Here are upcoming events and our new book on saving libraries!
Canvass Mid Manhattan Library
40St and 5th Ave
Tuesday, Oct 15, 4:30-5:30 PM Contact Carolyn McIntyre, cemac62@aol.com
Community Advisory Meeting
Brooklyn Heights Library
Thursday, October 17, 5:00 PM
280 Cadman Plaza at Tillary St
Join us outside the library at 4:40 PM Any subway to Court St Borough Hall Contact Michael White, mddwhite@aol.com, 917-885-1478, Even though most of the public is against the sell off of this well used, accessible branch, the CAC led by BPL is still pushing to sell it with no assurance the money will go to the libraries!
Letter writing and data entry Coffee
Friday Oct 18 2:00-4:00
62 Montague St, Apt 3A, buzz 103 Brooklyn Heights contact Michael or Carolyn, 718-834-6184
CDL meeting
Sunday 4:30-6:00 PM
101 Clark St Clark and Henry St
2,3 to Clark St, 4,5,R to Court St Borough Hall A, C to High St
"Friends Gala" Brooklyn Heights Library
Monday Oct 21, 6:00 PM
280 Cadman Plaza at Tillary St
meet us outside the library at 5:30 PM
Any subway to Court St Borough Hall
The Friends Group, usually a helpful group for libraries, is in this case is giving legitimacy to the BPL's efoorts to sell the Library. Come and let the attendees know that the most patriotic thing they can do is to stop the sale of the library and use the donations to benefit the libraries instead of exploiting them.
October 22 Noon to 1:00
Presentation of our petition to Mayor Bloomberg
Steps of City Hall
Contact Michael 718-834-6184, mddwhite@aol.com or Carolyn cemac62@aol.com
Sign up and get more info with this Moveon linkhttp://civic.moveon.org/event/events/event.html?event_id=140175
Thursday, October 31, 10:30 AM
Assembly Committee on Libraries has a second Hearing On New Yorks Central Library Plan (The subject will be superior alternatives to the CLP.)
Micah Kellner Chairman
250 Broadway, Room 1923, 19th Floor
Come and testify Contact Lindsey Facteau, facteaul@assembly.stste.ny.us 518-455-4881 The State Assembly’s Committee on Libraries and Education Technology will hold a public hearing in Manhattan on the Central Library Plan (CLP) and feasible alternatives to the sale of the Mid-Manhattan and Science, Industry, and Business Libraries, and the destruction of the stacks at the iconic 42nd Street Library. Contact Lindsey as soon as possible to fill out the form. You will need to supply 10 copies of your testimony. If you don't have prepared testimony on the day of the hearing, we can give you some.
Lynn Rosen has another amazing book called Mr. Rights Saves The Libraries written for children. It's about Mr. Rights saving libraries in New York! See how he does it. Here is the link for paperback and Kindle version, proceeds to help save libraries.http://www.amazon.com/Mr-Rights-across-Saving-Libraries/dp/1492936952/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1381516405&sr=1-8&keywords=Lynn+Rosen
New York Times architectural critic Micheal Kimmelman has ventured into the subject of libraries again, mentioning the financial folly of the Central Library Plan once more in what he writes. Here is a link to the Kimmelman article plus an assessment of converting libraries into disaster relief centers: Michael Kimmelman’s Scary Tightrope Act On Library Design: A Dance With The PR Machine Of Library Officials Intent On Selling Off Libraries
http://noticingnewyork.blogspot.com/2013/10/michael-kimmelmans-scary-tightrope-act.html
What is happening at Libraries? Thoughts and interviews on library use and an urge to write our electeds
Libraries are not just buildings, they are also the people that use them and the way those buildings are used. At a time when usage has been going up for years, strange things are happening. There is an attack on libraries by the current administration that seems to be aimed at driving people away in many libraries. Shorter hours, closing multiple libraries because of "broken air conditioners," reducing staff, replacing librarians with staff without MLS degrees and the latest, actually getting rid of books--or at least removing them from libraries and not telling librarians where they are going. It is all shocking and a betrayal of public trust.
