If you are lucky enough to bag a spot on this free tour you are so very blessed. Gloria, our docent was incredible, her mind, knowledge, passion and enthusiasm were incredible, I wanted to scoop her off for lunch and listen to her for hours and hours. This place is spectacular, what is holds, the history, the exhibitions, how you feel when you are in there - this tour gives you an insight that is very special; highlight of my NYC trip.

The library is an iconic building on the outside and has treasures to explore on the inside. The free display of valuable artefacts was beautifully presented and well worth a visit, but unlike other reviewers we found that we couldn’t visit other parts of the library such as the reading room. Great shop though.

This beautiful landmark needs a visit. It's hallways are beautiful as is the main area. A wonderful gift store too. If you come straight to the library from E 41st, there are numerous wonderful bronze plates on the sidewalk with great quotes leading right up to the library worth reading.

This is a beautiful library building and quite honestly too big to visit properly in the time we had. Lots to explore and enjoy, including the Original Pooh bear which I though deserved more of an exhibition with additional books and illustrations. A great stop before or after the Empire State Building as it’s literally just down the road and it’s free so nothing to lose by trying it.

The building is impressive and there is a small, free museum showing the first Gutenberg Bible as well as letters from Columbus with some drawing and painted scenes. There is also a Borges manuscript and many more items to enjoy. You won't see the main reading room with the wood panelling as it is not open to the public to maintain the quiet & calm atmosphere allowed to readers & students but the entire building is a jewel.

The architecture of the building is amazing. It is easy to go in and out. However, I didn't see many books (these are in a more modern building across the street). Also you can't go into the reading rooms. It is just for people doing research. The point of the visit is to tour the build that itself is gorgeous and see the instalation they have at the moment

I hadn't planned to visit the public library but I walked past it and thought it might be worth a quick look... I ended up spending a couple of hours there. The free audio tour on the Bloomberg Connects app really adds to the experience and points out things that are probably easily missed. I particularly recommend heading to the 3rd floor to see the works of Alen MacWeeney and his portrayal of the New York metro in 1977. There is a real emphasis that the library is a place available for all to learn from and enjoy... this message has inspired me to go get a library card of my own.

How did I not know that this place was so cool?!?! We often visit Bryant Park when in NYC (great place to grab a quick dinner before show), and frequently take photos of the lions. But this was the first time we thought, hey, let's see what the inside is like. SOOOOO glad we did; the museum is amazing. It's a small selection of the library's archives, and I was frankly amazed at some of the things I got to see. It's a very "random" selection of items, from the original "Winnie the Pooh" dolls that Christopher Robin owned to letters from George Washington. Items of historical interest along with curiosities. It was free, and just so surprising. Not sure why I was surprised...shame on me! We were there late in the day, so had no chance to take the guided tour, but just the little bit of the building we saw ensures that we'll be back to do that as well. Really cool place!

This is a beautiful building. Wonderful frescoes and wood panelling. Certainly see the Renaissance inspiration. Actually free to enter which was surprising. Be respectful of those inside the library, as this is a real working library not a museum with students studying inside. Didn’t see any ghosts.

Awesome library with plenty of cool things to see. They have the original Winnie the Pooh and friends on display. The architecture is also really cool. The Rose reading room is the coolest thing but make sure to check the website for hours and tours as you can’t go inside outside of a few specific times.