NYRL is the city's budget line for the New York Public Library's four research libraries -- free, non-circulating collections holding roughly 44 million items. These aren't your neighborhood branch libraries; they're world-class research institutions open to anyone. The research libraries house irreplaceable collections -- original manuscripts, historical maps, rare recordings, and archives spanning centuries. They're used by scholars, journalists, filmmakers, genealogists, and any New Yorker who walks in. City funding is a small fraction of their budget, but it signals public commitment to keeping them free.
Spending
$25.0M
36 transactions →
Budget (Adopted)
$37.9M
$23.3M spent
Did You Know
The lions guarding the Schwarzman Building on 42nd Street are named Patience and Fortitude -- named by Mayor LaGuardia during the Great Depression for the qualities he said New Yorkers needed to survive hard times.
| THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY ASTOR LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIO | $24.1M |
| SHI INTERNATIONAL CORP | $882.2K |
Headcount
$0 city payroll -- the research libraries are staffed entirely through NYPL's private endowment and non-city funding. The city's $25M contribution covers only about 7% of the research libraries' operating budget.
Who It Serves
Researchers, students, journalists, writers, genealogists, filmmakers, and any curious New Yorker. Unlike branch libraries, these collections don't circulate -- you use them on-site or digitally.
Category
Culture & Libraries