A few days ago, there was a great article on the role of public libraries in New York, New York in the New York Times. When I last visited the city in 2006, I very much enjoyed visiting the “headquarters” (central?) branch on 5th Avenue and 42nd Street. It might be the most majestic public library building I’ve seen anywhere. As much as I liked it, that is not the point of today’s post.
The article describes the main functions of the public library in the recession in specific, positive terms. Libraries provide free* Internet access, training to help people look for work (and the related network of skills required for successful job hunting) and supportive environment. For some unemployed professionals, for example, the public library takes on the role of an office. Sure, you could do some of these things at home (though that assumes you have Internet access at home – 25-30% of Canadians still do not have broadband access), but the library provides a environment that supports study and recreation. Unlike a coffee shop, you can stay in the Library as long as you want without buying anything.
While the article is well worth reading in full, here are some particularly striking quotes:
Anthony Morris’s job search hit a snag this month when the Queens Borough Public Library notified him that he could not get a new library card until he paid about $80 in fines.
All three of the city’s public library systems have seen increased demand for employment-related services as the economy has floundered.
Mr. Morris, 31, had been unemployed for eight months and did not have the money. But he had amassed an armful of library books he needed to prepare for an exam that was part of the application process for a job at Con Edison, and he also needed a library card to browse online classified sites. So he asked if he could work off his debt.
This is a great story to read and it is the sort of thing that should be shouted from the rooftops, so to speak. My inner social scientist immediately wants to know more though – how many people are out there like this?
At the 58th Street branch of the New York Public Library in Manhattan, out-of-work professionals crowd the computers in the afternoon, a time that had previously been dominated by elderly patrons, and books on résumé writing are hard to keep on the shelves. The Science, Industry and Business Library on 34th Street drew 700 people to a career preparedness fair in January, and the Bronx Library Center recently doubled the number of computer classes it offers to the elderly because people looking to re-enter the work force had packed the existing classes to overflow levels.
I am curious to know what is meant by “professionals” in this paragraph. Certainly, New York has seen incredible job losses in the finance and banking sector – I wonder if ex-employees of such places are attending events like this? I also wonder how it was determined that the attendees were professionals (and, indeed, whether the provided services were adjusted to take account of this fact) – did the journalist survey the people present? Did the Library?
[...]
At the Bronx Library Center, near Fordham University, Janice Moore-Smith, an education and career counselor, has over the years typically helped half a dozen people a day with their résumés. In recent months, it has often been 10. And Ms. Moore-Smith said that she had been scheduling more joint sessions for husbands and wives in which she doles out emotional support along with employment tips.
Here’s an interesting partnership. I wonder about the relationship between the counselor and the Library. Is the counselor a member of the Library staff? If not, is there some sort of formal arrangement in place?
[...]
Kerwin P. Pilgrim, division manager of the Brooklyn Public Library’s education and job information center, said that he began training 15 staff members to provide individual assistance to job seekers last summer, in anticipation that demand would rise as the economy worsened. In January, the library announced that there would be one such staff member available at all times in at least one branch within each group of four branches.
That last quote is particularly pleasing to read since it suggests that library management is monitoring society and adjusting services as needed. Providing additional service like that cannot be achieved instantly, so bravo to New York for planning.
* Free does not mean without cost. All those professional staff, welcoming locations, support services and wealth of resources (for education, leisure and more) cost substantial money to provide. Let’s keep that in mind when budgets are created.
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