Humanities & Social Sciences Library > Research Guides

Humanities & Social Sciences Library
42nd Street & Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10018-2788
(212) 930-0830
grdref@nypl.org

How Do I Find a Book?

To see if the Library has the book you need, check CATNYP, the online Catalog of The New York Public Library's Research Libraries.

Keep the following in mind when searching CATNYP :

•You can search CATNYP from any computer with an Internet connection (catnyp.nypl.org).
•Materials in CATNYP are non-circulating, and may only be used in the building. Be certain to note in which Library your book can be found.
•CATNYP includes collections held at all 4 Research Libraries:
    •Humanities and Social Sciences Library
    •Science Industry and Business Library
    •Library for the Performing Arts
    •Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
•If you are searching for a specific book, you may search by title or author. If you are not certain of the exact title, or just want to browse the collections, you may want to perform a subject or word search.
•For help searching CATNYP, try our online research guide.
•Some older materials may not be included in CATNYP. If the title you seek was published prior to 1972, it may be listed in the Dictionary Catalog of the Research Libraries, located in Room 315.

Many items held in the Special Collections will not be listed in the Library's catalogs. These include books and other materials, such as broadsheets, manuscripts, musical scores, prints, photographs and more. For help finding these materials, please consult the home page for the appropriate division, consult the online finding aids, or consult a reference librarian for assistance.

If you are looking for a book to check out and take with you, use LEO (Library Entrance Online) to search throughout the 87 NYPL Branch Libraries in the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island.

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