Greenacre Reference Library & MAS Archives

Established in 1903, MAS's library is devoted to the city's complex ecology, its urban culture, history, design, and the natural and built environment.

About Greenacre Reference Library

MAS’s Greenacre Reference Library contains more than 3,500 books and reports, and approximately 2,600 MAS archival publications. The library is free and open to the public by appointment during office hours Thursday and Friday. Wi-fi, a separate study room, digital files, and individual research assistance are also available.

Location: The Municipal Art Society of New York, 488 Madison Avenue, Suite 1900, New York, NY

librarian with books in the Greenacre Reference Library
Librarian Erin Butler in the Greenacre Reference Library.

About MAS Archives

MAS Archives collections include primary source materials and other records of enduring value that document MAS’s activities on behalf of New York City since the organization’s founding in 1893. Preservation and planning campaigns, public art and public space, MAS’s walking tours, programs and exhibitions are illustrated here through correspondence, minutes, photographs, publications, and audio-visual recordings. In addition, the Greenacre Reference Library Collection within the Archives holds thousands of New York City-focused news “clippings” from the local, national, and international journalistic record. These collections are located offsite.

For inquiries or to arrange a visit to either location, please contact Erin Butler, ebutler@mas.org, 212-935-3960 x1274 (direct line 212-453-0065).

Additional early records of MAS (1901-1960) are held at the Smithsonian Institution’s Archives of American Art, aaa.si.edu.

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