cooling tower and HVAC system, as well as improvements to building circulation and flow with the addition of a new elevator and staircase.

Please note: the Schwarzman Building is currently closed to the public to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, and while staff is on-site to manage scan-and-deliver, virtual consultations, and other remote services, the current work will have minimal impact on public service at this time.

The infrastructure improvements are part of the project’s Phase II, which has been ongoing since 2017 and included the 2019 opening of the second-floor Center for Research in the Humanities, an 8,000-square-foot space dedicated to quiet research, work with the Library’s research collections, temporary displays, and collections-related programming. Phase II is currently scheduled to conclude in 2023, and in addition to the infrastructure upgrades will include a new entrance and public plaza on the 40th Street side of the building and a new permanent but rotating exhibition of NYPL research collection treasures in the Library’s upgraded Gottesman Hall.

Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library Offers Limited Grab & Go Service

On July 13, New Yorkers got their first glimpse of The New York Public Library’s totally-renovated central circulating branch The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library (SNFL), as a portion of the branch’s first floor opened for limited grab-and-go service. 

The transformed branch on 40th Street and Fifth Avenue—the Library’s largest circulating branch formerly known as Mid-Manhattan Library and now named for the Stavros Niarchos Foundation because of its generous support—was originally scheduled to open in full to the public on May 15, 2020, but that grand opening is delayed indefinitely as New York City copes with COVID-19. 

The new library will eventually offer the public hundreds of thousands of books, spaces for programs and classes, the only free, public rooftop space in the City, new, expansive areas dedicated to children and teens, the Pasculano Learning Center offering career services, English language and literacy classes, media and technology training, and a multimedia studio, and a world-class Business Center featuring the staff, programs, and circulating collections formerly offered at the Science, Industry and Business Library (SIBL) at 188 Madison Avenue.

The Library was designed by architect Francine Houben of Mecanoo with Beyer Blinder Belle, and funded by the City and with a generous gift from The Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) in line with SNF’s long standing and extensive commitment to the NYPL and libraries worldwide.

Center for Research in the Humanities Opens at 42nd Street Library

On October 21, 2019, The New York Public Library opened its new Center for Research in the Humanities, a nine-room space dedicated to quiet research, work with the Library’s research collections, temporary displays, and collections-related programming.

The over 8,000-square-foot Center—located on the second floor of the iconic Stephen A. Schwarzman Building and designed by architects Mecanoo and Beyer Blinder Belle—has 56 seats exclusively for use by authors, scholars, students, and others engaged in extensive research, doubling the number of seats available in the building for that purpose. At opening, 30 scholars had already applied to work in the Center.

In addition, the Center—created from space long used primarily for staff and storage—also includes revamped spaces for staff, short-term displays, class visits, and public programs, lectures, and panels related to research collections. Continue reading “Center for Research in the Humanities Opens at 42nd Street Library”

South Court Plan Approved

The city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission today approved The New York Public Library’s proposal to improve flow, circulation, and visitor experience of its South Court space while preserving the building’s historical and architectural integrity. The work will create greater access to the Library’s collections and exhibitions, particularly the Treasures exhibition opening in Gottesman Hall next year.