Local libraries supportive of midtown renovations, speak out against budget cuts

The New York Public Library system is facing major changes and not everyone is happy about it.

The Committee to Save the New York Public Library (NYPL) has been rallying to stop the Central Library Plan, a plan to consolidate the Mid-Manhattan and the Science, Industry and Business Library into one building. The consolidating, they say would not only cost exorbitant taxpayer money, but would “threaten the 42nd Street Library’s status as one of the world’s great research libraries” and “endanger the architectural integrity of the landmarked building.”

“You don’t update a masterpiece,” wrote Ada Louise Huxtable of the proposed renovations in the Wall Street Journal this past winter.

Angela Montefinise, an NYPL spokesperson, disagrees. Montefinise says, among other pluses, renovations would be a boon to public library branches on the Upper West and Upper East Sides, some of which would greatly benefit from circulating funds.

“One of the benefits of the renovation of 42nd Street is that it would generate $15 million a year annually which can be put right back in the system, including the UWS and UES branches,” explains Montefinise.

Montefinise concedes many of the branches throughout the City are old and in need of repairs, which would be made possible through the plan as well as approximately $260 million of capital work going on around the system.

“While the renovations themselves are happening in midtown, they will benefit the whole system,” she says.

“I think there’s a perception that [the plan] is being done at the expense of other work – that’s incorrect. The funding for that plan is generated from the plan itself — such as real estate sales — and earmarked city money specifically for this project.”

Still, uptown, the consolidation plan is far from many’s minds as they consider more pressing concerns.

Sumie Ota, the network manager in charge of uptown libraries, says while the campaign to oppose major budget cuts is a main issue among library branches, local concerns have more to do with the day-to-day issues of keeping patrons happy.

“As far as allocating funds, the more money the better,” says Ota, “but our biggest concern is keeping the branches open and making our services available. The Central Library Plan is not on our minds.”

“Everyday I see people waiting for us to open our doors or waiting in line for computers,” she adds. “That’s what’s on our minds.”

The budget cuts Ota refers to amount to $47 million, or the largest proposed cut in the library’s history, according to Montefinise.

Montefinise says, in addition to an advocacy campaign to fight the budget cut, there will need to be increased strategic thinking — such as the Central Library Plan itself — as funds are slashed.

Currently, branches across the City are focusing on this effort to reach out to elected officials including sending letters to City Council members to fight the budget cut. The 67th Street library on the Upper East Side, for instance, has already sent over 400 letters to oppose the budget cuts.

The group Citizens Defending Libraries agrees the proposed budget cuts are a major issue currently facing the City’s public library branches.

“Mayor Bloomberg is defunding New York libraries at a time of increasing public use, population growth and increased city wealth, shrinking our library system to create real estate deals for wealthy real estate developers at a time of cutbacks in education and escalating disparities in opportunity,” notes the group.

Ota says there are major projects underway in her network including renovations and restorations, particularly to the Washington Heights and 96th Street branches.

Branch libraries, notes Ota, are also increasing their e-book presence in addition to circulating physical materials, while research libraries are increasingly digitizing their collections.

As far as the future of the consolidation plan, Montefinise maintains it’s never going to be of concern to libraries uptown.

“There is a lot of misinformation out there, and that’s a shame. I think internally employees certainly understand the benefits, and generally support initiatives that generate resources to help them serve the public.”

By Penny Grey

Battery Park becomes an increasingly vibrant neighborhood every day. Billy Parrott, library manager of the Battery Park City Library, discusses the importance of the library to the community and the joys of being a librarian.

How long has the Battery Park branch been open?

We opened on March 15, 2010, so just about a year and a half ago now.

This is a green LEED-certified building; is it the first such branch in the New York City Public Library system?

It’s the first green library in Manhattan. In 2007, the Bronx library center was built, and that’s a LEED silver building. But this is a great facility. We’ve got 26 desktop computers and 10 laptop computers for patron use. When we first opened, I thought we might have more supply than demand, but these days, everything is occupied. We have really become a destination branch. Some people will come from across town just to work and enjoy the space. One patron wrote an entire book upstairs.

Being a green library, is there an effort to move to more electronic publications rather than paper?

Regardless of being green, the world is moving that way in general. With e-books and the ease of access to electronic material, a lot of what we do here at the library has nothing to do with paper. But going green doesn’t hurt.

Does being green affect the mood and atmosphere of the space?

A lot of thought went into the design of the building. We wanted to create a bright, big, open space. The light here is beautiful, particularly in the upstairs reading area. Often people have an idea of green architecture and how that might translate visually, but [the library] doesn’t scream “recycled” by any means.

Who has made the most use of the library since its opening last March?

It’s definitely the community using the library, no doubt about it. This is a residential neighborhood, so we have families in here all day long. But we’re also a business neighborhood, so we get the World Financial Center crowd, and lots of people use the space from noon to two on their lunch breaks. Stuyvesant High School is just up the street, so we get lots of students and young people. And Hallmark Assisted Living is just around the corner, so we also attract the senior population.

What sort of programming have you generated to meet the needs of such a diverse group of patrons?

Our children’s programming is definitely the most popular. Baby Story Time for newborns to 18-month-olds is such a hit that we continue to add new days and times. We also have Toddler Story Time for 18-month-olds to 3-year-olds and Regular Story Time for 5- to 12-year-olds, as well as crafts, puppet shows and other outside programming. We’ve also got a Teen Advisory Program, which gives teens a chance to provide input and generate programming. And then we offer adult programming as well, most notably computer classes and author readings. Recently, we hosted a talk on journalism in the world post-9/11. So we stay pretty busy.

What’s the best thing about your job?

Probably the teaching moments, when you can really guide someone to something they’ll love and remember. It’s not that people aren’t expecting to get answers, but when you can really help them in that way, it’s incredibly rewarding.

And the worst thing about your job?

There’s nothing bad about libraries! I really can’t think of anything I don’t love about my job. After all, people love to read—and anyone who comes to the library is sort of self-selecting, aren’t they? They’re here because they love the idea of a place where reading and learning is possible.

What’s the difference between being a librarian now and being a librarian in, say, 1950?

The ease of access to information, most definitely. It used to be that there were three encyclopedias to search, but now a good librarian really needs to be aware of all the possible sources, and of those sources, the best possible resources.

That must be pretty overwhelming.

It’s not overwhelming at all, actually. The Internet has changed the way people think and the way people read, but librarians still help people to get to the bottom of it and find what they need.

The New York City Public Library system has been a cornerstone of New York City culture for such a long time. How do you see yourself shaping that cornerstone in the Downtown area with the Battery Park branch?

First, I don’t really do anything individually. It’s really a team effort. There are seven full-time and two part-time staff members here at the branch, and I encourage everyone to come up with ideas. When there’s one idea, we all work to implement it.

Just to give you an example, in the last four months we’ve been working on a paper crane project. Every Friday, we held workshops to teach kids how to make origami peace cranes in honor of September 11. The community participation was so positive; kids would bring the supplies home and teach their neighbors, the security guards, you name it. So this project that started out just for kids turned into something for our entire community. The paper cranes started out as a display for September 11, but I think we’ll keep them up. Having those paper cranes suspended from the ceilings is a great reminder of what we’re doing in the community.

Photos by Penny Grey