Council Speaker Pays A Sentimental Debt To The Library System
By MICHELLE FRIEDMAN

When she was a little girl she would search through her elementary school's biography section in the library, reading every story about a famous woman, political or governmental figure. She went so far as to tell her librarian to get more of those kinds of books.

CHRISTINE QUINN: Inspired by books.

Years later, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn - at the New York Public Library New Amsterdam Branch July 11 - announced that it was her love of books and libraries that made maintaining six-day library service for all New Yorkers one of her priorities.

Spilt Milk and Broccoli

Joined by City Council Libraries Subcommittee Chair Vincent J. Gentile, Speaker Quinn read a book entitled "It Looked Like Spilt Milk" to a group of pre-schoolers, prompting them with mind-benders such as "It looks like broccoli, but it's not broccoli." The rambunctious youngsters seemed to dispute nearly every image.

According to Speaker Quinn, after the success of implementing six-day service last year, the Council worked hard to maintain the service. "While most everyone supports libraries, few recognize the important role they play in the context of workforce and in the community," she said. "Preserving library service to six full days will continue to give all New Yorkers the chance to access an array of services from which they can benefit."

The Fiscal Year 2009 budget contains $16 million in funding for the city's three library systems, allowing libraries to increase access to services such as literacy programs, career development, and increasing access to technology.

"This is a great day for library service throughout the city," said Mr. Gentile. "Even though we're in a tough budget season, we were able to keep New York, Queens and Brooklyn public library systems open six days a week."

10 Open Sundays, Too

All of the New York Public Library's 87 branches will be open six days a week, with 10 branches offering Sunday hours as well. The New York Public Library has added 232 extra hours of service per week to the branch libraries, and an additional 31 hours of service for its research libraries. Nine months into the fiscal year, two million more items have already circulated, and neighborhood branches have seen almost 800,000 more visits than last year, a 5-percent increase.

The Brooklyn Public Library reports that circulation is up two percent from previous years, and by offering more consistent hours to patrons, it has achieved its highest level of service in 40 years. The Queens Library's circulation is up 8.4 percent in the last year, setting an American record, with over 2.5 million items circulated on Saturdays alone.