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Libraries may be known for being quiet, but the New York Public Library and Queens Public Library are celebrating hip-hop in New York City in a loud and colorful way by dropping new, retro-themed library cards.
Starting on July 14, patrons can get a special edition hip-hop library card to celebrate 50 years of hip-hop in its birthplace, New York City. The card is styled to look like a cassette case, the soundtrack to the 1983 film Wild Style, known as the first movie dedicated to hip-hop.
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The soundtrack to the Charlie Ahearn-directed film was chosen because Harlem's Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture's Moving Image and Recorded Sound Division has the original cassette in its collection, plus extensive key archives related to the birth and legacy of hip-hop.
All New York City residents can apply for a digital library card online, free of cost, and pick up their cards at an NYPL branch location throughout Manhattan and the Bronx. Library card applications can also be processed in person.
Queens residents can also get a special edition hip-hop Queens Library Card, with art by legendary streetwear trailblazers, the Shirt Kings. Created in 1986 from a booth at the Colosseum Mall in Jamaica, Queens, the Shirt Kings’ graffiti-inspired custom clothing designs attracted hip-hop stars and fans alike and now adorn a special edition QPL card, also available starting July 14.
A slew of events in July will also celebrate hip-hop, with free programming including “5001 Flavors: Hip-Hop’s Fashion and Style Hidden Secret” on Thursday, July 12 at 4:30pm at Harlem Library, a golden anniversary hip-hop open mic at Inwood Library on July 20, a baseball cap design workshop for teens on July 17 at Eastchester Library, and much more.
On Thursday, July 13, at 11:30am, Queens Central Library in Jamaica will host an official card release party with the Shirt Kings, special guests and Ralph McDaniels, Queens Public Library’s Hip Hop Coordinator. Early access to the cards will be available at the start of the release celebration.
To further celebrate hip-hop’s 50th anniversary, NYPL has also curated hip-hop reading lists of 50 Books for 50 Years of Hip-Hop and Iconic Hip-Hop Music Videos as Books.