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Circulation (000)
NYPL Performance Reporting - Branch — NYPL Performance Indicators - Branch
* Year to date — this fiscal year isn't complete, so it's not compared against prior years in the target/trend status above.
View as table
| Fiscal year | Actual | Target |
|---|---|---|
| FY22 | 14,310,000 | 12,000,000 |
| FY23 | 16,530,000 | 15,000,000 |
| FY24 | 17,168,000 | 14,500,000 |
| FY25 | 17,006,000 | 14,500,000 |
| FY26 (YTD) | 13,353,000 | 16,000,000 |
13,353,000 in FY26 — missed the City's own target for this indicator (2,647,000 below the 16,000,000 target), though it has trended toward improvement over the past 3 years of reported data.
Why this is tracked
The New York Public Library was formed in 1895 by merging the financially struggling Astor and Lenox libraries with the Samuel Tilden trust, creating a research library — but it had no neighborhood branches of its own. In 1901, industrialist Andrew Carnegie offered $5.2 million (roughly $200 million today) to build 65 circulating branch libraries throughout the city, on the condition the City provide the building sites and commit to maintaining them. That gift created the branch library network NYPL still operates today, distinct from its non-circulating research libraries.
Celebrating Carnegie's Gift to New Yorkers — nypl.org, History of The New York Public Library — nypl.org
Source: Office of The Branch Libraries — via NYC Open Data: Mayor's Management Report, Agency Performance Indicators
Coverage shown: FY22–FY26, reported quarterly.
Definition: The total number of library materials (e.g., books, periodicals, and other formats) checked out or renewed at all library locations or online.