Photo Courtesy of J.P. Chan/MTA
“The Subway Library will encourage adults and children to explore new worlds through reading during their daily commute, while spreading awareness of our Wi-Fi and connectivity services underground,” Gov. Cuomo said.
By Forum Staff
The Queens Library, along with The Brooklyn and The New York public library systems, joined the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Transit Wireless last week to announce the launch of “Subway Library,” a special, six-week long joint promotion providing straphangers with access to hundreds of free e-books, e-shorts, and extensive excerpts from full-length books, to enjoy during their summer commute.
MTA customers in underground subway stations can now connect to the free Transit Wireless WiFi™ through their network settings, and click on the SubwayLibrary.com prompt to start reading. The Subway Library site – which allows readers to browse and download content in a variety of curated categories – was developed by The New York Public Library using the same technology it utilized to create SimplyE, it’s free e-book reader app.
The Subway Library gives subway riders the opportunity to read e-books and short stories from the New York Public Library’s permanent collection, as well as excerpts made available through the generosity of publishers including Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, Penguin Random House, Plympton, and Simon & Schuster. According to the MTA, the Subway Library builds on the agency’s August 2016 promotion with founding partner Penguin Random House, which gave subway customers the opportunity to read free short stories and novel and non-fiction book excerpts from Penguin Random House titles.
“I am thrilled that the New York Public Library, Brooklyn Public Library, and Queens Public Library are kicking off the summer reading season and offering free e-books to subway riders through the MTA’s Transit Wireless WiFi™,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. “The Subway Library will encourage adults and children to explore new worlds through reading during their daily commute, while spreading awareness of our Wi-Fi and connectivity services underground.”
According to the MTA, the three City library systems will offer access to e-books, excerpts of e-books, and short stories in different categories through the MTA’s free Transit Wireless Wi-Fi™. E-Books, excerpts of e-books and e-short stories will include titles in the following categories:
New York Stories, including excerpts from titles such as “Soar” by David Banks and “At Balthazar” by Reggie Nadelson
New & Noteworthy, which offers excerpts of recently released titles, including “Swing Time” by Zadie Smith and “Exit West” by Mohsin Hamid
Select Shorts, which includes “The Soul Is Not a Smithy” by David Foster Wallace and “The Graveless Doll” of Eric Mutis by Karen Russell
Children, with titles including “Bayou Magic” by Jewell Parker Rhodes and “Who Could That Be at This Hour?” by Lemony Snicket
Young Adult, with excerpts and titles such as “Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda” by Becky Albertalli and “The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas.
“We are always looking for new ways to go beyond the walls of our libraries and deliver to the public unique, transporting learning experiences through our materials, services and programs,” said Queens Library President and CEO Dennis Walcott. “Subway Reads aligns perfectly with this objective, and will lead even more people to Queens Library’s extensive collection of e-books, audio books, music and digital magazines.”
