The New York Public Library is located at 5th Avenue & 42nd Street, Manhattan, New York City. It was designed by architects Carrère and Hastings in 1897, and completed to popular acclaim in 1911, at a whopping cost of $9 million. In designing the New York Public Library, the architects brought to life the vision o the library's first director, who wanted a place which is bright, quiet and airy, so that millions of books can be stored, and yet easily retrieved.

New York Public Library, New York CityNew York Public Library, New York City
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The New York Public Library was built on the former site of the Croton Reservoir. Its Main Reading Room, which was recently renovated, is a majestic, cavernous space, almost like the inside of a cathedral. The length of shelves total 88 miles, and on these shelves are seven million books. In addition, there are 10,000 magazines from 128 different countries. And yet, it only takes a staff or a computerized conveyor minutes to supply any requested book.

Among the treasured items in the library's collection today includes Thomas Jefferson's handwritten copy of the Declaration of Independence and T.S. Elliot's typed copy of "The Waste Land".

New York Public Library interior first floorNew York Public Library interior first floor
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The New York Public Library is the main library with a network of 82 branches. Among the more popular branches of the library are the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at the Lincoln Center, and the Schomburg Center in Harlem.

How to reach the New York Public Library

Take the 4, 5. 6 trains to the 42nd St-Grand Central station, or the 7 train to the 5th Avenue station.

When to visit the New York Public Library

The library is open Tuesdays to Sundays, and closed on public holidays.

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Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

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