Two Midtown Book Temples, One Free Daily and One Free on Fridays

Start at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, where the library is free to enter and the Treasures exhibition holds a Gutenberg Bible, Ottoman illuminated manuscripts and the original Winnie-the-Pooh stuffed animals. Linger in the Beaux-Arts halls, then glance toward the researcher study areas, a reminder that the building still works as a library first. Docent-led tours fill in the stories behind the rooms. On Friday the doors close at 6:00 PM, a neat handoff to Madison Avenue.

A short walk away at 225 Madison Avenue, the Morgan is a Gilded Age collector's library of towering shelves and ornate Renaissance-style rooms. Friday evenings change the mood, with free admission from 5:30 PM and live jazz on the first floor, and the doors stay open until 8:00 PM. Use the extra time for the rotating exhibitions, then find the lioness statues in the garden. Other days open at 10:30 AM, and the museum is closed on Monday.

Think of the pair as two moods of the same obsession. The public library is grand and civic, a place to wander without a plan and see headline treasures for free. The Morgan feels like stepping into a private collector's world, a room for slow looking, and a leisure visit there runs about two hours. On a Friday, take the library at lunch and save the Morgan for the free jazz hours.