Brief description

In 1964, the Metropolitan New York Library Council (METRO) was chartered by the New York Board of Regents to “promote and facilitate utilization of existing resources and to develop additional library services in the New York metropolitan area.” Today, with 250 member organizations throughout New York City and Westchester County, METRO is the largest of New York State’s nine reference and research library resource systems, and one of the largest library service organizations in the world.

METRO is committed to helping our member libraries — including academic, school, public, and special libraries — deliver their services more effectively and participate in a dynamic regional service network. We provide a forum for libraries to share resources and best practices, while promoting professional development and advocacy. We also offer an individual membership program that connects individual librarians, archivists, students, and others to networking opportunities, dynamic learning resources, and other benefits.

Legal structure

Government-supported

Primary functions

• Electronic content licensing
• Interlibrary loan/document delivery
• Training

Number and type of member libraries

240 members: 

• Academic:  100
• Public: 20
• Special: 120

Additional material/URLs