How Do You Get A Ny Library Card
To get yourself a library card, you just head over to the New York Public Library website:
The requirements are relatively simple:
Any person who lives, works, attends school or pays property taxes in New York State is eligible to receive a New York Public Library card free of charge. Use of a New York Public Library card is non-transferrable, i.e., can only be used by the person whose name appears on the card.
New York City Residents , non-residents who work or attend school in NYC, and out-of-state visitors can submit a partial application online, then visit a library location to validate and pick up the card.
Culture Pass: Get Free Access To Nyc Museums With A Library Card
New York City is home to some of the most renowned cultural institutions in the world, and The New York Public Library is making it even easier for New Yorkers to enjoy these remarkable destinations with Culture Pass, a service that allows library cardholders to visit cultural institutions throughout the city for free.
To get started, you’ll need a library card from The New York Public Library, Brooklyn Public Library, or Queens Library. NYC library cardholders can borrow passes for two or four people at cultural institutions throughout the city.
Below is just a sampling of participating cultural institutions. You can find the full list on the Culture Pass website:
- American Museum of Natural History
- Asia Society Museum
- Bronx Museum of the Arts
- Brooklyn Botanic Garden
- Children’s Museum of the Arts
- China Institute
- Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
- Fraunces Tavern Museum
- Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum
- Japan Society
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- MoMA PS1
- Museum of the City of New York
- New Museum
- Whitney Museum of American Art
Apply For A Library Card
Any person who lives, works, attends school or pays property taxes in New York State is eligible to receive a New York Public Library card free of charge.
Adult and teen users may either apply online or in person at any New York Public Library location or Library-sponsored event. Applications for children ages 12 and under must be completed in person, and require the signature of a parent or guardian.
When you apply for a card online, you will receive a 7-digit temporary barcode. This allows you to set a PIN/ Password, place circulating items on hold or submit requests for research items from offsite storage.You must first validate your account to download e-books and audiobooks and have a physical card to borrow materials, search Library databases, or reserve a computer.
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How To Get A Library Card From The New York Public Library
A free library card is your key to everything The New York Public Library has to offer. Anyone who lives, works, or studies in the state of New York can get a free library card at The New York Public Library. In addition to using Culture Pass, you can use your library card to borrow books and e-books, download digital media, access online databases, and much more. You can visit any of our 92 locations to get a library card or apply for a library card online. If you apply for your library card online, you will need to visit one of our locations with a valid form of ID to receive your physical card prior to using Culture Pass. Learn more about eligibility for NYPL cards here.
Need Help?
Access Online Research Databases
Expand your research! Though the Fordham Libraries offer many databases, there is always more to explore. NYPL subscribes to hundreds of databases, giving you access to a wealth of current and historical scholarly journals, magazines, newspapers, primary sources, reference sources, and so much more. No matter your area of study, chances are there are some databases you will find useful.
Check out the extensive list of databases available through NYPL.
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Apply For A Library Card Online
New York residents ages 13 and older can get a digital library card through our online card application and gain access to an array of digital resources. You may also request physical items with your digital account however you will need to check out your items with a physical card.
If you are an international researcher looking to request research materials ahead of your visit, please use our alternate form.
How To Get An Nypl Card
There are two ways to get an NYPL card: in-person at a branch library or online.
If you apply online, you will receive a digital library card only. It can be used for digital resources like ebooks and audiobooks, but not for print materials. If youre more of a digital reader, or just cant make it to a branch library, this would be a great option for you. It will also come in handy if libraries need to close again during COVID-19.
To get a full library card, visit your nearest branch library. There are 92 locations to choose from across the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island. Be sure to check the website ahead of time to find out the latest information regarding hours and services access is subject to change due to COVID-19.
Use the location finder to see what library is nearest to you. If youre at Rose Hill, the closest library is the Bronx Library Center. If youre at Lincoln Center, the closest is one of NYPLs research centers, the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.
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How To Make A Culture Pass Reservation
To get started, cardholders can visit the Culture Pass website and follow these steps:
Note: Only cardholders over 13 who have a valid library card are eligible for Culture Pass. If you apply for your library card online or through SimplyE, please visit one of our locations with a valid form of ID to receive your card.
Get Even Smarter With Free Online Courses
You may have heard of LinkedIn Learning or Mango Languages. Normally you would have to pay to access these platforms, but NYPL subscribes to the services so cardholders can use them at no cost.
LinkedIn Learning offers thousands of courses in business, technology, and the arts that allow you to learn at your own pace. Maybe you want to learn to use Adobe Illustrator, master Excel, or even how to manage your time. Supplement what youre learning in your classes at Fordham, or just explore a new topic youve always been curious about. Browse the list of courses that are available.
Mango Languages makes learning a new language fun and interactive. There are over 70 languages to learn, but there are also ESL resources if youre looking to advance your English skills. This can be a great resource for extra practice outside of your language classes, or allow you to learn a language even if you cant fit it in your class schedule. See everything that Mango Languages has to offer.
As a Fordham student, faculty, or staff member, dont miss out on one of NYCs best attractions while youre here.
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Why You Should Get A New York City Library Card In 2022
Do you have a New York City Library card? Have you ever considered getting one? Well if you havent, I dont think you really know what youre missing out on! The NYPL has so much to offer for free and the card is a breeze to get. It should be on your list of things to do as soon as you arrive.
So what is it that you can do with the New York Library card?
Renew Or Validate Your Card
All adult, teen and child library cards for cardholders in the NY Metro area and NY State expire and must be renewed every three years. New library card applicants who applied for a card online must validate their card before full cardholder privileges can be extended.
