NEW YORK. Following a complete renovation and reimagination, the New York Public Library’s (NYPL) central circulating branch has become the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library (SNFL). In July 2020, SNFL's ground floor will open to offer grab-n-go library service, along with seven other NYPL branches. The library's grand opening will follow at a later date.

Designed as a beautiful public space for all New Yorkers, the SNFL will include four floors of browsable general collection stacks, one of the city’s largest adult learning centers, a terrace that’s one of the only rooftops free and open to the public in Midtown Manhattan, and many more features catering to the large and diverse body of patrons. The branch is NYPL’s largest and busiest circulating library, with more than 1.7 million visits a year. The landmark Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) grant that supports its complete renovation also endows ongoing public programs there.

“This gift is a culmination of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation’s long-standing and unwavering commitment to libraries around the globe,” said Library President Tony Marx of the grant.

Past SNF support for libraries includes the creation of a new home for the Greek National Library as part of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, and the Foundation continues to focus on nourishing civic life through initiatives like the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University.

“Public libraries are paradigmatic public institutions offering communities an array of critical services that extend far beyond the lending of books,” said SNF Co-President Andreas Dracopoulos. “The varied roles of public libraries place them, more than ever before, at the heart of our civic societies.”

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