Select Committee on Libraries with the Committee on Cultural Affairs, Libraries
and International Intergroup Relations
Fiscal 2010 Preliminary Budget Hearing

March 13, 2009

Good afternoon. I am Tom Galante, Director of the Queens Library. I want to begin by thanking Chairmen Domenic Recchia and Vincent Gentile and all of the members of the City Council for your incredible ongoing support, especially in these challenging economic times. More than ever we seek to protect the critical services that serve as a lifeline to those most in need and I know that you share our commitment to public libraries.

Since our most recent meeting last December, Queens Library’s situation has grown increasingly dire. The City’s proposed Financial Plan for FY ’10 budget, effective July 1, 2009, reduces funding to Queens Library by $13,931,000. This cutback comes on the heels of the $2,849,000 cut on July 1, 2008. Funding in FY ’10 would be 18% less than FY ’08 funding, and, after consideration of costs paid by the Library that are not paid from City agency budgets, such as retiree health insurance, the PEG is 24%. In addition, FY ’09 funding was further reduced by $2,174,000 this past December. Too much has already been lost but those losses pale in comparison to what is on the horizon if these cuts are not restored.

These drastic reductions being proposed to our budget would devastate library service in Queens. If enacted these cuts would close every community library all weekend long with some libraries going below five days per week. It is unthinkable that the greatest City in the world would see public library service brought to its knees but that is exactly what we are facing. It is tragic that the Saturday and weekend library service that we all fought so hard to bring back is in jeopardy of being eliminated once again. We must not let this happen.

In my testimony in December ‘08, I shared with you the very hard and real decisions that were made in the wake of the $5 million funding reduction already sustained. We adapted numerous measures to cut costs without reducing library service hours and staff. Sadly, I must report that additional cuts to our budget will force us to drastically reduce both our days of service and our workforce. If the newly proposed cuts were enacted, Queens Library would need to reduce its workforce by 24% (279 positions) with 240 through layoff—and this is a heartbreaking revelation. In a time of our country’s desperate economic state, our aim is not to add to the country’s swiftly growing unemployment rate, recently reported at 8.1%, the highest it’s been since 1983.

In financially difficult times such as these, library usage dramatically increases. In February, circulation at our libraries surpassed 15 million items and we recorded our 12 millionth visitor! There are still four more months left in the fiscal year and we are on target to break our own records in both these areas. The truth is that libraries are the first place people look to for support when times are tough. And if we are forced to close our doors because of budget cuts, we’ll be forced to close the doors on millions looking for a hand up and a way out of despair. This would be the worst possible time to scale back our hours and service.

Our Job Information Centers located at the Central and Flushing libraries have increased their service offerings in response to the growing demand for job related and career enrichment programs. Here, people can schedule individual appointments to learn about the labor market and how to look for jobs online, take an inventory assessment to help them make career choices, have their resume critiqued or offered key tips on networking. Our knowledgeable and friendly staff at the Central Library Job Information Center guided nearly 25,000 people through the job hunting process in the past year. As a result of increased demand, Job Information Services have increased the number of job related training workshops and it has also increased the number of these workshops done in Spanish as well as other languages.

We have always served seniors in large numbers but we are seeing more than ever as a result of the financial crisis. We’ve seen an influx of seniors requesting computer classes, not only for their personal development, but out of a desire to be computer literate as they seek to re-enter the job market and freshen up resumes. Our Special Services staff is reporting numerous stories of seniors telling them that they need to get a job so they can pay their rent as well as buy food and medication. As long as we are open we will continue to serve the senior citizens who have come to rely on us now more than ever.

Despite the enormity of the challenges we face on the expense budget side, we must continue to move forward with renovations and expansions of our existing libraries as well as move forward with plans to build new libraries. Unfortunately the City’s proposal to cut our capital budget by 30% would cripple our capital program and end or delay indefinitely much needed renovation and expansion plans. Let me reiterate the challenge before us. The City’s proposed Financial Plan for FY ‘10 reduces funding to the Queens Library by $13,931,000 effective July 1, 2009. Our total City cut from FY’08 to FY’10 proposed is $16.8 million. In addition, we face a $1.3 million cut in the Executive Budget in Albany. We cannot singlehandedly erase rising unemployment. But we can be a bridge of hope for all New Yorkers. We ask that you help us to keep our doors open longer and on the weekends.

