Kids Are Loving The Tiny Duck Libraries Popping Up Around New York City

January 10, 2026

Something delightfully silly is bringing smiles to New York City streets: duck libraries.

@chelseaduckmags

The joyful trend was started by an anonymous person who began leaving little ducks around the city. It soon grew into something bigger when a local dog walker, JJ Cerillo, picked up the idea and helped turn it into a full-blown community project built around one simple rule — take a duck, leave a duck.

Cerillo now jokingly calls herself the “duck librarian,” keeping watch over small metal boxes filled with colorful ducks placed in different neighborhoods.

“I’m here to give them ducks because I am the duck librarian,” she said.

A duck library in NYC / @chelseaduckmags

The idea took off after Cerillo noticed a stranger quietly leaving a duck on a railing. Curious, she asked if she could do the same — and got the green light. Before long, that same mysterious duck-leaver set up the very first duck library, a small box mounted on a pole.

Cerillo remembers seeing a group of kids crowd around it in Chelsea, eagerly grabbing ducks.

“There was a whole crowd of kids around it, and it just made my day — the joy it brought me, it was bringing them,” she said.

@chelseaduckmags

Now, the movement has spread, with Cerillo documenting the growing collection of duck libraries on her Instagram page, @chelseaduckmags. She has added locations on Seaman Avenue in Inwood and inside the Chelsea Piers library, helping keep the ducks flowing.

“Here we are as adults, and we run into a duck and it’s glorious,” Cerillo said.