About the Inwood Library

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Inwood Library, Manhattan's northernmost branch, serves a large, multiethnic community. The branch has strong Spanish-language and small Russian-language collections, which include a wide range of audiobooks and DVDs. The branch also offers English classes for adults whose native tongue is another language. The children's room on the second floor includes space for programs; events for teenagers and adults take place in the auditorium.

In 1902, The New York Public Library began providing services to the Inwood neighborhood in collaboration with the Dyckman Library. Twenty-one years later NYPL expanded its presence in the area when it opened sub-branches in a private house, the study hall of the old George Washington High School, and in two other locations. Finally, on September 5, 1952, the branch moved into its present location, a three-story building on Broadway just north of Dyckman Street.

A renovation through the Library's Adopt-a-Branch program was completed in 2001, making the branch accessible to people who use wheelchairs. An expansion of the southeast corner provided a separate reference room on the first floor and a large reading room for toddlers on the second. Upgraded air-conditioning, an elevator, and 16 computer workstations were also added.

Read more about the early history of the New York Public Library, including that of Washington Heights and Inwood:

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