New York State Library

The New York State Library is part of the New York State Education Department. The Library and its sister institutions, the New York State Museum and New York State Archives, are housed in the Cultural Education Center. The building is part of the Empire State Plaza, a large complex of state government offices in downtown Albany, New York, United States.

Organization

Research Library

The New York State Library was established in 1818 to serve the government of New York State. Although its scope has increased since then, one of the State Library's primary functions is still to serve as a repository for the official publications of New York State government (the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, as well as the commissions, public authorities, and other agencies). The Library is also a depository for federal government documents.

The New York State Library's collections have a strong focus on the history and culture of New York State, including extensive holdings in local history and genealogy.

On March 29, 1911, a fire in the Assembly Chamber of the New York State Capitol, where the Library was located at the time, devastated the Library's collections, destroying approximately 450,000 books and 270,000 manuscripts including some of the historical records documenting New York's early Dutch and colonial history, translated by Francois Adriaan van der Kemp.

Talking Book and Braille Library

The New York State Talking Book and Braille......
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