Libraries are essential services that people rely on. A library that is closed cannot help someone looking for a job. We will continue to work to alleviate budget cuts currently being proposed. Restoring these cuts would restore the many job assistance programs, services and workshops that we may no longer be able to offer if the cuts go through.

Thank you.

Testimony before the
Queens Borough Board on the
FY ’10 Proposed Executive Budget

February 18, 2009

Good morning. I am Tom Galante, Director of the Queens Library. I want to begin by thanking Borough President, Helen Marshall, and the Queens Borough Board for your continued support of Queens Library, a vital institution that is so critical in times of economic peril. I know that Borough President Marshall, who once worked in a library, believes fervently in libraries and the life-enhancing services we provide. And I want to thank you for your remarkable and unwavering support for this institution. These are challenging times. We all know it and feel it every day. But it is precisely at this time that we must protect the critical services that serve as a lifeline to those most in need. Public library service is just such a service, one that must be preserved, and I trust that those here today share my view.

Let me first share with you the challenge before us. The City’s proposed Financial Plan for FY ‘10 reduces funding to the Queens Library by $13,931,000 effective July 1, 2009. The reduction is in addition to $2,849,000 cut on July 1, 2008. FY’09 funding was further reduced $2,174,000 this past December. Our total City cut from FY’08 to FY’10 proposed is $16.8 million. In addition, we face a $1.3 million cut in the Executive Budget in Albany. These are drastic reductions to our budget and unless these cuts can be restored, library service in Queens will be reduced to a maximum of five days with some libraries open only three or four days per week. Sadly, the Saturday and weekend library service that we all fought so hard to bring back is in serious jeopardy of being eliminated once again. We must not let this happen.

This past Friday, the Daily News wrote a timely article about the influx of patrons taking advantage of Queens Library’s FREE services, including those looking for employment, stating that customers “made almost 140,000 more trips to the Library’s 62 branches last year than in 2007.” The article also highlighted the fact that “more people are turning to libraries borrowing books instead of buying—to help weather the financial storm.” The article (copies of which are attached to my testimony) correctly pointed out that in difficult times such as these, library use increases dramatically, and that this is the worst possible time to scale back our hours and services. The truth is that our libraries are the first place people look to for support when times are tough. And if we are forced to close our doors because of budget cuts, we’ll be forced to close the doors on millions looking for a hand up and a way out of despair.

Our library proudly serves as a bastion of hope and opportunity for those among us with the least, those most deeply affected by this enormous economic downturn. As more people lose their jobs, and the incomes they rely on to support their families, libraries are among the first places many will turn to for support and assistance on their personal road to economic recovery.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently announced that the country’s unemployment rate is at a recent high of 7.6%. Unfortunately, that number is expected to rise over the next several months. And under difficult budget constraints Queens Library becomes the crucial life support needed for customers deeply affected by the crippling economy. The library continues to meet increased customer demands for consistent quality services and programs in these vital areas.

Queens Library’s Job Information Center (JIC) serves individuals as well as local agencies offering varying public assistance. We work in conjunction with social workers, homeless shelters, high schools, the Queens Correctional Facility, AARP, and other agencies to meet the needs of job seekers in Queens. As a result of the economic downturn, more seniors are coming to the library seeking jobs and they express concern about needing more money to pay their rent. We assist them through computer classes and our librarians provide one-on-one assistance to teach them how to write their resumes and cover letters. And this was the case with Tyanda Smith of Kew Gardens, who was interviewed in the Daily News article. Tyanda was quoted as saying she goes “… to the library’s job information center on her lunch break to find out what it would take to open a small café.” If our doors are closed, who will help Tyanda, and the tens of thousands just like her, fulfill their dreams?

