Statement by Dennis M. Walcott, President and CEO, Queens Library
New York City Council Committee on Finance, Jointly with the Committee on Cultural Affairs, Libraries and International Intergroup Relations,
Jointly with the Subcommittee on Libraries
Fiscal Year 2017 Executive Budget Hearing
May 19, 2016
Good morning. My name is Dennis Walcott, President and CEO of the Queens Library. It is a distinct pleasure to provide testimony to the City Council today on the Mayor’s Fiscal Year 2017 Executive Budget.
Before I begin, I would like to express my deep gratitude to Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, Mayor de Blasio, Finance Chair Julissa Ferreras-Copeland, Majority Leader Jimmy Van Bramer, Library Sub-Committee Chair Andy King and the entire City Council, for restoring $43 million to the operating budgets of the three library systems for the current fiscal year. As you know, this investment has ensured universal six-day library service and enhanced programming for all New York City residents.
We are encouraged to see $21 million of the $43 million accounted for in the Mayor’s FY 17 Executive Budget. I must stress the importance of baselining the full $43 million in future budgets because we cannot afford to lose these incredible gains. It is not hard to imagine the impact of having millions of dollars of your annual budget in question just weeks before a new fiscal year. The uncertainty of continued funding has a detrimental effect across the board – from staffing continuity and customer service hours, to program planning and delivery.
I am also here today to tell you how much more we can do for the people of New York City should an additional $22 million – in addition to the FY 16 allocation – be invested in New York City libraries.
In the six months since Queens Library implemented six-day service across the borough, more than 765,000 New Yorkers have visited the library on Saturdays. Think about that – 765,000 in only six months and just on Saturdays. Those library visits are more than mere strolls in the neighborhood. They are people who are realizing more of their potential using library resources, whether it is to educate their children through early childhood literacy classes, or to learn a new job skill for themselves – they are all moving their lives forward.
As you saw in the video, Emily Chen and Victoria Love are two shining examples of how Queens Library has positively impacted the lives of our customers. Through our valuable Adult Learners Program, and Job and Business Academy, Emily and Victoria have been empowered to pursue learning that will change their personal and economic futures. Emily and Victoria would have had to pay hundreds, if not thousands of dollars to learn English, or master the tools necessary to start a small business, but at Queens Library, they were able to do it all free. This is true for the thousands of New Yorkers who access our free programs and services on a daily basis. An investment in libraries is a direct investment in every one of your constituents who rely on us to improve their lives.
Last year, we implemented a curriculum-based, afterschool program called Stacks for school-aged children that we currently operate in 18 community libraries. There is a long waiting list at each of these program sites. We could easily serve twice as many children at each location, but this program is not available at 70% of Queens’ community libraries. Children in every community deserve quality educational enrichment. We must expand the Stacks program to every one of our remaining 44 community libraries in Queens. In addition to offering traditional homework assistance and educational enrichment, Stacks is closely aligned to common core and we are building evaluations into the curriculum so we can measure and assess the impact and outcomes. This program also complements the City’s Equity and Excellence Universal Literacy initiative, as well as the Middle School Quality Initiative by providing critical supplemental instruction to children outside of the traditional classroom setting, in a safe learning environment.
Queens Library’s Adult Learner Program is one of the largest library-run literacy programs in the United States. In our ESOL program alone, we provided instruction to over 6,500 students. We increased our ESOL seats by 6.6% last fiscal year, adding classes, locations and more weekend sessions. However, we still turned away more than 1,100 students due to lack of capacity. The 2016 investment was historic, but if one student is turned away, that is one too many. If thousands are turned away, it is a tragedy.
Queens Library is also proposing to expand our digital access points to family homeless shelters and hospitals. We are in the process of identifying potential partners to initiate a pilot program soon. We will be in touch with our partners in government as we progress in our planning. This initiative is another innovative new way to reach people outside our physical spaces, and has the potential to change the way people see libraries and access materials. It also supports the Administration’s efforts to provide educational resources to homeless families outside of our facilities, particularly homeless children.
Queens Library is also at the forefront of bridging the digital divide in our communities – we are the borough’s technology hub. For too many Queens residents, the digital divide presents barriers to education, job opportunities and tasks of daily living. According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2013 American Community Survey, approximately 135,000 Queens households do not have a computer. Twenty-six percent of the borough does not have broadband access at home. In Queens Community Districts 3 and 14, 31% and 32% of households, respectively, do not have broadband access. In addition, 40% of New Yorkers who do not have a high school degree lack broadband access at home. You can well imagine how a child’s education suffers without learning critical technology skills, or how an adult can become disconnected without access to information and services available only online. With an increase in funding, we will be able to expand in-library tech sessions by 17% to reach 3.5 million customers. Additionally, we will be able to expand publicly accessible Wi-Fi outside of our facilities. We are aligned with the Administration’s and the Council’s goal to increase broadband access to underserved communities.
