It's Time to Finally Get That Library Card

A few weeks ago I published a post about finding affordable books at Strand Bookstore. Today I'm going to talk about another Penny-Pinching staple for book-lovers in the city. Beyond those who like to read, this spot is great for writers, researchers, dance-lovers, music-lovers, drama-lovers, and New Yorkers in need of free wifi and some quiet space.

Allow me to introduce the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.

This library has much more to offer than just books and magazines. Located at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, the Performing Arts Library has Circulating Collections of musical scores, songbooks, CDs, and audiocassettes, as well as books and DVDS about music, dance, drama, etc.

What is truly special about this library is its Research Collections. These collections are divided into the Billy Rose Theatre Division, the Jerome Robbins Dance Division, the Music Division, the Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound, and the Theatre on Film and Tape Archive. Information about all of these collections can be accessed through the Research Collections link above, but for today I am going to focus on my personal favorite division, the Dance division.

The division's webpage describes itself as follows:

The Jerome Robbins Dance Division of The New York Public Library is the largest and most comprehensive archive in the world devoted to the documentation of dance. Chronicling the art of dance in all its manifestations - ballet, ethnic, modern, social, and folk - the division is much more than a library in the usual sense of the word. It is part museum, part film production center, and part consulting service to the professional dance community. It preserves the history of dance by gathering diverse written, visual, and aural resources, and it works to ensure the art form's continuity through an active documentation program.

Resources such as original manuscripts (think choreographer notes), posters, newspaper clippings, and photographs are all available to researchers. What is also available, and unique to the Performing Arts Library, are video archives of ballets, Broadway musicals, and all other types of dance performances. Videos that are hard to come by on Youtube are available for viewing at the library. I like to come to the library to watch full-length works choreographed by George Balanchine, since The George Balanchine Trust prevents his ballets from being recorded and replicated without permission.

If you wish to view some of the dance or theatre video archives that the library has to offer, it is recommended that you call ahead. Walk-in appointments are an option, but they are not guaranteed as there are a limited number of screens available. Before entering the screening room you will be required to leave your possessions in a secure holding room, to ensure that no material is secretly being recorded. You must also provide a reason for wishing to view the materials (i.e. student, research project, independent study, etc.) Basically, they want to make sure you aren't there to illegally record and replicate a copyrighted performance.

In order to view the video archives or check out materials, you must have a library card. These are easy to acquire, so long as you can provide a document that proves your New York City residence. I brought a postcard from a friend that was sent to my New York address, for example. With your library card, you can also set up a username and password on the NYPL website, and then check up on which books you've checked out, which books you've put on hold, etc.

The Performing Arts Library is open Mondays and Thursdays from 12-8 PM, and on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 12-6 PM. While Lincoln Center is the only Performing Arts Library location, there are plenty of other New York Public Libraries located throughout the city.

Oh yeah, and did I mention that everything about the library is entirely free? Seeing a performance on a screen is not the same as seeing it live, but on a day when you've had no luck with student rush tickets, this can be the next best thing.