Our Job Information Centers located at the Central and Flushing libraries have increased their service offerings in response to the growing demand for job related and career enrichment programs. Here, people can schedule individual appointments to learn about the labor market and how to look for jobs online, take an inventory assessment to help them make career choices, have their resume critiqued or offered key tips on networking. Our knowledgeable and friendly staff at the Central Library Job Information Center guided nearly 25,000 people through the job hunting process in the past year. As a result of increased demand, Job Information Services have increased the number of job related training workshops and it has also increased the number of these workshops done in Spanish as well as other languages.

And we continue to maintain a satellite library in the Queens Workforce One Career Center located at the Department of Labor in downtown Jamaica, where we provide job information and referrals to job seekers currently receiving unemployment benefits. This is an ingenious way of capturing a segment of the population that is not only attentive, but who may not have viewed the library as a good resource for jobs and career advisement. Nearly 10,000 people utilized this resource last year as they sought employment.

Despite the enormity of the challenges we face on the expense budget side, we must continue to move forward with renovations and expansions of our existing libraries as well as move forward with plans to build new libraries. And I am pleased that we are moving forward with plans for new libraries at Elmhurst, Glen Oaks, and Far Rockaway. And we’ll keep fighting to build an architecturally significant library at Queens West in Long Island City. We’ll also transform numerous community libraries, including Kew Gardens Hills, with interior and exterior renovations and install the latest technology at all of our libraries over the next few years. None of this would be possible without the generous support of Borough President Marshall, our City Council delegation, and the support of so many others.

In a December of 2008 NYC Feedback citywide customer survey, Queens Library was given the highest rating among the most valued city funded services with 93% of Queens residents rating their library favorably and 64% of respondents in Queens rating library service in the top five of all services surveyed. These findings affirm what we’ve always known. Libraries are essential services that people rely on. And what many already rely on, and what many more will come to rely upon, are the free programs and services we offer which help people find meaningful employment.

Of course we are better able to serve those who need us the most when our hours of service are maximized. A library that is closed cannot help someone looking for a job. We will continue to work to alleviate budget cuts currently being proposed. Restoring these cuts would restore the many job assistance programs, services and workshops that we may no longer be able to offer if the cuts go through. Jocelyn Donaire, a veterinary technician student at LaGuardia Community College was also interviewed in Friday’s Daily News article on libraries. Like so many others, this promising young student, who lives in Jamaica, uses the library on the weekends and worries about the cuts that would end weekend library service. “I just hope that doesn’t happen” said Donaire, who also depends on the library to supplement the cost of her college textbooks. I think we all agree with Jocelyn in hoping that this doesn’t happen. I want you to know that we plan to do all we can to fight these proposed reductions.

We cannot singlehandedly erase rising unemployment but we can be a bridge to hope for New Yorkers, like Tyanda Smith the aspiring pastry chef, and Jocelyn Donaire, a future veterinary technician who both depend on the library as their bridge to a better tomorrow. We take our role as a resource for job seekers very seriously. And we will continue to do all we can to educate and train the workforce of tomorrow. Libraries are much more than just a repository for books – we are a vital part of the economic engine that drives New York City forward.

Thank you.

Statement by Thomas W. Galante
Director, Queens Library

Testimony before the New York State Joint Legislative Budget Hearing

January 28, 2009

Good afternoon. I am Tom Galante, Director of the Queens Library. I want to begin by thanking all of the terrific public servants here today for your continued support of an institution so critical in times of economic peril - our State’s public libraries. I know that each of the committee chairs here today, including Queens’ own, Assembly Education Chair Cathy Nolan, believes in libraries and the life-enhancing services they provide. Thank you for inviting us here today to share with you the work Queens Library undertakes every day in assisting those looking for work in this difficult economic climate.

As you know, the Executive Budget calls for an $18 million cut in Library Aid. Under this plan, Queens Library will lose $1.3 million of the $6 million we receive in state operating funding. This disturbing cut in State funding coupled with the over $11 million proposed City funding reduction represents a double barreled shot at the heart of our library system. If these cuts are enacted 5 libraries will close a day each week and 40,000 fewer books will be purchased.


