Wireless Internet Access Available

1 Lafayette Square
Buffalo, NY 14203-1887 Map
716-858-8900 (phone)
716-858-6211 (fax)
Bridget Quinn-Carey, Director

Directions to Central Library
Map of the Central Library

Special Hours

Fables Cafe is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 AM - 3 PM and on Saturday from 8:30 AM - 2 PM (the kitchen closes 1/2 hours before closing time).

Novel Ideas/Encore Editions Gifts and Used Books is open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 11 AM - 2 PM, on Thursday from 11 AM - 6 PM and on Saturday from 11 AM - 3 PM.

Rare Book Room: Researchers are advised to call for an appointment at 858-8900.

Extending two city blocks in length, encompassing more than 400,000 square feet of floor space and more than 58 miles of shelving, the Central Library in Lafayette Square in the heart of downtown Buffalo is headquarters of the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library system. Completed in 1964, this facility houses approximately 2 million volumes, special exhibition rooms for rare and valuable materials like the Mark Twain Room, a host of centralized administrative and support operations for the 37-outlet system, and a 324-seat auditorium with a Steinway grand piano. The auditorium and meeting rooms may be reserved for events.

Black and white copies are available at 15 cents each and color copies are available at 50 cents each. Public access computers are available. Printing from public access computers is 20 cents per page. "What can I do at a Public Access Computer?"

Wireless access is also available on both the first and second floor.

Now on Display at the Central Library

Meeting Rooms at the Central Library

Specialized Databases at the Central Library

Special Collections

Grosvenor Room (Genealogy, Music, Rare Books)

Mark Twain Room

More Collections Organized by Topic

Young Explorers (ages 3-5) Friday at 10:30 AM Registration is required ... Please call the library! Around the World ! July 9th • Into the Arctic Come along and explore arctic animals. Why can some animals live in the arctic while others can't? What is adaptation? What is blubber? We will explore all of this and more! July 16th • The Dangerous Desert Catch jungle fever while we explore what goes on in the jungle! Take a ride from the forest floor to the top of the canopy. On the way, we will discover which animals live in each layer. July 23rd • Jungle Fever Catch jungle fever while we explore what goes on in the jungle! Take a ride from the forest floor to the top of the canopy. On the way, we will discover which animals live in each layer. July 30th • Our "Out of this World" Ocean What kinds of animals live in the ocean? Explore the ocean from, tidal pools to the ocean depths and the ecosystems within the ocean. What kinds of animals live in the ocean? Explore tidal pools to ocean depth, mammals to fish! The ocean is a fascinating ecosystem.

The next scheduled holiday for this location is Monday, September 06, 2010 (Labor Day).

*Summer hours run from Memorial Day Weekend UNTIL Labor Day.