Requesting Materials

In Person

Individuals who already hold a card of admission to the Rare Book Division may request materials in person in the Brooke Russell Astor Reading Room.  All requests for materials are subject to approval by the Curator of Rare Books or ranking assistant. 

All call slips must be legibly printed by hand.  Readers must indicate their home street address on each call slip; P.O. Box numbers or work addresses will not be accepted in lieu of a home street address.

Materials are paged for delivery once daily: between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m.  Materials requested after 2 p.m. will be delivered the following business day.  Up to six individual items may be requested per paging period.  Upon request, materials may be held on reserve for a limited time.  Requests for certain materials, including items from the Stuart and Menu Collections, require a minimum of 24 hour advance notice.

In Advance

Advance requests for Rare Book Division materials are made by email or post and must be received at least 72 hours (3 business days) before your planned arrival.  All requests for material are subject to approval by the Curator or ranking assistant of the Rare Book Division.  Telephone requests for materials are not permitted.

In making your request, you must provide:

• A statement of research purpose.
• A list of materials already consulted.
• Your full name and home street address.  (P.O. box numbers or work addresses are not accepted.)

If you have not received a response approving your request within 24 hours of your planned visit, please resubmit your email request to rbkref@nypl.org or contact the Division during business hours—Tuesday through Saturday, 1:00 – 5:45 p.m.—at 212-642-0110.

Additionally, before your arrival, please familiarize yourself with the Division’s reading room rules &regulations.

Thank you.