According to the Division of Library Development (DLD) of The New York State Library, 143.6 million items were circulated in New York State’s public libraries. That means that one out of every seven items loaned by public libraries in New York State is loaned in Queens. DLD also noted 13 million public library visits in our State. With one out of every eight visits to a public library in the State occurring in Queens, I can speak for all libraries when I say that we cannot afford to sustain such draconian cuts in the face of such demand for our services.

Like our colleagues across this State, Queens Library proudly serves as a bastion of hope and opportunity for those among us with the least, those most deeply affected by this giant economic downturn. As more people lose their jobs, and the incomes they rely on to support their families, libraries will be among the first places many will turn to for support and assistance on their personal road to economic recovery.

Queens Library’s Job Information Center (JIC) serves individuals as well as local agencies offering varying public assistance. We work in conjunction with social workers, homeless shelters, high schools, the Queens Correctional Facility, AARP, and other agencies to meet the needs of job seekers in Queens. As a result of the economic downturn more seniors are coming to the library seeking jobs and they express concern about needing more money to pay their rent. We assist them through computer classes and our librarians provide one-on-one assistance to teach them how to write their resumes and cover letters.

Our Job Information Centers located at the Central and Flushing libraries have increased their services offerings in response to the growing demand for job related and career enrichment programs. Here, people can schedule individual appointments to learn about the labor market and how to look for jobs online, take an inventory assessment to help them make career choices, have their resume critiqued or offer key tips on networking. Our knowledgeable and friendly staff at the Central Library Job Information Center guided nearly 25,000 people through the job hunting process in the past year. As a result of increased demand, Job Information Services has increased the number of job related training workshops and they have also increased the number of these workshops done in Spanish.

In addition, our New Americans Programs (NAP) sponsors helpful programs for immigrants in the work force or looking to enter it. Last year, the NAP presented over 90 programs in 12 languages throughout our libraries. One particular program, was working with the City’s Small Business Services, where 100+ participants learned how to start and grow businesses. The program was offered in Mandarin Chinese. A few other examples of job readiness programs offered in languages other than English include “How to Start a Business,” which is geared towards women, and “Job Strategies for Immigrant Professionals.” The highly popular “Business Basics” workshop co-sponsored with the Queens Economic Development Corporation is a quarterly program that could be given bi-monthly or monthly if funding were available. “The Business of Arts for New Americans,” co-sponsored with the New York Foundation for the arts, assists immigrants in finding jobs in the arts.

And we continue to maintain a satellite library in the Queens Workforce One Career Center located at the Department of Labor in downtown Jamaica, where we provide employment information and referrals to job seekers currently receiving unemployment benefits. This is an ingenious way of capturing a segment of the population that is not only attentive, but who may not have visited the library as a resource for jobs and career advisement. Nearly 10,000 people utilized this resource last year as they sought employment.

Last month’s New York City customer satisfaction survey found that Queens Library was given the highest rating among the most valued city funded services with 93% of Queens’ residents rating their library favorably and 64% of respondents in Queens rating library service in the top five of all services surveyed which included our Fire and Police departments. These findings affirm what we’ve always known. Libraries are essential services that people rely on. And what many already rely on, and what many more will come to rely upon, are the free programs and services we offer which help people to find meaningful employment.

Of course we are better able to serve those who need us the most when our hours of service are maximized. A library that is closed cannot help someone looking for a job. We will continue to work to alleviate budget cuts currently being proposed. Restoring these cuts would restore the many job assistance programs, services and workshops that we may longer be able to offer if the cuts go through.

We cannot singlehandedly erase rising unemployment but we can be a bridge to hope for New Yorkers. We take our role as a resource for job seekers very seriously. And we will continue to do all we can to educate and train the workforce of tomorrow. Libraries are much more than just a repository for books – we are a vital part of the economic engine that drives New York State forward.

Thank you.