Cardholders in the New York Metropolitan Area must visit any New York Public Library location to present the required forms of identification in order to renew or validate their card.
Cardholders from areas of NY State outside of the Metro NY area may email scans or copies of the required forms of identification to .
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Your Ny Public Library Card Can Get You Into 67 Local Museums For Free
If you dont already posses a library card of your own youve been missing out on more than just free access to books. The New York City Public Library System offers free admission to places like the Brooklyn Museum and the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum.
Cardholders at the New York, Queens, and Brooklyn Public Libraries can now go online and download day-long Culture Passes for free entry into 67 cultural institutions.
Some other participants in the program include but are not limited to the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, the Brooklyn Music School, Flushing Town Hall, Kaufman Music Center, the Morris-Jumel Mansion, and Wave Hill.
Anyone can input their card number on the Culture Pass website to reserve a date at any of the 67 participating venues. The savings will add up for those who take advantage of the program as some of these museums can cost upwards of $25 for entrance. So if you live in the city and want to finally experience some of our cultural gems, this is your best chance.
That said, only a certain number of passes may be available for a given date so youll need to reserve as early as possible and a cardholder can have only four active reservations at a time however, there is no limit as to how many times one can use Culture Pass. The only limitation is that you can only access each museum for free once in the year, so make the most of every visit!
Nyc Libraries Are Offering Free Digital Library Cards To People Across The Us
The offer is being done in response to book bans that have cropped up around the country.
New York’s libraries are taking a stand against recent book bans by giving readers across the U.S. access to their e-books for a limited time.
The NYPL is opening access to a selection of commonly banned books (including Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, King and the Dragonflies by Kacen Callender, Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi and The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger via its free e-reading app, SimplyE, now through May.
The “unbanned books” can be browsed, borrowed, and read on any iOS or Android device via SimplyE, the free e-reader app, for those 13 and older. There’s a specific “Books For All” collection that has hundreds of out-of-copyright/public domain books available to anyone in the country, with or without a library card. The unbanned books will be in that collection, with the added bonus of no wait times to read them.
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In addition, the Brooklyn Public Library is offering young adults, ages 13 to 21 nationwide, the chance to apply for a free eCard from BPL in order to get access to the librarys extensive collection of eBooks. The card will be good for one year and is designed to complement access to resources for teens in their local communities.
The ALA is currently leading a national United Against Banned Books campaign and NYC’s libraries are similarly standing against such challenges.
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Applying For A Library Card
Why Is It Important To Have Access To These Books
According to the American Library Association’s Office of Intellectual Freedom, over 729 complaints were filed last year in an attempt to remove 1,597 “uncomfortable” books from the shelves of libraries across the country, making it the highest number of complaints since the association started keeping track of it over 20 years ago. In comparison to 2019, the number of complaints filed in 2021 more than doubled.
While decisions about which titles are worthy of sitting on shelves tend to vary depending on the state, there’s been a universal tendency to try and ban the same categories regardless of geographical location. Books featuring LGBTQ characters, sexual identity, and racial issues are all subject to stark criticism from some parties and organizations.
Matt Karause, the chairman of the Texas House of Representatives General Investigating Committee, told public schools to “account” for 850 books deemed sexually explicit or racially preferential. The list includes titles such as the National Book Award winner How to be an Antiracist by Ibram Kendi. A librarian in Llano County, Texas, was fired after opposing the order to remove books from the library shelves. One of the titles the librarian was instructed to remove was about a teenager who identified as transgender.
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So What Can You Get With Your New York Public Library Card
Bianca BahamondesAugust 9, 2017
Step onto any subway platform and there are plenty of people reading books but there are probably more people wearing headphones.
Some are listening to music, others to audiobooks or podcasts, and then there are those watching movies on their phones. While we all know the library is the place to go for books, there are a handful of other things you can get for free with your New York Public Library card.
Theres no feeling like the one of a physical book in your hands, but in the fast-paced environment of NYC its sometimes easier to listen to a book, or read an e-book downloaded to your phone/tablet. And the NYPL offers all of these options, and more.
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E-Books & Audiobooks
Although most would classify these as two separate things, NYPL categorizes them together so we will, too. There are over 300,000 e-books and audiobooks offered by the library that you can discover directly from your computer. The website offers an app, SimplyE, which you can download from GooglePlay or the App Store and browse their vast selection from your phone or tablet of choice.
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Movies
Get Free Admission To Dozens Of Nyc Museums
Discover your city with Culture Pass.
Here at Fordham, we know that New York City is your campus. We also know the value of free stuff for college students. With a Culture Pass, you can get free admission to the citys best attractions. It includes a number of museums as well as other cultural institutions, like the Wave Hill gardens in the Bronx and the New-York Historical Society in Manhattan. See a full list of participating institutions, but be aware that there are restrictions in place due to COVID-19.
How do you get a Culture Pass? Its easy. Just go to the Culture Pass website and login with your NYPL card number. Then, you can browse passes by date or venue, and make a reservation. Youll need to print or download the pass in order to gain admission. Note that you can only use a Culture Pass at a given institution once per year.
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Overdues And Other Charges
Please return library materials on time so others may borrow them. A book-drop is available for use when the library is closed.
Fines and Fees are assessed as follows:
- Overdue materials – $0.10 per day
- Lost materials – Fees assessed at library discretion
- Replacement parts – Fees assessed at library discretion
- Replace lost library card – $2.00
- Printing – $0.15 per page
- Notary Public: $2.00 first document. $1.00 per additional document