

Photograph by Jake Dobkin/Gothamist

More sad news about the New York Public Library's Rose Reading Room: damage is so extensive that they need at least another three months for repairs.

Plaster fell from the ceiling in late May, prompting the library to close the room for six months. Yesterday, the library issued a new update:

Following a piece of plaster falling during non-public hours earlier in the year, The New York Public Library’s Rose Main Reading Room and Bill Blass Public Catalog Room remain closed. All library services have continued, and a number of additional rooms have been opened to the public to provide spaces for researchers, writers, and computer users.

Following a preliminary analysis, further inspection is now beginning, including construction of scaffolding so that workers can gain access to the affected areas. The Library anticipates that the additional inspection will take six months. At its conclusion - likely in the spring - the Library will share its findings and what, if any, actions need to take place.

In the course of the preliminary work, asbestos was found in a closed attic area above the Rose Main Reading Room ceiling. Asbestos is commonly found in many older buildings in New York. The Library is currently taking steps to remove it as quickly and safely as possible and, of course, is following the procedures of the City’s Department of Environmental Protection.



As a reminder, all services previously available in these two rooms can be accessed on the second floor corridor of the 42nd Street Library. Rooms on the third floor - including Art and Architecture, Manuscripts and Archives, and Rare Books - remain open.

The Library continues to thank its users for their patience as it remedies this situation and works to reopen the Rose Main Reading Room and the Bill Blass Public Catalog Room.