The Main Branch faces Fifth Avenue on its east side.
A balcony wraps along the Fifth Avenue elevation.
The Fifth Avenue entrance is reached by a grand marble stairway extending west from the avenue's intersection with 41st Street.
It ascends to a pavilion underneath a portico with six Corinthian columns and three archways.
These lead to the first floor of the structure, which is actually one story above ground level.
On either side of the Fifth Avenue entrance pavilion, there are alcoves with sculptures of figures inside them, as well as five arched windows on the first floor.

The alcoves on the Fifth Avenue facade contained figures sculpted by Frederic MacMonnies called "Beauty" and "Truth".
These figures sit above small fountains inside the alcoves.
They were shut off from 1942 and 1957, and again from the 1980s to 2015.
George Grey Barnard also designed pediments for sculptures to be installed above the main entrance, representing "Life" and "Painting and Sculpture".
When the sculptures were erected in 1915, he unsuccessfully sued the installers for $50,000 because they did not fit with his vision.

Two stone lions, made of Tennessee marble and sculpted by the Piccirilli Brothers based on a design by Edward Clark Potter, flank the stairway.
According to one legend, the lions flank the steps so patrons could read "between the lions".
They are a trademark of the New York Public Library, which uses a single stone lion as its logo.
Their original names, "Leo Astor" and "Leo Lenox" (in honor of the library's founders) were transformed into Lord Astor and Lady Lenox (although both lions are male), and in the 1930s they were nicknamed "Patience" and "Fortitude" by Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, who chose the names because he felt that the citizens of New York would need to possess these qualities to see themselves through the Great Depression.
Patience is on the south side, to the left of the entrance stairway, and Fortitude on the north, to the right.
By 1975, the lions' Tennessee marble had degraded because of pollution, so they were restored over a three-week period.
They were restored again during the 2007–2011 renovation, and were set to be restored once again in late 2019.
The Main Branch faces Fifth Avenue on its east side. A balcony wraps along the Fifth Avenue elevation. The Fifth Avenue entrance is reached by a grand marble stairway extending west from the avenue's intersection with 41st Street. It ascends to a pavilion underneath a portico with six Corinthian columns and three archways. These lead to the first floor of the structure, which is actually one story above ground level. On either side of the Fifth Avenue entrance pavilion, there are alcoves with sculptures of figures inside them, as well as five arched windows on the first floor.
The alcoves on the Fifth Avenue facade contained figures sculpted by Frederic MacMonnies called "Beauty" and "Truth". These figures sit above small fountains inside the alcoves. They were shut off from 1942 and 1957, and again from the 1980s to 2015. George Grey Barnard also designed pediments for sculptures to be installed above the main entrance, representing "Life" and "Painting and Sculpture". When the sculptures were erected in 1915, he unsuccessfully sued the installers for $50,000 because they did not fit with his vision.
Two stone lions, made of Tennessee marble and sculpted by the Piccirilli Brothers based on a design by Edward Clark Potter, flank the stairway. According to one legend, the lions flank the steps so patrons could read "between the lions". They are a trademark of the New York Public Library, which uses a single stone lion as its logo. Their original names, "Leo Astor" and "Leo Lenox" (in honor of the library's founders) were transformed into Lord Astor and Lady Lenox (although both lions are male), and in the 1930s they were nicknamed "Patience" and "Fortitude" by Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, who chose the names because he felt that the citizens of New York would need to possess these qualities to see themselves through the Great Depression. Patience is on the south side, to the left of the entrance stairway, and Fortitude on the north, to the right. By 1975, the lions' Tennessee marble had degraded because of pollution, so they were restored over a three-week period. They were restored again during the 2007–2011 renovation, and were set to be restored once again in late 2019.
New York Public Library Main Branch