The children's area stocks board books through middle-grade novels, and librarians lead free story times plus seasonal activities like Summer Reading. Named for the Harlem Renaissance poet and set beside the Schomburg Center, the branch normally offers a children's room and a Teen Center.
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Temporarily closed as of September 2026 per nypl.org; check the branch page for reopening before visiting.
Free; library card is free. Check individual program listings for any registration.
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All ages.
Free; library card is free. Check individual program listings for any registration.
Temporarily closed as of September 2026 per nypl.org; check the branch page for reopening before visiting.
104 West 136th Street, 10030, in Harlem, Manhattan.
Yes. Countee Cullen Library is indoors, so it works on rainy or cold days.
At the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, middle and high schoolers join a free Saturday program that uses the archives for research, writing, art and media projects about the history and culture of the African diaspora.
Families come for free story times and sing-alongs for the youngest readers, while school-age kids use the space for reading, computers and homework after class. A central Harlem branch near Marcus Garvey Park that has added a Teen Center alongside its children's space.
The children's area stocks board books through middle-grade novels, and librarians lead free story times plus seasonal activities like Summer Reading. Long one of NYPL's smallest branches, it moved to a larger space in northern Harlem that includes a Teen Center with gaming, crafts and a 3-D printer.
Little ones can join lapsit and toddler story times that mix songs, rhymes and books, and older kids can borrow books, use computers and get help finding homework resources. A West Harlem branch near Columbia's Manhattanville campus with a children's section and room for after-school reading.
Kids can pick out picture books, early readers and graphic novels, and the branch runs NYPL's free early-literacy story times for babies, toddlers and preschoolers. Its entire third floor is a roughly 4,400-square-foot Teen Center for ages 13–17, with computers, a media room and a performance space, while younger kids use the children's room.
Kids can pick out picture books, early readers and graphic novels, and the branch runs NYPL's free early-literacy story times for babies, toddlers and preschoolers. The children's room is a steady after-school stop for East Harlem families near the Lexington Avenue subway.