A number of planned budget cuts might cause the New York Public Libraries to lay off employees, eliminate some branches, and reduce wages and compensation across the board.
New York City Public Libraries could be forced to retrench employees, close some branches and slash wages and salaries amid proposed multi-million-dollar budget cuts.
Mayor Eric Adams and his administration proposed budget cuts that could amount to many millions of dollars as part of a way to reduce the city's expenditure, a report a shown.
The so-called Program to Eliminate the Gap proposed by the administrationcould result in cuts to public libraries' budgets totaling $13.6 million for the current fiscal year, $20.5 million for each of the next three fiscal years, and $40.5 million for the fiscal year after that.
As a result of these projections, the public libraries in the city may be forced to reduce hours of operation, branches, and programming, among other services that are foundational to communities across the city.
Linda Johnson, president of the Brooklyn Public Library, stated that the institution would be compelled to reduce wages and salaries, which, in turn, would reduce the number of operating hours.
The heads of the city's libraries believe that their institutions provide essential services to 200 different areas across the city, especially underserved regions.
These services range from providing free books, Wi-Fi, computer access, online material, and educational activities, among other things, as such, it is imperative to keep all operational.
A few officials from different libraries have stated that they are still calculating how exactly the proposed budget cuts would affect their services.
However, suppose the Council decides to approve the budget proposals. In that case, public libraries may be forced to determine whether or not they should reduce the number of hours they are open or just lay off employees.
Comments / 0