Where are the books? What effect is this having? Last week, I ran into Kenyatta Hanan, a mother who has been taking her children to the Brooklyn Heights library for 11 years. She said she is very worried. Her son goes to chess club there. Her 15 year old daughter uses the books for her assignments which are complicated and require research. Her daughter used to be able to find the books she needs at the Brooklyn Heights Library but can't find them there these days. They too are noticing all the empty book shelves. What is the result? Her daughter is not coming to the library as much and she is staying home. Is that what we want to see happen?
Is this quiet removal of books just happening at libraries that are the most valuable real estate so they can drive people away and have another excuse to sell them? Other people report fewer books at branches that are not on the list of libraries known to be up for sale. Perhaps other libraries are also up for sale, but the list they want to sell is so long they can only reveal a few at a time. What reason would they have for removing books from other libraries when they know the result will be to drive down patronage?
Are we going to see what happened in Binghamton NY happen here? There they sold ALL the libraries except one! One of the ones sold went to a billionaire who collects Carniege library buildings and it is now covered in vines.
The strategy seems to be working, people we are talking to are frustrated because they can't get the books they need anymore and it's not just happening at the libraries the library strategy group wants to sell. Some are feeling hopeless and discouraged from showing up at libraries that are abruptly closed due to "heat," due to uncertain and reduced hours, and the latest, due to "private functions." Private functions? Isn't that what hotels are for? Private functions at a public space, does that make sense?
Remember we have been in an increasing long term trend of library use with attendance up 40% and circulations up 60%. I can only imagine that such increasing use and circulations could reverse with what the current leadership is doing.
The city council is entrusted to make sure the money they oversee is spent wisely. As a tax paying member of the city, I expect the city council to investigate and require proper governance when tax paid officials are not doing their job. A refusal to maintain buildings because there is another agenda should raise red flags by the city council who authorizes payment for these services.
Ask our city council and elected officials to do their jobs and require the library leadership to do their jobs instead of exploiting them for private gain. The books belong in the libraries, the spaces belong to the public and either the leadership protects and nurtures them and the services or the current leadership should surrender their positions of trust and responsibility. The most loving and patriotic thing we can do is protect our public libraries for ourselves and for people like Kenyatta; let officials and others know what is happening and ask them to stop the sell offs.
Let your thoughts and concerns be heard. A suggested partial list of elected officials follows.
It is important to ask Public Advocate Bill de Blasio (also Deomocratic candidate for Mayor) what he is doing as Public Advocate to prevent the library sales. He missed the last City Council hearing. CDL had informed him how the status of the propsed library sell-offs has not changed in any significant way and is still dire. GetHelp@pubadvocate.nyc.gov
Also, now is the time to contact state senator Daniel Squadron (and those who supported him for higher office) and ask that he honor his promise to oppose all the NYC library sales. Please inform us of whatever he or his office communicates back to you in this respect. We want to see him finally take action. Squadron@nysenate.gov
We have had internal discussions about how we should be addressing City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer about the library sales. More on this later, but in the meantime please report back on your communications with his office and whether there is any indication that Mr. Van Bramer, in charge of the City Council library committee, can be encouraged to part with the Bloomberg/Quinn sell-off of libraries.
jvanbramer@council.nyc.gov, lcomrie@council.nyc.gov, ecrowley@council.nyc.gov, lwmayes@gmail.com, ddromm@council.nyc.gov, Andy.King@council.nyc.gov, vgentile@council.nyc.gov, KellnerM@assembly.state.ny.us, montgome@nysenate.gov, millmaj@assembly.state.ny.us, ljames@council.nyc.gov, slevin@council.nyc.gov, Lander@council.nyc.gov
Hello Jimmy Van Bramer, Leroy G. Comrie, Jr., Elizabeth S. Crowley, Inez E. Dickens, Daniel Dromm, Andy King, and Domenic M. Recchia, Jr. , Councilman Vincent Gentile, Assemblyman Micah Kellner, Senator Velmanette Montgomery, Assembly woman Joan Millman, Council members Letitia James, Stephen Levin, and Brad Lander
