A few months ago, Kathy Coleman, a Morningside Heights resident and mother of two, depended on the library to provide her children with computers and books that she could not afford at home.
At the time, she worked 10 hours a day. Now jobless, Coleman turns to the library not only as a place to bring her kids, but also as a resource for editing her résumé and searching for job opportunities.
But she may soon find these services harder to find. The New York Public Library system has experienced two consecutive years of budget cuts—$4.3 million in 2009 and $5.4 million in 2010—resulting in an overall 11 percent smaller budget.
The agency is anticipating more drastic cuts in fiscal year 2011: an initial decrease of $10 million and an additional mid-year cut of $7.5 million.
The Morningside Heights branch, on 113th and Broadway, has been minimally affected by the cuts, with only a four-hour reduction in service hours per week and no change in employment.
And even with more possible budget cuts on the way, Branch Manager Thaddeus Krupo said he remains optimistic. “We can’t plan for what we don’t know. We’re not expecting anything drastic. And you don’t want to start throwing out speculation,” he said.
While Morningside has weathered the cuts in hours, New York Public Libraries have, on average, reduced their service hours from 52.7 hours a week to 46.6 hours.
Some local politicians have become advocates for preserving library services.
Upper West Side City Council member Gale Brewer, who serves on the Committee on Finance, has worked to minimize the recession’s impact on the NYPL budget.
Still, she said, “Every service has been asked to make cuts. The library is no exception.”
For some neighborhood residents, the loss of morning hours on 113th has been frustrating.
“I came often earlier in the morning, but now I can’t, and I have work later, so it’s difficult,” local resident Juan Salinas said.
Joseph Schmidt, another neighborhood resident, said that it seemed inevitable. “I understand why they had to cut the budget. It goes without saying really that if the economy is doing bad ... then things can’t stay the same.”
Others, though, said they recognized the budget challenges and appreciated that Morningside has fared well.
“I love the library, and I support it 100 percent, but it wouldn’t hurt it to cut the budget a little,” Morningside resident Meredith Nelson said. “From what I hear, the cuts aren’t that bad, so really we should just suck it up.”
In response to concerns about cuts, Angela Montefinise, public relations director of the NYPL, said that the city launched a “Don’t Close the Book” campaign in the spring, asking New Yorkers to send letters and emails to the City Council and to donate to the library. In total, the campaign raised $144,000 and elicited 130,000 letters.
“We have great advocates in the City Council, and I know their intention is to restore us as much as possible, because they want their constituents to have libraries open ... for a lot of council members, this is a big, big priority,” Montefinise said.
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