Maintaining our 65 locations and aging infrastructure is also a short and long-term challenge for the Library. The average community library is 61 years old. More than a third of them are over 50 years old. They are heavily used, and most were not constructed to accommodate the traffic that we see due to the growth in demand for our services. Additionally, the vast majority of libraries are poorly configured to meet the demands of the digital age – with too few electrical outlets, too little space for classes, group work, or space for individuals working on laptop computers. Our challenge is to modernize our facilities, maintain our critical infrastructure and to expand our public spaces in order to thrive in the 21st century.
Collectively, the three library systems have over $250 million in emergency and critical maintenance needs, but we seek $100 million this year to address our most pressing matters. In the next fiscal year alone, Queens Library has $71 million in unmet needs for critical infrastructure, which includes roof replacements, HVAC, ADA compliance, building envelope and mechanical projects, and expansions to relieve overcrowding. Some specific needs include projects with ADA compliance components at Astoria and North Hills; new roofs at Flushing, Broadway, Rosedale and Seaside; new HVAC systems at Lefrak City and Maspeth; interior renovations at Richmond Hill and South Hollis; and expanding public space at Corona and Laurelton.
To recap, and in addition to what I have just discussed, with $44 million this year – $22 million baselined to lock in last year’s gains, and an additional $22 million so that the people of this City will have access to vital services and increased opportunities:
• Queens Library would provide robust six-day service every week and be able to hire 60 more staff to serve the public, including children’s librarians.
• We would increase our program offerings in well-maintained and safe facilities.
• We would increase operating hours, adding 223 total hours per week across the borough while bringing seven-day service to every council district, enriching the lives of hundreds of thousands more people each year.
• We would be able to offer 500,000 more computer sessions, and increase the materials we have in our collection by 40,000 items, including more homework help materials, more e-books, more ESOL support and more high-demand items for adults and children.
• We would be able to provide our free, curriculum-based, after-school STACKS program in every community library in the borough. This equates to 8,800 additional sessions and 26,400 more instructional hours for Queens children.
Libraries are an indispensable institution and the cornerstone of a strong democratic society. With greater hours, comes greater responsibility. We are tasked not only with maintaining the excellence and quality of our programs, but we must also provide more opportunities to the people who have been without weekend programs in their neighborhoods for almost a decade. When we are asked to do more with less, we deliver. When the City needed a reliable partner to advance key initiatives such as IDNYC, UPK or the New Americans Corner, we successfully took the challenge. These partnerships have helped thousands of the most vulnerable residents gain access to City services.
Investing in libraries is an investment in the people of this great City. Together, we do great work, but we can do more. Our work is not finished, and we need your continued investment. Let us continue to build on the amazing work we have accomplished so far. We can only do so with your support.
Thank you.
Statement by Dennis M. Walcott, President and CEO, Queens Library
New York City Council Committee on Cultural Affairs,
Libraries and International Intergroup Relations, Jointly with the Subcommittee on Libraries
Fiscal Year 2017 Preliminary Budget Hearing
March 23, 2016
Good morning. My name is Dennis Walcott, President and CEO of the Queens Library. It is an honor to testify today before you for the first time in my new capacity. As a life-long user of the Queens Library, I know first-hand how vital this impactful institution is for our communities and the people it serves. As a young person, I received my first library card from the St. Albans branch where my love of reading was fostered and encouraged. Our libraries have changed a lot since then. They have evolved into neighborhood anchors and beacons of hope and opportunity.
Prior to my official start, I visited libraries across the borough and rode on the truck delivering and picking up books and materials. It gave me unique insight in an important aspect of library operations. On one of my first days on the job, a man walked up to me at my desk on the first floor of the Central Library and introduced himself. He said he had recently been released from prison and was trying to get his life on track. He had come to the library to use the computers to look for work and for assistance with finding a job. We were able to help him and many people like him at our cyber center and our job-training program. Since then, I have visited most of our community libraries and have met with dedicated staff members who provide life-changing services.
Whether it is providing free services like Universal Pre-K, after-school programs, adult learning classes, IDNYC enrollment and job-training assistance, or helping to bridge the digital divide by offering free internet and 7,500 public computing access points to millions of people, New Yorkers depend on their libraries.
Thanks to the extraordinary efforts of Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, Mayor de Blasio, Finance Chair Julissa Ferreras-Copeland, Majority Leader Jimmy Van Bramer, Library Sub-Committee Chair Andy King and the entire City Council, $43 million was restored to the operating budgets of the three library systems for the current fiscal year. This investment has ensured universal six-day library service and enhanced programming for all New York City residents.
Queens Library received $12 million in additional operating funds this year. We hired 129 new employees, including librarians, custodians, maintenance, as well as clerical and other support staff. One hundred and fifteen (115) of those positions are union jobs. Twenty two percent (22%), or $2.6 million, was used to purchase sorely needed library materials including new books and periodicals. We are also investing in more e-books, which are in high demand by our customers.
All our libraries are open at least six days a week. The Central Library and the Flushing community library are currently providing seven-day service, and we have expanded weekday hours at both locations. On average, our libraries are now open 45.6 hours per week.
That has had an impact on people like Julio Silarayan who works for a catering company. He knows he will not be able to advance in his job without better English skills, but his work schedule simply did not permit him to take ESOL classes during the week. Now that our library in East Flushing is open on Saturdays, Julio is beginning his studies.
