New York City’s Public Libraries Receive $4 Million Grant from Carnegie Corporation 

Funding will help libraries meet the demand for English language and workforce development among adults and expand civic engagement programs and college and career coaching among teens

New York, NY– Queens Public Library, Brooklyn Public Library and The New York Public today announced they received $4 million from Carnegie Corporation of New York, significantly increasing their ability to assist the growing population of immigrants and asylum seekers as they navigate their way in the city, as well as expanding resources for teens to boost their civic engagement and help them develop the practical skills needed to prepare for college and today’s job market. 

Grants to Brooklyn Public Library ($1M), Queens Public Library ($1.2M), and the New York Public Library ($1.8M) will help meet the demand for English language and literacy training among adults, alleviating wait lists of up to two years. Training will also include employment services such as learning the vocabulary needed to pass certification exams for vocational jobs. For teens, the support will expand existing services, including college counseling and workplace readiness; opportunities for civic-minded activities with peers; and access to safe gathering spaces.

By making this significant commitment, the philanthropic foundation established in 1911 by Andrew Carnegie is honoring its founder’s legacy with renewed commitment to libraries as trusted public institutions that strengthen communities. 

Carnegie, a Scottish immigrant who educated himself by borrowing books and went on to build an unprecedented steel fortune, invested $56 million to fund the construction of 2,509 libraries worldwide, including 1,681 in the United States between 1881 and 1917. 65 of them were built in New York City. 

Libraries are essential to an open society that values freedom of thought, freedom of speech, and continuous renewal. They provide access to knowledge and fact-based information and help people of all ages and backgrounds obtain the skills needed for greater socioeconomic mobility.  

“In the words of Andrew Carnegie himself, ‘there is not such a cradle of democracy on earth as the free public library,’” said Dame Louise Richardson, president of Carnegie and former head of the University of Oxford. “In honor of our founder and the enduring and crucial importance of libraries to a free, open, and educated society, Carnegie is delighted to support libraries and the essential infrastructure they provide for a strong democracy.” 

For more than a century, Carnegie has been one of the largest philanthropic funders of libraries, from the early construction of community buildings to helping establish the endowment of the American Library Association and funding the nation’s first graduate library school. In more recent years, Carnegie’s support has focused on the large-scale digitization of significant library collections in the U.S, including the Library of Congress, and around the world.

“We are incredibly grateful to the Carnegie Corporation for entrusting Queens Public Library to carry forward its vision for our democracy,” said Queens Public Library President and CEO Dennis M. Walcott. “This generous gift will enable us to deepen the Library’s commitment to our immigrant communities and to our teens as they work to find success in their lives.”

“For many new immigrants, the neighborhood library is not only their first stop upon arriving in New York City, but a place they return to over and over again for free resources, employment services, community, and, of course, English classes and books. Proficiency in English is critical in modern American life, from riding the subway to finding healthcare, employment, and housing,” said Linda E. Johnson, President and CEO of Brooklyn Public Library. “We extend our sincerest thanks to Carnegie Corporation of New York for this historic grant. When we welcome new immigrants and help them succeed, we build a better, stronger, more equitable community for us all.”

“The New York Public Library is grateful to continue its legacy partnership with Carnegie Corporation of New York. More than 100 years ago, Andrew Carnegie’s vision helped create New York City’s most used and loved civic institution, a vital engine of opportunity that makes knowledge and education accessible to all, regardless of socioeconomic status. Together, we will continue to be a public education resource and a force for unity in a vulnerable democracy,” said Anthony W. Marx, President and CEO of the New York Public Library.

The City of New York estimates that almost 1.8 million individuals are not proficient in English, and according to the Migration Policy Institute, a Carnegie grantee, 26.5 million individuals nationwide have limited proficiency in English. Numerous studies show that investments in English language training generate substantial public returns, yet a recent study published in the American Economic Journal says spending in this area has declined, resulting in an acute need. The same study found that among adult learners, annual earnings increased by $2,400 (56 percent) within two years of training, and tax revenues from those earnings covered program costs through a 6 percent return for taxpayers. 

Below are details about the planned programming funded by the grant at each of the three systems:

Queens Public Library:

• QPL will add 40 additional ESOL classes across 10 libraries, serving 1,000 students. QPL’s waitlist is 2,000 people, and growing.
• QPL will also provide workforce training and certifications to approximately 560 English-language learners, so that they can earn industry-recognized workforce certifications and enter the U.S. workforce.
• QPL will add a Spanish-language Young Adult Literacy Services class at its location in the  Ravenswood Houses in Long Island City, providing young adults with instruction and related case management so that they can qualify for the high school equivalency exam and pass tests in ELA, math, science or social studies.
• QPL will expand its college readiness program by adding college coaches to provide individual coaching to 1,500 students, to help them complete a post-high school plan to further their education or seek employment.

