Skip to main content

Central (downtown Buffalo)

Welcome to the downtown Central Library!

Central Library Hours
Monday & Tuesday: 8 am - 6 pm
Wednesday & Thursday: 8 am - 8 pm
Friday & Saturday: 9 am - 5 pm
 Sunday: 12 - 5 pm

Important - the Library's Ellicott Street, underpass entrance to the building is open during limited hours:  Monday - Thurs., from 10 am- 3 pm  and Friday from 9 am - 3 pm.
 
The fully accessible Washington Street doors to enter/exit the building are open 
during all library hours.  The Washington St. entrance is located across from 
Lafayette Square, between Broadway and Clinton Streets.

Upcoming scheduled holidays/closures for the Central Library are:  
Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Monday, January 20th, 2025

Download This Week @ Central Schedule Here

Coming Up @ Central Library & Online: January 18 - January 26

1 Lafayette Square, Buffalo, NY 14203

716-858-8900 | www.BuffaloLib.org
 

                        

Saturday, January 18             Library open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

10:00 AM - 11:00 AM             Sensory Playtime. West Room

10:00 AM - 12:00 PM              Literacy Buffalo-Niagara Tutor Training. Gallery Conference Room *

12:00 PM - 2:00 PM                 Stitch Circle. Launch Pad MakerSpace

12:00 PM - 5:00 PM                 WNY Genealogical Society Library Collection Research Assistance. Grosvenor Room

1:00 PM - 3:00 PM                  Crafternoons. Children's Room

2:00 PM - 4:00 PM                  New Year Calligraphy. West Room *

2:00 PM - 4:00 PM                  Queen City Workers’ Center Tenant Support Meeting. Gallery Conference Room

3:00 PM - 4:30 PM                  VR @ the Library. Launch Pad MakerSpace

                        

Sunday, January 19               Library open 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.

2:00 PM - 4:00 PM                  Death Café: Conversations about Death & Dying. West Room

                        

Monday, January 20              Library Closed - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Visit us at www.BuffaloLib.org.

                        

Tuesday, January 21              Library open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

All Day                                   Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Art Project. Children's Room        

10:00 AM - 10:45 AM             Baby Toddler Storytime. Children's Room

10:30 AM - 1:00 PM               It Takes a Village Action Group. Collections Gallery Conference Room *

11:00 AM - 1:00 PM                Information Table: Project Mona's House. Near Computers

12:30 PM - 1:00 PM                 IMAGINE Buffalo Speaker Series: Kari Winter, Uncommon Profits: Imagining Freedom in the Age of Revolution. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81662823575

4:00 PM - 5:55 PM                  ISUPK: Israelite School Universal Practical Knowledge. Gallery Conference Room

                        

Wednesday, January 22        Library open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

All Day                                   Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Art Project. Children's Room

11:00 AM - 2:00 PM                Peaceprints of WNY Community Resource Fair. Main Concourse, Café, Ring of Knowledge

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM                 3D Printer Certification Class. West Room

1:00 PM - 3:00 PM                  Walk-Up Tech Help. Near Computers

2:00 PM - 3:30 PM                  Genealogy Guided: Online Western New York Church Records (Virtual). *

3:00 PM - 4:40 PM                  Movie Matinee: Supercell (2023). Ring of Knowledge

4:30 PM - 5:30 PM                  Teen Book Club. Near Information Desk

5:15 PM - 6:45 PM                  Buffalo Presidential Center Board Meeting. Gallery Conference Room

                        

Thursday, January 23            Library open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

All Day                                   Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Art Project. Children's Room

10:30 AM - 1:00 PM               It Takes a Village Action Group. Collections Gallery Conference Room *

1:00 PM - 3:00 PM                  Walk-Up Tech Help. Near Computers

6:00 PM - 7:30 PM                  Paging Through History: The Grosvenor Room Quiet Reading Club. Grosvenor Room

6:00 PM - 7:45 PM                  PUSH Buffalo/NY Renews Fund Climate Teach-In. Gallery Conference Room

                        

Friday, January 24                 Library open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

All Day                                   Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Art Project. Children's Room

10:00 AM - 12:45 PM              Class Visit. Central Meeting Room

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM                 UB Humanities Series: How Do We Search for Truth in a World Saturated with Illusions? with Professor David Castillo. Ring of Knowledge

12:00 PM - 2:00 PM                 Afternoon Art Break. West Room

                        

Saturday, January 25             Library open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

All Day                                   Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Art Project. Children's Room

11:00 AM - 12:30 PM              Central Library Tour. Meet @ Information Desk near café

12:00 PM - 2:00 PM                 Stitch Circle. Launch Pad MakerSpace

1:00 PM - 3:00 PM                  Crafternoons. Children's Room

2:00 PM - 4:45 PM                  Buffalo Writers Critique Group. Gallery Conference Room

3:00 PM - 4:00 PM                  Special Collections Tour. Meet in Grosvenor Room

3:00 PM - 4:30 PM                  VR @ the Library. Launch Pad MakerSpace

                        

Sunday, January 26               Library open 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.

 

Exhibits & Displays: Open during regular library hours 

Rare Books 101. Rare Book Room

Leonardo da Vinci Rare Book Themes. Collections Gallery, 2nd floor

Say Their Names. Collections Gallery, 2nd floor

President John F. Kennedy. Buffalo Presidential Center, 2nd floor. Saturdays, 10 am - 4 pm

Buffalo Public Schools Peace Project. Ring of Knowledge

Programs denoted with an asterisk (*) are for pre-registered participants only. 

 

Entering the Library:

Everyone must go through a weapons detection system to enter the Library.

The Washington St. entrance is open during all Library hours. The Ellicott St. open hours are varied. The Clinton St. entrance is only open for Auditorium programs.
 

 

photo of Central Library 1964

https://tinyurl.com/TBNCentral

 

 

IMAGINE Buffalo Logo

Imagining Buffalo Niagara in the 21st Century 
A lecture/discussion series held every Tuesday at 12:30 p.m.
This program runs virtually on Zoom. 
Calendar of programs.

Discussions are hosted by program founder Dennis Galucki. Call the Library for details about the speaker schedule, which is subject to change. 716-858-8900.

IMAGINE Buffalo is sponsored by the Center for the Study of Art, Architecture, History and Nature (C-SAAHN) in conjunction with the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library

Archive of past IMAGINE Buffalo zoom programs beginning in Fall 2020.

 

Tween/Teen Programs

Visit the Teens page for more information about middle school to high school age events and resources -  www.BuffaloLib.org/Services/teens