HAVING 3 LIBRARY CARDS IN NYC | WHICH LIBRARY CARD IS BETTER?

In New York City, there are three public library systems: the Queens Public Library (QPL), the Brooklyn Public Library (BPL), and the New York Public Library (NYPL).

I only had a QPL card until the pandemic, when I signed up for an electronic NYPL card. Oh, the doors this card opened. This card was being used and abused on a weekly, if not daily, basis. I was glued to Libby.

Until recently, I was content with just having these two. Then, I got greedy and started reading The Apothecary Diaries and a plethora of manga series. I didn't have enough holds slots, the wait times were several months long, and there were titles I couldn't find. 

FYI, QPL and BPL allow you to place 10 holds and have 20 loans at the same time. NYPL only allows 3 loans and holds each. 

Since adding a BPL card, I'm able to place more holds on titles I want to read [that aren't available] and read more books. For example, NYPL only has the first two volumes of Ai Yazawa's Neighborhood Story. I requested the library acquire the last two volumes. No response. More on library requests later...

Luckily, BPL had the last two volumes. Part of the reason why NYPL never responded to my request for the final two volumes is that BPL has copies. To read with only my NYPL card, I would have to submit an InterLibrary Loan Request, which also takes a long time to respond. Of course, this assumes I know which NYC system library has a copy, which isn't disclosed on Libby, so I didn't know! 

For some reason, driving to a physical location in bumfuck of nowhere Brooklyn is more convenient than doing everything online. Brooklyn is objectively a hassle to get to via car and public transport from Queens and Manhattan. G-train AND L-train, no thanks! 

Before you trek to Brooklyn to get your library card, apply online. You have 60 days after application to visit any BPL location to receive your card. I walked in, provided my ID, and was out of the branch within 5 minutes with a new card. 

Back to library requests. I requested Erin Jeanne McDowell's Savory Baking around 2023/2024. Within two weeks of opening a BPL card, this title is available in June 2025.

Although this post lauds BPL, the wait times for books are comparatively longer than those at NYPL. Ottessa Moshfegh, Taylor Jenkins Reid, and Sarah J. Maas (these, for some reason, are the three popular authors I can name off the top of my head) have titles that are more readily available at NYPL than the other systems. 

NYPL should be the first place you go to look for [popular] titles. However, the limits the library places make acquiring books slightly challenging, so the other branches are supplements. QPL has a good selection of manga. BPL has a better selection of niche titles. For example, it's the only library that has X by CLAMP (while I'm on my soapbox, everyone, please write an email to Viz to resolve X being on back order because the secondhand prices are outrageous) and Ice Palace by Tarjei Vesaas.

When all libraries do not have electronic copies of what I'm looking for, I visit a local library's website to see whether physical copies are available and request to pick up at my nearest branch. My local branch hates to see me coming because I cause rubberband shortages. When I've exhausted those options, I place an InterLibrary Loan. Hello, D.Gray-Man 3-in-1 Volume 8, is what I'd say if I had it!

While I mainly visit the library for books, it provides access to the internet, computers, printers, ESL classes, etc. If you live in NYC, please sign to tell leaders to continue investing in NYPL.