New York, Mar 16 (IANS): After two years of cataloging and preparing, an archive celebrating the works of American rockstar, Lou Reed, has opened to public at the New York Public Library.

The archive at the Library's performing arts branch, Lincoln Centre, is also issuing 6,000 limited-edition library cards featuring an image of the Velvet Underground front-man taken by British photographer Mick Rock in 1972, The New York Times reported.

The archive includes a large collection of notes, photographs, and more than 600 hours of recordings, after the rocker's wife, Laurie Anderson, decided to share it with an institution that could preserve and showcase it.

Before Reed died in 2013 of liver disease, he had never discussed what to do with his belongings, Anderson told The New York Times on Friday.

"It's very important to be able to present raw material and let people make up their own minds," Anderson said.

New York always found its way into the musician's songs, and with this archive, Anderson said, "He's become a part of the city, in a way".

Reed, who was the lead guitarist, singer and songwriter for the Velvet Underground, also had a solo career that spent five decades.