Poetry's New Cathedral on the Hudson

Congratulations Poets House! As reported by Library Journal, the 24 year-old poetry library and education center has successfully moved from its cramped Soho digs to "a stunning new location in Battery Park City in lower Manhattan, in a LEED Gold-certified building, with huge windows overlooking the Hudson River." (For a more detailed description of the space, check out this NY Times article.) Their grand opening celebration took place over the weekend, while regular library and reading room hours recommenced today.

"Throughout its transformations, the heart of Poets House has remained its poetry collection," their website states. "With over 50,000 volumes of poetry—including books, journals, chapbooks, audio and video tapes, and digital media—our collection is among the most comprehensive, open-access collections of poetry in the United States and is the foundation for all our programs and services."

And speaking of programs and services, Poets House will host its annual Poetry in the Branches (PITB) National Institute the weekend of November 6-7. The PITB program works with NYC's public libraries to increase patron exposure to poetry via workshops, readings, improved collection development, and librarian training.

Challenging Tintin

With Brooklyn Public Library's decision to move Tintin au Congo into the Hunt Collection as its point of departure, City Room considers how local libraries respond to challenged books. The reading public has been quick to jump into the censorship in libraries debate, with 237 comments and counting. Have you weighed in?

Summer Reprieve: Field Trips, Week of June 22, 2009

Welcome to summer, NYC! The City Council restored local library funding last week, soothing the frayed nerves of panicked librarians city-wide. If you're a public library employee whose livelihood was delivered from the brink, congratulations! Well, for the most part. To the miserable minority who were secretly hoping to be laid off, my condolences.

On the heels of the funding crisis, WNYC broadcast a short piece about merging the city's three library systems.



The reporter claims "this option is so radical, [former Local 1930 leader] Ray Markey says he only heard it proposed once in his 40 years on the job." Really? Maybe the powers that be haven't considered it as a serious solution, but I've certainly heard the merger idea suggested by many locals (librarians and laypeople alike).

• June 23-26: Various METRO webinars and on-site workshops.
• June 27: Join ARLIS/NY on a picnic at Socrates Sculpture Park and a trip to the Noguchi Museum.
• June 27-28: Spend your weekend at the NYC Zine Fest. It's true what they say: the best things in life are FREE!!!
  

City Council Preserves 6-Day Library Service

Wow! I'm shocked and awed and I'm sure you are, too! From City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn's press release:

Six day library service, a long standing priority of Speaker Quinn and Council Members, will be maintained at libraries across the City. The $46.5 million dollar restoration will allow libraries to avoid layoffs and ensure that New Yorkers have access to critically important job training services during the economic downturn, in addition to preserving access to vital services such as literacy programs and increased access to technology.

“Restoring funding to our City's public libraries proves Speaker Quinn's deep and abiding commitment to all that libraries promote: employment, literacy, community activism and so much more,” said Libraries Subcommittee Chair Vincent Gentile. “Fully funded libraries help communities and residents weather economic hardship, and on behalf of the tens of thousands of supporters of public libraries, I want to thank the Speaker for helping to keep neighborhoods and households strong in the coming fiscal year.”

“Despite the hardships facing our city, I’m proud to say that we’ve reached a budget agreement that makes difficult but necessary decisions to keep our city afloat through this crisis,” said Councilman Domenic M. Recchia, Jr., Chair of the Committee on Cultural Affairs, Libraries & International Intergroup Relations. “We’ve avoided devastating cuts to our cultural institutions, which are a major economic engine, generating jobs, tourism and tax revenue. We’ve maintained our commitment to cultural educational programs, like Urban Advantage and the Cultural After School Adventure Program. I’m also pleased to announce we’re making a major investment in our library system. Not only are we avoiding layoffs, but New Yorkers will still have access to their libraries six days a week. That means access to free services like technology and job training that are so important, now more than ever.”

Celebrities Support NYC's Public Libraries

New York Public Library created this star-laden video to pique the public's interest in our cause. Don't let Amy Tan and her lap-dog scare you off; neither bite.

