The NYPL's upcoming exhibition Lunch Hour NYC won't open to the public until June 22nd—but it already has managed to teach us things we didn't know and whetted our appetite for the full show. Who knew school lunches got their start in New York? more ›

Earlier this year Björk brought her Biophilia education series to the New York Hall of Science—a program based off her album of the same name, that has actually been incorporated into the Icelandic school syllabus. Now she's teaming up with the New York Public Library and Children's Museum, with the help of the Creators Project, to bring her brand of knowledge to your children's moldable minds. The performer's educational programming series reflects "the innovative and interactive elements of the Biophilia apps and seeks to teach kids about the connections between technology, art and natural phenomena." For example: more ›

While some prudish libraries are debating whether or not to stock E.L. James's Fifty Shades series (ahem, North Carolina), the New York Public Library is not one of them... and it looks like they need to stock up. There are currently 1,824 people that have the first book on hold. more ›

Yesterday we checked out the New York Public Library's microfilm room to find some old articles not available online regarding the Etan Patz case. The 6-year-old was kidnapped 33 years ago, and yesterday the FBI and NYPD set up a new crime scene on Prince Street, where the Patz family still lives. You can catch up on the ongoing story right here, but right now we'll look back at how the case was handled and reported in the late '70s. more ›

Today the 1940 census was released, opening up the personal details of 132 million people for the first time after 72 years of privacy protection lapses—21 million of those people are still alive. There are a number of ways to access the information in the census, including at the National Archives and this website, and the New York Public Library has also released a search tool. more ›

Cigarettes, they're what's for dinner? Yup, long before Nanny Bloomberg came and kicked New York City's smokers to the curb, the scent of burnt tobacco used to permeate the city—restaurants used to even sell smokes as an after dinner treat! more ›

The New York Public Library has just launched Stereogranimator, a site that lets you turn their historic collection of stereographs into animated and 3-D images. In other words: old timey animated gifs! That option sort of gives us seizure-type feelings, but if you're stronger than us, definitely check it out and give it a spin right here. We happen to have 3-D glasses at our desk, and we highly recommend picking some up and checking out the streets of 19th century New York in 3-D. If you need 3-D glasses, we hear you can pick some up at Portatronics (at West 46th Street and 5th Avenue), or a comic book store—where else can you buy them? more ›

In 2007, the Reverend Al Sharpton and celebrated polemicist Christopher Hitchens, who died yesterday of cancer at the age of 62, met for an intellectual debate on the existence and nature of God at the New York Public Library. As the Times happily reported, despite the incendiary and polarizing nature of both men, the debate turned out to be "the public intellectual event of the evening, a bit like Bertrand Russell vs. C. S. Lewis." more ›

New York Public Library president Anthony Marx is not going to be driving again for awhile. Marx pleaded guilty today to driving while intoxicated back in November. No more sloppy Sunday afternoon drives for Marx! more ›

Earlier this week, we traveled backwards through time to check out the New York Public Library's fabulous collection of the Thanksgiving menus of yesteryear. Today, the NYPL is trying to archive the Thanksgiving menus that your great great grandchildren will look upon fondly. The Library is looking for photographs, stories, videos and audio clips of different Thanksgiving traditions, old and new alike, and they need your help. more ›

Maybe you're eating out for Thanksgiving this year, or maybe you're entertaining at home with the Best Turkey Ever. But either way, take a moment to reflect upon the Thanksgiving menus of yesteryear, culled from the fantastic menu archives at the New York Public Library. more ›

New York Public Library president Anthony Marx was charged with DWI, DUI and operating a motor vehicle while impaired after "he sideswiped a parked vehicle with a... car registered to the library," yesterday afternoon, Metropolis reports. Police say that Anthony Marx had a blood alcohol level of 0.19, which is more than twice the 0.08 legal limit. more ›

Leaping forward into the 21st century, the New York Public Library has announced that readers who refuse to physically go to the library can now borrow even more e-books from from their virtual collection, which will conveniently deliver books straight to your Kindle with the simple click of a button. more ›

While all you working stiffs are wasting the best years of lives clocking in and out of some dead and job to barely keep your head above water, area man Andrew Hansen had it all figured out: lifting books from public libraries and selling them to used bookstores for a hefty profit, according to prosecutors. Authorities tell the Post that Hansen, who used to work in publishing before developing a drug problem, is "well known to NYPL gumshoes and local bookstores," and he allegedly stole so many books the library sent photos of Hansen to local bookstores. And recently the chickens came home to roost. more ›

Gather 'round for a night of highbrow art appreciation this Friday at the New York Public Library, which is celebrating the 70th birthday of avant-garde theater director Robert Wilson, with a little help from some of his famous friends. Wilson collaborators like musician/author/elder statesman Lou Reed, operatically inclined singer Rufus Wainwright and dancer/choreographer Lucinda Childs will all be on hand to toast to Wilson's life and works. more ›

And now, for your Absolutely Adorable break of the day: Six-year-old Morningside Heights resident Helen Stone spent her Sunday morning selling lemonade and homemade cookies to benefit the New York Public Library. Ramona Quimby would be so proud! more ›

Were you planning on meeting up with your good looking boyfriend Jake Gyllenhaal in the library during the storm? Well you can forget about it, honey, because the public libraries are shutting things down for the weekend. more ›

Young bookworms who can't keep track of a deadline are no longer in danger of losing their borrowing privileges at the library, thanks to a new measure granting thousands of kids amnesty from late fees. Call off the book detectives! more ›

There will be no new Tom Otterness sculptures in Battery Park City. Though Otterness already did the lovely "penny park" at the north end of the park, the Battery Park City Authority has nixed an anonymously gifted $750,000 bronze lion and cubs sculpture by the artist meant for the Battery Park branch of the New York Public Library. Though the BPCA says the decision was because of a "lack of transparency" regarding control of the work and where it came from, the world-renowned sculptor's history of animal abuse (and the many petitions deriding it) is the more likely culprit. more ›

Hurrahs are in order for the New York Public Library today, which was saved from potentially devastating city budget cuts. It was a tough battle, with a supporting campaign that involved publicly hugging the stone lions in front of the Stephen A. Schwartzman building, and vaguely threatening letters from small children ("Dear Mr. Mayor, DO NOT I repete DO NOT CUT the Librarys Buggets OR Else!!"). more ›

Jack Kerouac's seminal Beatnik classic On The Road, which was famously typed out on a continuous 120-foot scroll, has gone mobile with the release of a new iPad app. more ›

The New York Public Library's Stephen A. Schwarzman Building may be made of stone, but that doesn't mean it couldn't use a hug, right? Tomorrow the group Urban Librarians Unite is planning to do just that—they're holding a "hug the library" event! more ›