Cite Added Cost, Commute
Queens Shift Upsets Librarians

By MEREDITH KOLODNER

Fearing the sale of more New York Public Library buildings, several dozen employees picketed the Main Library Branch at Bryant Park Dec. 21 to protest the displacement of 300 employees to a building in Queens.

The Chief-Leader/Pat Arnow 'KEEP US IN MANHATTAN': Members of Local 1930 of District Council 37 picketed the Main Library on 42nd St. on Dec. 21 to protest the planned transfer of 300 employees from Manhattan branches to a newly leased site in Queens. 'It's a horrible place, secluded and surrounded by warehouses and railroad tracks,' said 19-year veteran Nancy Medina. 'We're going to have an additional subway fare, and they are not going to give us extra travel money.'

The Technical Assistants are being moved from several branches in Manhattan to a new leased site in Long Island City, which will increase the commuting time and cost, especially for the scores who live outside the five boroughs. In the wake of the November announcement that the Donnell Branch was being sold for $59 million, NYPL Local 1930 of District Council 37 members are concerned that the Technical Assistants are being moved in preparation for further sales.

'Done Behind Our Backs'

"Everything they do is behind our backs; they disrespect us," said Local 1930 President Carol Thomas. "We believe Midtown-Manhattan will be next. Once they get rid of the technical staff, the lower level will be vacant."

An NYPL official said that the purpose of the move was to upgrade and centralize the library system's services. "We are converting the building into a state-of-the-art technical services center," said Anthony Calnek, the vice president for communications. "Staff working in similar areas in disparate locations will come together and be able to share their expertise. It will allow our staff to do their work better, in a better environment."

He asserted that the location shift, planned for 2009, was not connected to any plans to sell library buildings.

But workers objected to the longer commutes and the secluded location of the Long Island City building, surrounded by warehouses and railroad tracks.

Nancy Medina, who works at the Annex at West 43rd St. near 9th Ave., currently takes the bus to the Port Authority from her home in Rockland County. "We're going to have an additional subway fare," said the 17-year library veteran, "and they are not going to give us extra travel money. Now I leave at 6:40 a.m. to get to work. I will have to leave much earlier if I have to get to Queens." About half of the 70 Annex technical staff live outside the city.

But Mr. Calnek argued that the new location on Thompson Ave. was in the midst of a "thriving community," across the street from LaGuardia Community College. "This is a recent announcement," he said. "A lot of staff haven't had an opportunity to go out and visit it yet."

Hiring At Standstill

Public Library management has told the union that all of the displaced workers, both from Donnell and the additional 300 technical staffers, will be given jobs at the same title and pay grade. But union officials are also concerned that the personnel shifts, and the need to find new slots elsewhere in the system, have slowed down the hiring that the Library promised after it received $21 million from the City Council to keep the branch libraries open on Saturdays. They say there has been no hiring since August, and as a result, other workers are feeling the squeeze.

Just before Labor Day, workers at the Bronx Library Center were told that it would be open from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. every day. Although their total weekly work-hours stayed the same, many of them were forced to work two or three nights instead of one.

"It's good for the patrons for the libraries to be open later, but if you have kids, working three nights can be a problem," said Nancy Coradin, a Senior Librarian. "The bottom line is that we need more people and better communication."

Retaliation Transfers?

After Ms. Coradin, who has worked for the library system for 19 years, spoke out at a meeting about the problems, she was moved, just weeks later, to a small, less-accessible branch in The Bronx. She grieved the transfer, and as hearings were approaching, management moved her to Kips Bay, a large branch in Manhattan. She is considering whether to press the matter, but believes she was moved as punishment for her outspokenness, especially given her experience and her bilingual Spanish skills, which are in high demand by many Bronx library patrons.

The Donnell branch, located on West 53rd St., was sold to Orient-Express Hotels Ltd. in early November. It will be demolished to make way for an 11-story hotel, but the library will continue to operate at the basement level and on the first floor. NYPL management at the time said it could not afford the major renovations needed to keep the building open.

Several of the workers at the protest said that while they understood that changes may be needed, they resented not being kept informed about the decisions until after they had been made.

Uncertain Status

James Donahue, a Technical Assistant at the main branch, was not sure if he would be moved to Queens because he had recently been placed in a temporary position in Data Base Maintenance after his permanent position in Cataloging was dissolved. "I don't know if I'll be in the street in June or whether I'll be moving with everyone else to Queens," said Mr. Donahue, a 10-year NYPL employee.

Ms. Thomas noted that the branch librarian meetings, scheduled for June and November, had been cancelled. Those informational meetings have been held several times a year by management for years to keep the head librarians throughout the city informed.

Many employees said they were hoping that their protest would convince management to keep them in the loop as they continued to make changes to the library system.

"We are the bridge between the collections and the public," said Ms. Coradin. "Just like the collectibles are an important asset to the library, so are the people."