Hardcore Library Advocacy, Tomorrow!

The City Council meets tomorrow, May 28th, to discuss the 2010 Executive Budget reductions affecting New York City libraries and other "cultural affairs." Members of the public will have two minutes each to speak their minds. Proceedings begin at 12:45 at City Hall. [Thanks to Erik Bobilin of Take Action: Save Brooklyn Public Library for the info.]

Call-in Thursday

Brooklyn Public Library invites you to dial-in your activism this Thursday. From the Take Action: Save Brooklyn Public Library Facebook group:

Thursday, May 21, 2009 will be the day that hundreds of concerned citizens will be making phone calls to our mayor and our city council members.

Let your voice be heard: The loss of library services, the closing of branches, and lay-offs are NOT an option, especially when Brooklyn needs its libraries more than ever.

Not sure who your local council member is? Simply type in your address and borough into this form. Click on "Find my City Council Member" to view your representative's phone number.

Mayor Bloomberg's office can be reached by calling 311.

In addition, we have included a number of talking points that you may find helpful when calling your council member or the mayor:

Mayor Bloomberg’s budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year, if adopted, would spell disaster for public library users in Brooklyn and around the city. The proposed budget includes an approximately 20% funding cut for all three city library systems. Brooklyn Public Library would face a $14 million budget gap that would result in:

• 175 library staff layoffs, resulting in fewer programs and services for patrons
• Reduced weekday service, no Saturday service at most branches, and no Sunday service anywhere in Brooklyn.
• 185,000 fewer books, DVDs, CDs, and other library materials

Public libraries are needed more than ever in tough economic times. We are one of the few places where people can find free books, films, music, and entertainment as well as free job search assistance. It is vital that the city budget recognizes the value of public libraries to our community.

Please participate in this important event so that Brooklyn Public Library can continue to provide you and your community with excellent service. Feel free to invite as many people to this event as you wish.

Many thanks,
Your Friends at Brooklyn Public Library

Take Action! Help Save Our Libraries

Have you been hiding in a cave? Secret bunker? Canada? Here's the bad news, little bear: Mayor Bloomberg's proposed 2010 budget calls for a 22% cut in funding for New York City's public libraries. All three systems have mounted some form of response, but they need your help. Here's what you can do:

• Write to your City Council Member via this New York Public Library link
  
• Email Mayor Bloomberg and let him know, in 300 words or less, why library service cuts are unacceptable to you and your community
• Sign Queens Library's online petition
• Sign City Councilman Vincent J. Gentile's Save NYC Public Libraries petition
  
• Donate to Brooklyn Public Library's Support Our Shelves campaign, NYPL's Keep Your Library Open campaign, and/or Queens Library's Buy-a-Book campaign
  
• Join the Save NYC Libraries Facebook group

Economic Anguish, Google Under the Legal Microscope & More

A smorgasborg of library media coverage from the past few days:

Gothamist sent their photographer to the "New York Public Library's main branch." (I guess they're as averse as I am to calling the former Humanities & Social Sciences Library the Stephen A. Schwarzman building). You may also note that a huge, red, pop-up request for donations may greet you when visiting the NYPL home page.

A Library Journal article on Mayor Bloomberg's 2010 budget plan revealed the depths of Brooklyn and Queens Public Libraries' impending pain.

In response to copyright battles over the Google Book Search program, New York Law School will launch their Public Interest Book Search Initiative later this month. This program is meant to "foster public discussion about the law and policy of digitizing books, making them searchable, and distributing them online."

City Room explored some of the two million plus sound recordings in Bob George's ARChive of Contemporary Music and its new relationship with Columbia University Libraries.

[The main reading room (Jake Dobkin/Gothamist); image via Gothamist.]

