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Bookstores/Libraries
Schoenhof’s Foreign Books
Arabic, Dutch, English, French, General, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Yiddish, Websites, Bookstores/Libraries, Kids
Founded in 1856, Schoenhof’s claims to have the “largest collection of foreign books in North America.” As a student at Harvard, I used to shop at their main store in Harvard Square for my language and literature course materials. I…
W J Bookstore
Mandarin, Bookstores/Libraries, Kids
There are three of these bookstores around New York City, one in each of the three major Chinatowns. Besides the one listed in this entry, in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, there is one on 377 Broadway in Manhattan (212-226-5131) and one…
Chung Hwa Bookstore
Mandarin, Bookstores/Libraries, Kids
I visited this bookstore in Flushing’s Chinatown soon after I began my Mandarin studies, and boy, did I feel helpless! I could not read a word. A friendly Chung Hwa employee helped me out, giving me advice on which…
New York Public Library (Mid-Manhattan)
Arabic, Dutch, English, French, General, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Yiddish, Bookstores/Libraries, Kids
The Mid-Manhattan Library, at 40th Street and Fifth Avenue, is the main language-learning repository of the New York Public Library. I used it a lot in 2009 and 2010, mostly for Pimsleur audio lessons, but also borrowed books and other resources as…