Libraries

For an extensive list of area libraries, visit the RRLC Member Libraries page. The Rochester Regional Library Council updates the list with contact names, phone numbers, and library addresses.

Another fab resource is ROARingCat, which allows you to search all of the RRLC member libraries at once (including most academic libraries, all public libraries, and many private libraries). Search here!.

Library on Monroe Ave near 490, 10-2008

The Monroe County Library System consists of eleven city library branches and over twenty affiliated town libraries. The library website has a full list of local branches and also posts their hours. Many local libraries have activities like story hour or author visits which are advertised on each library's website.

The entire collection of the Monroe County Library system can be searched online using LIBRAWeb. Many libraries are now offering wireless internet access, and most also have public-access PCs connected to the Internet.

To use most library services, including checking out materials, requesting holds and using WiFi in some locations, a library card is required. Cards can be obtained in person at any branch. You'll need to provide proof of a Monroe County address to get a free card. Out-of-county residents can obtain cards for $30 per year.

The Monroe County Central Library is the branch most often associated with the city of Rochester, and the biggest of the libraries. It has its own page, as do the Brighton, Greece, Fairport, Irondequoit, Pittsford, and Penfield libraries.

In recent years, funding for the libraries has been cut. This has led to staff cuts, a reduction in hours and resources, and new fees for once-free services (like holds). Public-access PCs are often fully utilized at peak times — expect to wait or reserve time in advance. Popular items like best-sellers, DVDs, videos and CDs are also usually checked out. Sometimes, a popular item may be available at another branch: LIBRAweb is a good resource for finding this out.

• The Rush Rhees Library, at the University of Rochester. Library website
  

• Carlson Science and Engineering Library at University of Rochester. Library ebsite
  

• Edward G. Miner Library at the University of Rochester Medical Center. Medical volumes and journals with a computer lab and reading room. Library website
  

• Rossell Hope Robbins Library at University of Rochester. The Rossell Hope Robbins Library is a special medieval collection in Rush Rhees Library. Robbins Library Website
  

• MCC Libraries, at Monroe Community College. Library website
  

• The Wallace Library, at Rochester Institute of Technology. Library website.
  

• The Lorette Wilmot Library, at Nazareth College. Library website.
  

• The Lavery Library, at St. John Fisher College. Library website.
  

• The Ambrose Swasey Library at Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School. Library website.
  

• The Sprague Library at Roberts Wesleyan College. Library website.
  

• The New York State Supreme Court Appellate Division Law Libraryhttp://www.nycourts.gov/library/ad4/index.shtml

• The Richard and Ronay Menschel Library, at the George Eastman House. From their website: "The Richard and Ronay Menschel Library contains a comprehensive collection of the literature of photography and a research-level collection of the literature of motion pictures. It is both an informational resource and a collection of artifacts." Open to the public 10am to noon and 1pm to 5pm, Tuesday through Friday. Search their catalog here or visit their website.

• According to RRLC, there is a library at the Seneca Park Zoo. Call 585-336-2504 for more information.

• The Xerox Corporate Library. 800 Phillips Road, Webster NY. Offers access to Xerox historical documents, internal reports, lab notebooks, print industry journals, and a small selection of technical and business books. Open to Xerox employees, contract workers, interns, and retirees, 8:15am to 5pm, Monday through Friday.

• Eastman Kodak Library

• Schuyler C. Townson Library, at Rochester Museum and Science Center. Open 9:30 to Noon and 1:00 to 4:30, Tuesday through Friday. From their website: "The library's holdings reflect the strengths of the museum's collections. Thus, materials relating to Iroquois studies, early Euro-American technology, Rochester businesses, fashion and costume, museology, and collections care are particularly numerous, and in some cases, unique." They also house the Stone Photograph Collection, which can also be viewed (here... enter library's photo site). Contact the library at 585-271-4552, X-315, or visit their website.

• The Rochester Historical Society Library. According to their website, the "definitive source for historical and genealogical research in Rochester." Visit by appointment... call 585-428-8470. Rochester Historical Society website.

• Memorial Art Gallery?

• The GAGV Library & Archives is one of the most unique collections of fiction, nonfiction, periodicals and rare books in the Rochester region. The archives houses the Empty Closet Newspaper, as well as documenting the rich diverse cultural heritage of the Gay Alliance of the Genesee Valley's administrative history and the greater Rochester and Western New York area's lgbt community. For more information and hours of operation, please call 244.8640. The library website is http://library.gayalliance.org/.

Nearby library systems include Wayne County Libraries and the Batavia Library.