NYC Budget Proposal, Take 2 (Deep Breaths)

Mayor Bloomberg's revised 2010 city budget proposal is as grim as his initial set of figures, released back in January. You've probably read about his plans for sales tax increases, health care "cost containment" for unionized city workers (fail!), and layoffs galore. But do you know what's in store for the city's libraries? Answer: a $34 million (22.2%) budget cut, or $13.9 million more than the January proposal (if I calculated correctly).

Gotham Gazette and NY1 put the human toll of this reduction at 943 positions across the three systems. WNYC reports that at the New York Public Library, President Paul LeClerc "is afraid they'll have to cut 415 library jobs, reduce their book purchases by 25 percent and research materials by 35 percent." Whoa! Ouch! Holy f*ck!

According to the Gazette, as the City Council dukes out the details they are "expected to focus on cuts to social services and libraries. [Finance Chairman David] Weprin said this budget would do away with six-day service, which the council has fought to protect for the last year." Lawmakers have until June 30 to approve a budget.

NYC Libraries in the News, Breast-Baring Edition

This week's local library news ran the gamut, from the sensationalist to the superfluous.

A patron of Brooklyn Public's Flatlands branch was upbraided by a security guard for breastfeeding in the children's area. After she complained to the New York Civil Liberties Union, BPL issued an apology and transferred the guard to a different branch. Suffice it to say, the media were all over this one, quickly followed by the requisite array of ignorant-to-informed reader comments. But really, is this newsworthy? Breastfeeding in public is legal. Period. And why do so many (male) commenters compare breastfeeding to urination? As though secretion of bodily fluids were the most significant characteristic of the two activities! Even the.effing.librarian likened the two, however obliquely.

Library Journal published a point-counterpoint on the Rutgers SCILS proposed name change controversy.

And in the NY Times, yet another article focused on increased use of city libraries and their role in assisting patrons with job searches. Not that I begrudge the positive coverage, it's just that as the deadlines for the NY state and city budget votes near, I prefer the-sky-is-falling type articles that match my own growing hysteria.

Crunching NYC's Library Budget

According to the Daily News, it's unlikely the City Council will be able to counter the mayor's proposed budget cuts for the city's public library systems as they've done in previous years. The coffers are empty. NYPL could lay off 281 workers, Queens Library may have to slash 24% of their workforce, and Brooklyn Public's "doomsday scenario" involves 220 lost jobs. Library subcommittee chair Vincent Gentile (D-Bay Ridge) is hopeful that funding from the federal economic stimulus package will mitigate the pain.

Bathing in the Limelight; Bathing in the Library

The NY Times published a slew of library-related articles last week. Well, four, but compared with their normal zero to two, four is a veritable onslaught. Links:

• The good: "Times Are Tough, Libraries Are Thriving"
• The bad: "Serving More Cardholders, but Dealing With Smaller Budgets"
• The ugly: "How Mr. Toast Took a Bath"
  
• The heartwarming: "A Is for Artwork That Lures Bronx Schoolchildren to New Libraries"
  

Survey Says!: Citizens Rate NY City Services

The NY Times has created some wicked cool maps based on data from the NYC Feedback Citywide Customer Survey. The city collected information from approximately 25,000 willing citizens about everything from air quality (very low ratings from all community boards) to fiscal responsibility (ditto) to local crime control (extreme variations that clearly correlate with level of affluence). Amongst the questions asked were: How would you rate public libraries in your neighborhood? and How would you rate public libraries in New York City overall? Here's a screenshot of the former:


These results don't strike me as terrible, but there's a helluvah lot of room for improvement. No place more so than Community Board 16, an area that includes the Ocean Hill and Brownsville neighborhoods of Brooklyn and is served by three public library branches: Stone Avenue, Brownsville, and Saratoga. It's interesting to note that this C.B. also claimed some of the city's lowest ratings for neighborhood cultural activities, cleanliness, and police relations.

On Exhibit: Reading Room

Artist Elizabeth Felicella, armed with a large format camera and a $10,000 grant from the Graham Foundation, has embarked on an ambitious journey to photograph each of the city's 189 branch libraries. The first fruits of this endeavor (branches 1-25) are on display at Art in General's Project Space through Saturday, March 7.

