Central (downtown Buffalo)
Welcome to the downtown Central Library!
Central Library Regular/non-holiday/non-emergency hours
Monday & Tuesday: 8 am - 6 pm
Wednesday & Thursday: 8 am - 8 pm
Friday & Saturday: 9 am - 5 pm
Sunday: 12 pm - 5 pm
The fully accessible Washington Street doors to enter/exit the building are open during all library hours. The Washington St. entrance is located across from Lafayette Square, between Broadway and Clinton Streets.
Important - the Library's Ellicott Street, underpass entrance to the building is open during limited hours: Monday-Friday.
Download This Week @ Central Schedule Here
Coming Up @ Central Library & Online: August 22 - August 30, 2026
Saturday, August 22 Library open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM Craft & Create: Beaded Forever Plants. West Room * (registrations fully booked)
11:00 AM - 12:30 PM Once Upon a Piano: A Kids' Music & Storytelling Festival. Auditorium
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM 3D Printer Certification Class. West Room *
1:00 PM - 4:00 PM Dungeons & Dragons. Collections Gallery Conference Room * (registrations fully booked)
1:00 PM - 5:00 PM Open Memory Lab Hours. Grosvenor Room
1:30 PM - 2:30 PM Pint-sized Picassos. West Room
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM Virtual Saturdays. Teen Space
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM Teen Jewelry Making. Teen Space
3:00 PM - 4:00 PM Peaceful Playtime. West Room
3:00 PM - 4:00 PM Special Collections Tour. Meet @ Grosvenor Room
Sunday, August 23 Library closed. Sunday hours resume September 13.
Monday, August 24 Library open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
9:30 AM - 11:30 AM Class Tour. West Room *
11:00 AM - 1:00 PM Information Table: Cassadaga Job Corps. Near Computers
Tuesday, August 25 Library open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
10:15 AM - 11:00 AM Tiny Tots Storytime. Children's Room
10:30 AM - 1:00 PM It Takes a Village Action Group. Collections Gallery Conference Room *
4:30 PM - 5:50 PM ISUPK Meeting. West Room
Wednesday, August 26 Library open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
11:00 AM - 1:00 PM Every Bottom Covered Diaper Pick-up. Children's Room *
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM Walk-up Tech Help. Information Services Desk or Computer Desk
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM Movie Matinee: In the Heights (2021). Ring of Knowledge
5:15 PM - 7:00 PM Buffalo Presidential Center Board Meeting. Collections Gallery Conference Room
5:30 PM - 7:00 PM Lecture: "Immigration by Water: The Erie Canal and Western New York." Ring of Knowledge
Thursday, August 27 Library open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
10:30 AM - 1:00 PM It Takes a Village Action Group. Collections Gallery Conference Room *
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM Walk-up Tech Help. Information Services Desk or Computer Desk
4:00 PM - 6:00 PM Every Bottom Covered Diaper Pick-up. Children's Room *
5:30 PM - 6:45 PM Trivia @ the Library. Central Meeting Room
5:30 PM - 7:30 PM Information Table: Queen City Workers' Center. Near Computers
6:00 PM - 7:30 PM Paging Through History: The Quiet Reading Club. Grosvenor Room
6:00 PM - 7:30 PM Special Edition Book Club: A People's History of the United States. Grosvenor Room
6:00 PM - 7:45 PM Buffalo Sewing Club. West Room
6:00 PM - 7:45 PM Food Not Bombs Meeting. Collections Gallery Conference Room
Friday, August 28 Library open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
10:00 AM - 1:00 PM Job Fair. Throughout Main Floor
10:00 AM - 1:00 PM Spectrum Health Re-entry Resource Fair. Collections Gallery Conference Room
10:00 AM - 2:00 PM Legal Aid Bureau of Buffalo Walk-in Legal Clinic. Study Rooms
Saturday, August 29 Library open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM 3D Printer Certification Class. West Room *
1:30 PM - 2:30 PM Pint-sized Picassos. West Room
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM Virtual Saturdays. Teen Space
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM Teen Jewelry Making. Teen Space
3:00 PM - 4:00 PM Peaceful Playtime. West Room
Sunday, August 30 Library closed. Sunday hours resume September 13.
Exhibits & Displays: Open during regular Library hours.
AP Gorny: Different from the Rest. Rare Book Room
We the People: Commemorating 250 Years of the Declaration of Independence. Ring of Knowledge
Council of Heritage and Arts of India, Inc. Trailblazers Exhibit. Collections Gallery
Uncle Sam, Symbol of Patriotism. Buffalo Presidential Center, open Saturdays 10 AM - 4 PM only
Programs denoted with an asterisk (*) are for pre-registered participants only.
Entering the Library:
Everyone must go through a weapon detection system to enter the Library.
The Washington St. entrance is open during all Library hours. The Ellicott St. open hours are varied. The Clinton St. entrance is only open for Auditorium programs.
Your Buffalo & Erie County Public Library card means you can receive discounts across Erie County. Learn more about the VIP program here.
We want to hear from you.
The Buffalo & Erie County Public Library is exploring how future interior improvements @ the downtown Central Library can better meet the needs of Erie County residents.
Imagining Buffalo Niagara in the 21st Century, after 600 programs,
IMAGINE Buffalo ran its final program in February 2026.
The Library is thankful to program host and volunteer Dennis Galucki.
IMAGINE Buffalo was sponsored by the Center for the Study of Art, Architecture, History and Nature (C-SAAHN) in conjunction with the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library
Click here for an archive of past Zoom programs dating back to 2020: Archive of past IMAGINE Buffalo zoom programs
Click here for a full archive of all recordings dating back to 2009