From all of the media coverage of Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s childhood, we have learned that she was an avid reader of Nancy Drew books. What is not mentioned is that she would borrow those books from a public library.
Reading is fundamental to learning and intellectual development. And for countless New Yorkers with limited means, like Sotomayor’s family, public libraries have been indispensable.
Public libraries are not simply shelves of books. As after-school programs are put on the chopping block, libraries offer a refuge for children and teenagers, especially students who live in crowded homes or who don’t have Internet access. They also help kids keep up their reading levels during summer recess.
For adults, libraries provide critical skills building. Libraries offer literacy and English-language classes to immigrants and resume preparation workshops that more New Yorkers are taking advantage of as the unemployment rate climbs.
City budget cuts threaten to undermine the services and staffing of libraries. The New York Public Library system, which covers the Bronx, Manhattan and Staten Island, could be forced back into five days of service and laying off more than 1,000 staff. Queens and Brooklyn libraries face the same predicament.
We recognize that all nonprofit institutions are trying to avert harsh cutbacks at a time when many are unavoidable. However, we know that New Yorkers with the least means cannot afford to lose the little that remains accessible to them.
We urge the New York City Council and Bloomberg administration to minimize the blow to libraries. Reviewing budgetary options by the Independent Budget Office would be a start. Or re-directing the funds that were designated for displaced Wall Streeters, for example, would be helpful. These workers were already in a better position to transition on their own.
This task is not easy, but neither is the prospect of losing out on future Sonia Sotomayor's.
From all of the media coverage of Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s childhood, we have learned that she was an avid reader of Nancy Drew books. What is not mentioned is that she would borrow those books from a public library.
Reading is fundamental to learning and intellectual development. And for countless New Yorkers with limited means, like Sotomayor’s family, public libraries have been indispensable.
Public libraries are not simply shelves of books. As after-school programs are put on the chopping block, libraries offer a refuge for children and teenagers, especially students who live in crowded homes or who don’t have Internet access. They also help kids keep up their reading levels during summer recess.
For adults, libraries provide critical skills building. Libraries offer literacy and English-language classes to immigrants and resume preparation workshops that more New Yorkers are taking advantage of as the unemployment rate climbs.
City budget cuts threaten to undermine the services and staffing of libraries. The New York Public Library system, which covers the Bronx, Manhattan and Staten Island, could be forced back into five days of service and laying off more than 1,000 staff. Queens and Brooklyn libraries face the same predicament.
We recognize that all nonprofit institutions are trying to avert harsh cutbacks at a time when many are unavoidable. However, we know that New Yorkers with the least means cannot afford to lose the little that remains accessible to them.
We urge the New York City Council and Bloomberg administration to minimize the blow to libraries. Reviewing budgetary options by the Independent Budget Office would be a start. Or re-directing the funds that were designated for displaced Wall Streeters, for example, would be helpful. These workers were already in a better position to transition on their own.
