The New York Public Library has announced a $12.5 million grant from Arcadia, a charitable fund of established by Lisbet Rausing and NYPL trustee Peter Baldwin to help increase public access to library books.

The gift funding will bolster the library's efforts to help patrons discover, request, and access books through its online platform and enable NYPL to invest in technology, accessibility improvements, and the development of new policies and agreements in support of partnerships and collaborations with libraries around the world. During the first weeks of the COVID-19 shut down, the library launched a collections interface, Digital Research Books BETA, which boosted the availability of its scholarly publications and research books. The latest funding will help NYPL tackle challenges encountered by the launch and identify opportunities for the future.

Since 2013, Arcadia has awarded $19 million to NYPL in support of providing open access to research and scholarly materials.