Brooklyn Public Library 

• BPL will offer drop-in Welcome ESOL classes to serve 1,200 English language learners at branches throughout the borough with sessions covering core skills for English language learning and key topics related to life in the city including transportation, food, health care, and community resources. 
• BPL will expand 11-week, registration-based beginner ESOL classes; and launch new Intermediate ESOL classes for nearly 300 people who are ready for a more rigorous English language learning experience.
• BPL will expand the New Americans Navigation team to help 1,100+ new arrivals connect to services that meet basic needs (e.g. legal, housing, health) and strengthen partnerships with immigrant-serving organizations to provide more legal clinics and resource fairs at BPL’s 62 locations. 
• BPL will hire its first Immigrant Job Support Specialist and first Immigrant Business Outreach Specialist to provide business and career services specifically for 1,900+ people. This includes offering one-on-one coaching, hosting employment fairs and entrepreneurship workshops, and connecting people with the resources available within the library and community.
• BPL will support employment needs with new job certification courses in the hospitality industry serving 40 people. 
• BPL will provide increased language access through translation and interpretation during services and events.  

The New York Public Library 

• The grant will support 3,150 class seats within NYPL’s registration-based ESOL program and help launch classes at the soon-to-be-reopened Hunts Point Library, an original Carnegie branch in the Bronx. 
• In addition to ESOL instruction, NYPL will provide adult learners with access to an array of complementary learning opportunities, from basic literacy instruction, to digital skill-building through our TechConnect programs, to dedicated resume support, coaching, and job search help from the Career Services team.
• NYPL will enhance its holistic teen services system-wide, which provide opportunities for teens to explore creative, academic, and career pursuits in cutting-edge spaces supported by expert staff. 
• NYPL will refine its successful Teen Civics Ambassador (TCA) model and expand to two additional newly renovated Carnegie library sites: 125th Street Library in upper Manhattan and Hunts Point Library in the South Bronx. 
• This expansion will bring the TCA program to an anticipated 18 locations total and increase the total number of Teen Civics Ambassadors to 38 positions.
• NYPL will launch a new studio mentor service at several branch libraries that provides teens with access to knowledgeable professionals who will inspire, teach new skills, and collaborate on creative projects such as fashion design, podcasting, and music production. 

About Carnegie Corporation of New York

Carnegie Corporation of New York was established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to promote the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding. Today the foundation works to reduce political polarization through philanthropic support for the issues that Carnegie considered most important: education, democracy, and peace.

About Queens Public Library

Queens Public Library is one of the largest and busiest public library systems in the United States, dedicated to serving the most ethnically and culturally diverse area in the country.  An independent, non-profit organization founded in 1896, Queens Public Library offers free access to a collection of more than 5 million books and other materials in 50 languages, technology and digital resources. Each year, the Library hosts tens of thousands of online and in-person educational, cultural, and civic programs and welcomes millions of visitors through its doors. With a presence in nearly every neighborhood across the borough of Queens, the Library consists of 66 locations, including branch libraries, a Central Library, seven adult learning centers, a technology center located at the Queensbridge Houses, the nation’s largest public housing complex, and a community learning center at another public housing complex, the Ravenswood Houses. It also has five teen centers, two bookmobiles, and two book bicycles.

About Brooklyn Public Library

Brooklyn Public Library is one of the nation’s largest library systems and among New York City’s most democratic institutions. Providing innovative library service for over 125 years, we support personal advancement, foster civic literacy, and strengthen the fabric of community among the more than 2.6 million individuals who call Brooklyn home. We are a global leader in the fight for the freedom to read through our Books Unbanned initiative, offering teens across the US access to the library’s online catalog. We provide nearly 65,000 free programs a year with writers, thinkers, artists, and educators—from around the corner and around the world. And we give patrons millions of opportunities to enjoy one of life’s greatest satisfactions: the joy of a good book.

About The New York Public Library

For over 125 years, The New York Public Library has been a free provider of education and information for the people of New York and beyond. With over 90 locations—including research and branch libraries—throughout the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island, the Library offers free materials, computer access, classes, exhibitions, programming and more to everyone from toddlers to scholars. The New York Public Library receives approximately 16 million visits through its doors annually and millions more around the globe who use its resources at www.nypl.org. To offer this wide array of free programming, The New York Public Library relies on both public and private funding. Learn more about how to support the Library at nypl.org/support.

CONTACT:

Celeste Ford (Carnegie Corporation of New York)
Fritzi Bodenheimer (Brooklyn Public Library)
Sandee Roston (New York Public Library)
Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska (Queens Public Library)