The New York Public Library’s Rose Main Reading Room and the Bill Blass Public Catalog Room will reopen for full service Wednesday October 5. These grand, adjacent rooms on the library’s 3rd floor will be staffed by more librarians hired for on-the-spot research questions and scheduled one-on-one consultation. And, 1.5 million frequently requested books will be delivered via conveyor system from the Milstein Research Stacks beneath Bryant Park to NYPL on-site readers.

NYPL Rose Reading Room Photo is © Jiahui Huang, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License

The rooms have been closed since May 2014 when a plaster rosette crashed during off-hours onto a library table, prompting immediate interrogation of the entire ceiling structure. With scaffolding in place, it made sense not only to repair and reinforce the 100+year old plaster ceiling, but also to clean and restore the room ahead of schedule. The rooms will now remain open without interruption for years.

CUNY Graduate Center doctoral students and faculty have enjoyed privileged access to the NYPL’s study rooms since the NYPL began to support CUNY’s advanced scholars in the 1970s. With the re-opening of the Rose Reading Room, the Wertheim Study and the Shoichi Noma Reading Room will become less crowded. The Frederick Lewis Allen Room designated for scholars with book contracts, with its spacious carrels, dedicated shelves, and free printing, will operate as it has before.

Grad Center scholars are sure to appreciate the refurbished Rose Reading Room at NYPL. We are also welcomed to use the Allen, Wertheim or Shoichi Noma research study rooms. Apply and renew online, or contact researchstudyrooms@nypl.org with questions about eligibility and terms.