The City’s three public library presidents testified at a preliminary budget hearing at City Hall this morning that they need restored and increased funding to be able to sustain current service levels and meet rising needs, demands, and costs.
The presidents of Brooklyn Public Library, The New York Public Library, and Queens Library argued that New York City’s 217 public libraries uniquely provide all New Yorkers in all communities with equal access to education, information, and opportunity, offering not just books, internet, and other materials, but also free programs and classes addressing early literacy, digital equity, homeless outreach, immigrant services, and much more.
The systems have expanded services as well as their physical footprints to meet the growing needs of New Yorkers. They are also being asked to do more to support the important priorities of the city: libraries have played an increasingly significant role in early literacy efforts, support to immigrants, workforce development, and closing the digital divide. Additionally, libraries continue to be the most active IDNYC sign up centers (20% of all IDNYC cards have been issued at The New York Public Library, for example), and have been identified as key partners in the City’s efforts to reach all New Yorkers during the Census in 2020.
All of this work, in the face of rising costs, means without restored and increased funding, libraries will not be able to maintain service, let alone meet additional need.
The libraries testified that they will ask the city for $35 million in additional expense funding in Fiscal Year 20—including the restoration of $8 million in non-baselined funding from this year—and $957 million over 10 years in the 10-year capital plan for full renovations, technology upgrades, and critical maintenance.
A few examples of specific needs shared at hearing:
• Several communities across the city—such as East Harlem and Greenpoint—will receive larger, improved branches this year. Increased, more flexible space allows libraries to better serve New Yorkers, but comes with increased costs for staff and collections
• The brand new Charleston Library in Staten Island is expected to open to serve a growing community in FY 21, but staffing and collections planning is happening this year, generating a need for annual expense funding
• Existing branches continue to have needs: Woodlawn Library in a high-needs area of the Bronx reopened after a 2016 renovation with only four staff members. While the branch now has seven staffers, it still needs two additional employees to be able to fully utilize all three floors of renovated space, including a potential teen space on the third floor.
• In Queens, several key improvements projects—in communities such as Richmond Hill and Baisley Park—are on hold because of cost shortfalls generated by rising construction costs and other factors. Additional 10-year capital funding is needed to execute on these much-needed renovations.
The presidents—Linda Johnson of Brooklyn Public Library, Anthony W. Marx of The New York Public Library, and Dennis Walcott of Queens Library— also joined City Council Deputy Leader Jimmy Van Bramer, Urban Librarians Unite Executive Director Christian Zabriskie, and other supporters on the steps of City Hall at a rally before the hearing, during which they launched the Invest in Libraries: Libraries Make NYC Stronger campaign to call attention to the needs of libraries and generate signatures from members of the public. Online letter-writing began this morning at investinlibraries.org.
“Every day of the week, in every season—inside our branches and beyond our walls at hundreds of senior centers, homeless shelters, and hospitals—libraries serve New Yorkers,” said Brooklyn Public Library President Linda E. Johnson. “We help young children learn to read, job seekers find employment, entrepreneurs launch businesses and immigrants feel welcome and safe. Investing in libraries is the smart choice for all of us.”
“As we do more—because we are asked to do more and because we must do more—the foundation we are building on is cracking, especially in the face of rising costs,” said New York Public Library President Anthony W. Marx. “We know times are tough and budgets are tight. But libraries are uniquely positioned to strengthen New York City by providing vital support to the city's broader efforts. They cannot be replaced, and they are not a luxury. Now is not the time to put libraries on the back burner. Now is the time to make our libraries stronger so they can continue to help everyone who walks through our doors find the tools and resources they need to succeed.”
“Libraries are truly open and democratic institutions, offering free access to invaluable resources to all,” said Queens Library President and CEO Dennis M. Walcott. “It is crucial to provide libraries with adequate funding, enabling them to deliver the highest level of services that the diverse communities we serve have come to rely on to learn, discover and grow. As we cope with rising costs, we face tough decisions which should never be made at the expense of our customers. As our elected officials work towards budget consensus, we hope they invest in the future of our city and its residents by investing in libraries."
“As the Chair of the Committee on Cultural Affairs and Libraries, I fight every day to secure investments in our city’s 217 public libraries. This year, library funding must not only be protected, but increased, so that our public library systems can keep up with rising costs and remain open, six days a week, to all New Yorkers seeking the invaluable resources they provide,” said Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer, Chair of the Committee on Cultural Affairs and Libraries.
“Libraries are becoming more essential to our society not less,” said Urban Librarians Unite Executive Director Christian Zabriskie. “There are fewer and fewer public places that offer help, dignity, and shelter to everyone whether they are rich or poor. As libraries are increasingly being called on as not just a source of education for our society but also warming/cooling centers, social services finders, and even responding to crisis as needed, they need more support from the community to do it. The $35 million that the City’s libraries are asking for is essential to growth, long-term planning, and the health of these incredibly important institutions for public good.”
The Invest in Libraries campaign is a partnership between the city’s three public library systems—Brooklyn Public Library, New York Public Library, and Queens Library—and other library supporters across the City. Since the campaign launched in 2015, the city has allocated additional funding for programming as well as critical capital dollars to help address the over $1 billion in need facing the city’s aging library infrastructure. Despite this important support, libraries are still recovering from a series of cuts after the 2008 financial crisis, as well as rising costs and increased demand for more services and programs (from New Yorkers and the City). The campaign is urging the City to restore and increase funding to meet rising needs, demands, and costs.