At Queens Village library, we were able to hire a new children’s librarian, Erica Anthony. Queens Village has a large population of children after school, many of whom are new immigrants. The number one request from their parents is for homework help. These parents endured the trauma of displacement so their children would get a good education, and they rely on the library to help them succeed. That is why Erica is single-handedly trying to help 40 grade-schoolers do their assignments every school day – 40 children. Their parents have limited English and they have no other resources. It is so wonderful to have Erica on our staff – but it is just not enough.
In the last fiscal year, 11.3 million visits were made to the Queens Library – either in person or online. We have 13.6 million educational and cultural materials in circulation. Queens Library loaned more than 544,000 e-books, 6,700 tablets, and loaned mobile hot spots 4,700 times. That’s 4,700 times New Yorkers took the internet home in their pockets, absolutely free. Nearly eight million visits were made to our website, and close to one million visits to our e-content Virtual Library. Our talented staff provided guidance and answered three million questions from our customers. Free library programs are more popular than ever. Attendance at library programs in Queens is projected to hit one million by the end of 2017 – an increase of more than 13% in only two years.
We are encouraged to see $21 million of the $43 million baselined in the Mayor’s preliminary budget. Let me stress the importance of baselining and locking in these gains. It’s not hard to imagine the impact of having millions of dollars of your annual budget in question just weeks before a new fiscal year. The uncertainty of continued funding has a detrimental effect across the board – from staffing continuity and customer service hours, to program planning and delivery.
Queens Library increased its ESOL seats by 6.6% last fiscal year, adding classes, locations and more weekend sessions. However, we still turned away more than 1,100 students due to lack of capacity. The 2016 investment was historic, but too many needs remain unmet – including funding for literacy programs, workforce development, High School Equivalency, early learning and our STACKS after-school programs, technology training, electronic content and additional hours of service.
That’s why we need the Mayor and the City Council to continue to invest in libraries with $44 million in additional baselined funding. The people of this city would then have access to more services and increased opportunities.
• Queens Library would provide robust six-day service every week and be able to hire more librarians and library staff.
• This would enable us to increase our program offerings in well-maintained and safe facilities.
• We would increase operating hours, adding 223 total hours per week across the borough while bringing seven-day service to every council district, enriching the lives of hundreds of thousands more people each year.
• We would be able to hire 60 new staff members to provide added service.
• We would be able to offer 500,000 more computer sessions, and increase the materials we have in our collection by 40,000 items, including more homework help materials, more e-books, more ESOL support and more high-demand items for adults and children.
• We would be able to provide our free, curriculum-based, after-school STACKS program in every community library in the borough. This equates to 8,800 additional sessions and 26,400 more instructional hours for 1,100 young people.
Maintaining our 65 locations and aging infrastructure is also a short and long-term challenge for the Library. The average community library is 61 years old. More than a third are over 50 years old. They are heavily used, and most were not constructed to accommodate the traffic that we see due to the growth in demand for our services. Additionally, the vast majority of libraries are poorly configured to meet the demands of the digital age – with too few electrical outlets, too little space for classes, group work, or space for individuals working on laptop computers. Our challenge is to modernize our facilities, maintain our critical infrastructure and to expand our public spaces in order to thrive in the 21st century.
We have identified an unmet capital need of $300 million in our Ten Year Capital Plan to modernize and expand our facilities and address critical infrastructure needs. In the next fiscal year alone, we have a $71 million unmet need for critical infrastructure, including roof replacements, HVAC, ADA compliance, building envelope and mechanical projects, and to relieve overcrowding. These include: projects with ADA compliance components at Astoria and North Hills ($5.5 million total); security systems for 16 community libraries – Baisley Park, Broadway, Court Square, Glendale, Howard Beach, Jackson Heights, Laurelton, Lefferts, Maspeth, McGoldrick, Middle Village, North Hills, Queens Village, Ridgewood, Rochdale Village and Seaside ($1.6m total). Finally, we must address the significant amount of overcrowding at our busiest libraries where the public is no longer adequately served – these include Rego Park, Corona and Jackson Heights.
Libraries are an indispensable institution and the cornerstone of a strong democratic society. With greater hours, comes greater responsibility. We are tasked not only with maintaining the excellence and quality of our programs, but we must also provide more opportunities to the people who have been without weekend programs in their neighborhoods for almost a decade. When we are asked to do more with less, we deliver. When the City needed a reliable partner to advance key initiatives such as IDNYC, UPK or the New Americans Corner, we successfully took the challenge.
Though we did not receive the full $65M restoration that we advocated for last year, we nevertheless found a way to deliver six-day service and increase our programming for this year. In order to lock in the gains we have all worked so hard to achieve, I urge the City Council to work with the Mayor to baseline the operating funds of New York City’s three library systems at our current funding level. Additionally, I urge the City Council and the Mayor to work together to provide the three library systems the additional $22 million to restore and baseline the full $65 million needed to deliver the programming, materials, hours and services necessary for essential library service across the City.
Investing in libraries is an investment in the people of this great City. Together, we do great work, but we can do more. We need the City to continue to invest in New Yorkers by investing in libraries.
Thank you.