The black and white photographs, printed as cards, are cross-referenced in a series of cases and presented with replicas of standard-issue library furniture, bringing to mind Melvil Dewey’s systems of organization. Reading Room functions as a survey of public architecture and design as it relates to reading technology and innovations—but it is also a record of the photographer’s own process of browsing.

Art in General will keep the lights on until 9 pm this Thursday in celebration of Armory Arts Week's SoHo Night.

NY Librarians Bear New Tax Burden

Yesterday's Daily News included yet another story about the increase in library use during economic downturns. This latest rendition focused on Queens Library, its patrons, and the bleak promise of a budget-slashed future. Here are some budget statistics excerpted from New York Library Association's draft of estimated State Library Aid for 2009-2010. Remember, these figures represent New York State funding only:


Beyond the disheartening numbers and proposed service cuts, the Daily News mentions another baffling decision by our friends up in Albany, namely, "the state Department of Taxation and Finance's move to stop mailing income tax packets. The agency is instead urging people to go online or pick up the forms at their local libraries." Though this move saves $1 million and cuts down on paper waste, what of the extra work and expense incurred by public libraries? The tax men have set up a special phone number for librarians, but it seems they've underestimated taxpayer neediness. According to this article in the Times Union, libraries across the state are overwhelmed with questions, running out of forms, and having to pay out of pocket for copies. The Caldwell-Lake George Library "set up a collection jar to help offset some of the additional cost." What's next, bake sales? Buy a cookie, get a 1040 instruction packet?

In testimony given at the Joint Legislative Budget Hearing on January 28th, NYLA lambasted state legislators. "Not only are you asking us to do more with less," they argued, "but you are asking libraries to help collect the very tax dollars you are taking away from us." Don't bite the hand that feeds you, New York.

Minding the Deficit

According to the 2009-2010 Executive Budget Briefing Book, Governor Paterson has proposed a $13 million reduction in aid to New York State's public libraries, bringing total State-funded library aid to $80.5 million. (I'm not sure how the math works, exactly, as the 2008-2009 libraries budget was $99 million after a mid-year cut of $1 million.) This budget is very similar to the one proposed back in November that provoked anger, frustration, and a rally at the Capitol.

If Paterson's plan passes, deep cuts in staffing and services would necessarily follow. The Mayor of Philadelphia is threatening to close 11 of 54 public libraries in his city. Are New Yorkers doomed to an equally dire future? We'll know for certain when the Legislature votes in February or March. In the meantime, I expect the hearty outcry to begin right...about...now.

Budget Cuts Loom for BPL, NYPL, QL

Mayor Bloomberg's proposed budget modification hits the city's public libraries rather hard (even taking into account the caveat mentioned below the table). This from the Gotham Gazette:

At another of many budget hearings last week, Councilmember Gale Brewer questioned the administration on how it collects taxes from vacant buildings.

Sitting at the very top of the dais, Brewer couldn't help but add a closing remark.

"Don't cut the libraries," she jabbed.

A typical council-mayoral battleground, libraries under the budget plan would cut back hours to an average of five and a half days from the current six. Some branches, said an aide to the council's libraries subcommittee chair, Gentile, would only be open for five days, while others will be budgeted for the extra half day. The library cut would save $8 million in this fiscal year.

Every city agency will have to tighten its belt, but what of the obvious correlation between economic recessions and increased library use? What does cutting hours and services this early in the downturn mean for branch libraries in the 2009/2010 budget cycle? Vigilance, NYC librarians!

"No More Cuts!"

Although Governor Paterson's budget-slashing plan has been put on hold until he can convince the Legislature of its wisdom, funding for New York State's public libraries is still under threat. A whopping 20 million dollar threat. Yesterday, 450 librarians joined various other constituencies in a protest at the Capitol. For the full low-down on the rally and New York Library Association's advocacy initiatives, check out their website.