Ottendorfer Branch

Ottendorfer Branch The Ottendorfer Branch of the New York Public Library opened in 1884 as New York City's first free public library.

NOTE: The New York Public Library, Ottendorfer Branch is NOT Wheelchair accessible. Designed by German-born architect William Schickel, this landmark building combines Queen Anne and neo-Italian Renaissance styles with an exterior ornamented by innovative terracotta putti. The Branch was a gift of Oswald Ottendorfer, owner of the New-Yorker Staats-Zeitung. At the time, the neighborhood was called

Kleindeutschland (Little Germany) and had a population of over 150,000 people of German descent. Ottendorfer wished to provide this community with books to cultivate their minds and assist assimilation into American culture. Half of the 8,000 original books were in German with the other half in English. In the same tradition, the branch continues to reflect its community and remains a vital educational and cultural resource for the East Village today. The building, which is a designated New York City landmark, has been completely renovated through the Library's Adopt-A-Branch program, through which private donors join public funders to restore branch libraries. While the original Ottendorfer Branch was designed as a bilingual library to serve the German community, the restored library can now better serve its multilingual community and provide an increased level of accessibility to all people. Highlights include restored, repointed, and cleaned façade, an elevator, air-conditioning system, spacious reading area, new computer lab workstations, and children's floor with story hour room.

Happy Halloween! We will be here until 5 pm. Stop by and pick up a spooky read!
10/31/2025

Happy Halloween! We will be here until 5 pm. Stop by and pick up a spooky read!

Join the Library in celebrating Hispanic and Latinx Heritage Month from September 15 to October 15. Discover free events...
09/25/2025

Join the Library in celebrating Hispanic and Latinx Heritage Month from September 15 to October 15. Discover free events for all ages, multilingual reading recommendations, research resources, and more this month and beyond!

September is ! A free NYPL card is fun for all ages and offers access to books, movies, music, research tools, computer...
09/18/2025

September is ! A free NYPL card is fun for all ages and offers access to books, movies, music, research tools, computers, and so much more. Get your library card today!

Apply for a free library card from The New York Public Library.

Today is National Voter Registration Day! Drop by our branch to pick up a voter registration form and find free resource...
09/16/2025

Today is National Voter Registration Day! Drop by our branch to pick up a voter registration form and find free resources on everything you need to know about voting in NYC. Don't forget—the deadline to register to vote in the upcoming election is Saturday, October 25.
https://www.nypl.org/spotlight/voter-information

Address

135 2nd Avenue
New York, NY
10003

Opening Hours

Monday 11am - 7pm
Tuesday 12pm - 7pm
Wednesday 11am - 7pm
Thursday 11am - 7pm
Friday 10am - 5pm
Saturday 10am - 5pm

Telephone

+12126740947

Website

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