The Elmer Holmes Bobst Library, more affectionately known as Bobst, is the largest in NYU’s 11-library system. Bobst holds 3.9 million of the 5.8 million books in NYU’s catalog and is the most popular study space on campus. The NYU mascot, the Bobcat, was chosen and named after the Bobst Library catalog, “BOBCAT” – previously NYU’s mascot was a violet! NYU partners with other colleges and libraries to use their resources, many of which can be ordered online and delivered to one of the main libraries.

The front exterior of the Bobst Library
Study Spaces

Bobst is home to some of the best study spaces on campus. The lower levels are open 24 hours a day and have reservable study rooms for group projects or exam prep for up to 11 people. And the Electronic Resource Center, on the first lower level, allows NYU students to borrow laptops, chargers, cameras, and other essential equipment for completing assignments.

A student sits at one of the individual study desks at Bobst
A student sits at a communal desk studying
Library Research Commons

Need to do some research? The stacks are open from 7 AM – 1 AM, and 24 hours during finals. The library’s Research Commons is located on the 4th and 5th floors of the building. The study spaces on these floors are designed around collaborative study and research. The Research Commons also has specialized computing support and “help spots” for business, science, and government studies.

Librarians

Bobst has 33 research librarians available to assist with research endeavors. Each librarian specializes in a particular area of study, ensuring their expertise aligns with your research needs. The “Ask a Librarian” system allows students to text or email librarians with questions from any location in NYU’s global network.

An exterior street level shot of the Bobst Library
A student walk through Bobst and other students can be see studying
A student sits at a desk studying with headphones on
The main lobby of the bobst library and many students can be seen moving about.
A top down shot of the bobst library with students seen studying

The Avery Fisher Center

The Avery Fisher Center is one of the world’s largest media centers, and is located on the 7th floor of Bobst. This area holds 48,000 videos, 115,000 audio recordings, and 102,000 print items including sheet music and scores, all of which are free for NYU students. The Avery Fisher Center also has personal viewing stations and large screening rooms available for students to use for everything from homework assignments to premieres of their own film projects.

The entrance to the Avery Fischer Media Center