Our full Guide to Membership and rules of Library use can be found here.

The New York Society Library offers a books by mail service for members who cannot visit the Library in person. Library members may open a postage account to receive books from the Library's collection through the mail. Specific details about the Library's books by mail service can be found in the Books by Mail Policy.

To begin receiving books by mail from the New York Society Library, members may contact the Books by Mail Manager Susan Chan at schan@nysoclib.org or 212-288-6900 x211, or inquire in person at the Circulation or Reference Desk.

The New York Society Library is a member of the Metropolitan New York Library Council (METRO), which provides its members with access to collections at other member libraries. For materials that are not available at the New York Society Library or at the New York public libraries, Society Library members may ask at the reference desk for a title or subject referral card that will provide entry to over 250 academic, public, school, and special libraries in the Metro New York City area.

The title referral card gives Library members access to an individual title available through other participating member library collections. The subject referral card grants Library members interested in exploring whole subject areas broader access for a fixed period of time to other participating member library collections.

To find out more about the Library's METRO Library Referral service, please contact the Reference Librarian at reference@nysoclib.org, 212-288-6900 x202, or stop by the Reference Desk on the First Floor between every day between 11 AM and 4 PM.

The Library provides Internet access for members at computer terminals located throughout the building. These terminals are meant for quick reference only, so users are limited to 30 minutes per day.

If you require more time or need programs beyond an Internet browser, you may bring your own computer to use in the Library. Wireless Internet access is available to Library members throughout the building with the exception of the Members' Room and Reference Room. Computer use is not allowed in the Members' Room.

In addition, the Library offers laptops, which members may check out for the day and use in the Library. If you would like to use one of the Library's laptops, please read the Laptop Checkout Policy and ask at the Circulation Desk.

The New York Society Library is proud to have a knowledgeable staff available at the circulation and reference desks to help Library members find their next good read. Simply ask for a recommendation on your next visit to the Library.

If you cannot reach us in person or by phone, our book recommendations are available for perusal as well. Here you can search newsletter articles and book reviews by the Library staff plus selections made by the Library's member-composed Book Committee. Several of the newest titles recommended by the Book Committee are on display in the lobby.

The Library's staff is happy to share their favorite books with Library members and we welcome members to do the same. Tell us about your latest great find—it could become another member's next literary gem.

Please note that our study room policy has changed. Members may now have up to five active reservations at a time. Once that limit has been reached, they must use or cancel a reservation in order to make another.

The Library has six individual study rooms available to members for writing and laptop use on the Fifth Floor. If you are interested in reserving one of these rooms, please read the Individual Study Room Rules.

Members can make reservations by emailing requests@nysoclib.org; view availability here.  

The Library also has many other reading & study spaces available on a first-come first-served basis. Please visit the Hornblower Room on the Fifth Floor, the Whitridge Room and Little Whit on the Third Floor, and the desks in the books stacks. The Members' Room on the Second Floor is reserved as a laptop and keyboard-free space. 

More information and frequently asked questions about individual study rooms can be found here.

Reference Services

Although primarily a library for the general reader, there is considerable potential for research. Nonmembers are invited without charge to use the ground floor to read, do research, and avail themselves of the Library’s excellent collection of print reference materials, as well as to use books from the stacks and consult a reference librarian.

Our Reference desk is staffed by librarians every day from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

Have a question? Email us.

Search our online catalog.

Reference Resources

The following resources are available to all researchers:

• City Readers: Digital Historic Collections at the New York Society Library
• Special Collections
• NYC Notices, 1836-1868
  Marriages and deaths among prominent New Yorkers

Resources for Members

• View all Electronic Resources
• Interlibrary Loan
• METRO Library Referral

Research Guides

• NYC Building History
• Using JSTOR & Project MUSE
• Using Ancestry.com
• Using Special Collections

Interlibrary loan (ILL) is a service the New York Society Library offers its members for access to books, articles, and other materials from libraries across the United States. Library members may request an interlibrary loan by either emailing the Interlibrary Loan Coordinator or submitting an ILL request form at the Circulation Desk. This service is free to New York Society Library members, but fees and fines assessed by the lending libraries may apply.

For more information about the Library's interlibrary loan service, please explore the links below.

• Interlibrary Loan Frequently Asked Questions
• Interlibrary Loan Policy
• Interlibrary Loan Request Form

The Library is proud to be a home away from home for so many wonderful writers, past and present. Since our founding in 1754, writers as diverse as Washington Irving, Herman Melville, Willa Cather, and Wendy Wasserstein have used the Library as a source of inspiration, research, and community. Because it is a tradition that continues to the present day, the Library has developed a series of programs and services specifically to support the efforts of our large and diverse writing community. 

More information on services for member writers can be found here.

The New York Society Library has lockers available to Library members for short-term and long-term storage.

Day Lockers

For those members wishing to store materials during the day, keys for day lockers are available at the circulation desk on a first-come, first-served basis. All items in these lockers must be removed before the Fifth Floor closes for the day and the key returned to the circulation desk.

Six-month Lockers

For members wishing to store materials at the Library for a longer time, the Library has lockers available for six-month periods. Members may apply for a six-month locker by completing an application and submitting it to the circulation desk. Upon receipt of the application, you will be added to the waitlist and placed in a locker as soon as one is available.