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New Children's Library Center at Main 42nd St Branch

11/27/08 - By Anna Fader

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When I was a kid I basically lived at the Jefferson Market Library. We climbed on the bronze oxen sculpture (the things we let kids do in the 70s), watched movies in their little viewing room and worked my way through the books, literally, starting from A. It's a great children's library. But, there are shamefully few great children's libraries in New York City and last year they closed the main children's center at the Donnell Library which was a double shame. But I'm super excited to hear that they are opening a beautiful, new Children's Library Center at the 42nd St. main library. WOW!

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The new Children's Center at 42nd St will be right on the ground floor, have 25,000 circulating children's books, DVDs, CDs, video games (yes you can borrow games from the library), separate rooms for children's programs and special events, a comfy reading room, and 8 computers for public access usage. The original Winnie the Pooh and friends have also moved from the Donnell Library to the 42nd St Library. Kudos to the NYPL for creating this beautiful new place for kids!

Hours of the Children's center will be the same as the Main Branch Hours: 11am-6pm Monday through Saturday. Open to 7:30 PM on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. 1-5pm on Sundays.


Find more great activities like this in our Indoor Activities Guide.

Places featured in this article:

Children's Center at 42nd Street Library

About the Author

Anna Fader

Founder of Mommy Poppins

A fourth-generation Brooklynite, Anna started Mommy Poppins in 2007 to help families find the best things to do with kids in NYC, with a particular emphasis on sharing activities that are free, affordable, and enriching. The site, used by millions of families, has grown to become the ultimate resource for parents in the major US cities, plus travel guides for 100s of destinations.

Anna is a believer in the magic of summer camps, traveling with kids, and that you can raise kids on a budget and still have a rich life full of amazing memories. Anna's first Mommy Poppins book, The Young Traveler's Journal and Activity Book, published in 2025 and co-written with her daughter, Amelia Eigerman, brings that ethos to life, in addition to this website.

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