NYPL Services During COVID-19
Branch Libraries: Beginning July 6, all available New York Public Library branch locations will reopen with close to full service, including general library use and seating, unlimited browsing, computer access, and more. See NYPL's reopening page for the latest information.
Research Libraries: Beginning July 6, while appointments will still be required for most research collections use, service will be expanded at select locations to permit walk-in visitors who want to sit in public reading rooms, including the Rose Main Reading Room at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, for quiet study, thought, and computer use. Sign up for Research at NYPL email updates to receive announcements regarding NYPL's research services.
Researchers may schedule an appointment to visit any of the New York Public Library’s four Research Libraries – the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, Performing Arts, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, or the Business Center at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library (formerly the Science and Business Library, or SIBL). Before doing so, you’ll need to meet virtually with an NYPL librarian, so be sure to plan ahead, and schedule enough time in advance for your research needs.
Additional Services include:
- Grab-and-Go Service for Circulating Books
- Grab-and-Go Service for Research Borrowers
- Research Books by Mail / MaRLI by Mail
- Research at NYPL: Remote Access to Collections and Services
- More Remote Library Services at NYPL
- Apply for a Digital NYPL Library Card
- FAQs on Reopening Physical Locations at NYPL
Ebooks at the New York Public Library
Many of NYPL's Articles & Databases include electronic texts--see each collection's description for full details. Search the NYPL catalog if you have a particular title in mind to search across collections.
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New York Public Library Electronic BooksThousands of electronic books, including many scholarly titles, are available from the New York Public Library. A subset of these offerings featuring scholarly ebooks are also listed on the GC A-Z list.
Audiobooks
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LibriVoxLibriVox is a crowd sourced project in which volunteers record chapters of books in the public domain, and then release the audio files through their website without restrictions. All LibriVox audio is in the public domain, so you may use it for whatever purpose you wish.
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Overdrive via the New York Public Library*Please log in using your New York Public Library Credentials!*
Access movies, video, audiobooks, and e-books via this third-party app for use with a wide variety of e-readers including Kindle, portable devices, PCs, and Macs. -
AudioBookCloud via the New York Public Library*Please log in using your New York Public Library Credentials!*
Listen online to audio books in many different categories: fiction, non-fiction, classics and Spanish language. There are 1,000 books in the collection. These books are always available, never on hold, and no need to download.
Resources for Accessing and Adapting Ebooks
To apply for accounts to use any of the following services to access ebooks, please contact Student Disability Services at the Graduate Center:
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AccessText NetworkCollege students with disabilities which impair their ability to read printed text visit their school's Disability Support Services office to request accommodations. Once a student is determined to be eligible to receive textbooks in an alternate format, the school's Disability Service Provider (DSP) uses the AccessText Network to request electronic files from our member-publishers.
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Bookshare.orgBookshare ebooks provide more reading options than other ebooks or audio books and make it easier to read (via high quality audio, enlarged font size or color, braille, or other changes).
Quick Tips about GC Ebooks
- Find most CUNY and Graduate Center eBooks in OneSearch, with links to the full text.
- See also our tips for locating e-books blog post.
- Some ebooks are licensed for CUNY-wide use; others are licensed only to invididual CUNY campuses
- Graduate Center affiliates do not have remote access to ebooks held by other CUNY campuses.
- If you have a dual affiliation, you can access each campuses' electronic collections using the OneSearch interface and credentials for that school.
- Printing and downloading options will vary according to platform or publisher, and is often prohibited or extremely limited.
- If there’s an e-book you can’t find, complete our e-book search request form, or try Interlibrary Loan (ILL):
- Requests for chapters of books are often sent as electronic files through Interlibrary Loan, whereas whole ebooks are often not available via ILL due to licensing and digital restrictions of library ebooks. Try a request for a chapter or section!