Vote For The Upper West Side In NYC's Library Display Contest

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — The Upper West Side has three library branches in the running for a citywide contest surrounding elaborate book displays across the five boroughs.

The Bloomingdale Library, The Riverside Library, and the St. Agnes Library are among the 130 branches across the city's three library systems that have set up displays celebrating arts and culture for the contest, which is run through an initiative known as Culture Pass that gives library cardholders access to cultural institutions.

New Yorkers can vote on their favorite displays starting this week until Nov. 12, when the set-ups with the most votes will move to a final round of judging, organizers said.

"Librarians always get super creative around their book displays, so this contest—such a fun and innovative way to honor the City's cultural institutions and support our Culture Pass initiative to make those institutions increasingly accessible to all—is guaranteed to be highly competitive," said Brian Bannon, The New York Public Library's Tisch Director and chief branch librarian, in a news release.

Here are the three Upper West Side libraries and their displays.

The Bloomingdale Library: 150 West 100th Street

The Riverside Library: 127 Amsterdam Avenue

St. Agnes Library: 444 Amsterdam Avenue

The set-ups, all of which can be found online, will be on display until Nov. 30.

After New Yorkers vote for their favorites, a panel of judges will select first place and runner-up winners for each library system and an overall best-of-show display, organizers said.

The judge's panel includes New York City Department of Cultural Affairs Commissioner Gonzalo Casals, Artist and Founder of The Free Black Women's Library Ola RonkeAkinmowo, Children's Book Author and Illustrator Pat Cummings, Charles H. Revson Foundation President Julie Sandorf, and Improv Everywhere Founder Charlie Todd.

Culture Pass, a joint initiative across all three library systems, has given out more than 100,000 free passes to library cardholders since its start in 2018. It is funded by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF), Charles H. Revson Foundation, The New York Community Trust, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

Patch reporter Anna Quinn contributed to this article.