Libraries

Budget

Touting $115B ‘Best Budget Ever,’ Mayor Adams Braves Looming Trump and Economy Risks

May 1, 2025, 3:46 p.m.May 2, 2025, 12:29 p.m.

While the mayor touts spending on child care and other services in an election year, fiscal watchdogs urge bigger reserves amid economic and political turmoil.

Guests check out the book supply at the Melrose library reopening.

The Bronx

Newly Renovated Melrose Library Returns

Dec. 10, 2024, 5:33 p.m.Dec. 10, 2024, 5:33 p.m.

The stately public library branch Andrew Carnegie paid to build in 1914 reopened this month after more than three years — with a new floor to go toward finally replacing stories lost to a fire decades ago.

Victoria Law stands in the rubble of the former ABC No Rio with construction team and ABC community in the background. Law is the founder of Books through Bars at ABC No Rio.

Life

ABC No Rio, a Home for Anarchist Artists, Rises Again on the Lower East Side

July 16, 2024, 6:45 p.m.July 16, 2024, 6:45 p.m.

Years after its demolition, ABC No Rio will get a new energy-efficient headquarters on the same site of its famous Rivington Street artists’ hub.

The Jefferson Market Library had a section for new releases.

Libraries

Critically Acclaimed Books Were Unavailable at New York Public Library as Budget Woes Hit June Buys

July 8, 2024, 6:03 p.m.July 8, 2024, 6:03 p.m.

Recently published hit books about Donald Trump and ‘90s con men, as well as in-demand fiction, hadn’t been acquired as of Monday morning, when THE CITY asked about their absence.

Authors Denise Adusei, Don P. Hooper and Jennifer Baker attend The Bronx Book Festival in Fordham Plaza.

Libraries

The Bronx Book Festival Just Happened for the Seventh Time — and Maybe Its Last

June 12, 2024, 5:00 a.m.June 11, 2024, 5:36 p.m.

Organizers say that low interest from sponsors and Bronx elected officials leaves them short on funds, even as young people in the borough need more access to reading.

Libraries

City Libraries Eliminated Late Fees Three Years Ago — How Has it Gone?

April 30, 2024, 5:01 a.m.April 29, 2024, 4:21 p.m.

Librarians across the five boroughs say the policy is encouraging more book worms.

A woman holds a baby during a Brooklyn Pubic Library tele-visit with an incarcerated person.

Prisons

Library Video Conferencing Helps Loved Ones Book Visits in the Pen

Dec. 5, 2023, 5:00 a.m.Dec. 4, 2023, 5:00 p.m.

Remote calls with people serving time in New York State prisons were rare before 2020. The Brooklyn Public Library is now helping friends and family set up virtual visits.