Anthony W. Marx
The following statement was submitted by New York Public Library president Anthony W. Marx.
To the good people of New York:
I hope you are well and staying safe.
I know how angry and anxious we all feel about the current state of our city and nation, and the recent events that have yet again made all too clear our long-standing racial injustice, division, and hatred. So much continues to weigh on all of our minds. Together, we have real work ahead to reimagine and remake our world for the better.
The Library is ready to double down, reaffirming our mission to fight ignorance, and provide New Yorkers with the tools that they need to foster a better understanding of each other across racial and all other divides. Knowledge is power, and we will not waver in our commitment to making that knowledge broadly accessible. We will continue to offer book recommendations, programs, and increased investment in e-books to support our communities. We know that New Yorkers are turning to our collections anew to grapple with our history and how we got here: of the e-books with the highest percentage increase in holds since May 26, the top 10 and nearly all of the top 30 focus on issues of race. In addition, the Library is sharing a guide to e-resources that can help explore Black heritage, and the Library's Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture put together a Black Liberation Reading List. We know everyone is struggling with this moment, and we will work to further support you as we move forward.
We also understand the importance of convening communities in person, so people can talk, discuss, learn, grow, and—when tragically necessary—mourn. As one of the remaining free public spaces, libraries are an important part of every neighborhood, and we know how critical our locations will continue to be to our city, as we recover and heal from the current crises. To ensure we are ready for what comes next, it is important that the city’s public libraries proactively plan to cautiously return services to our physical locations, temporarily closed since mid-March to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
We and the Brooklyn and Queens library systems are targeting July to begin reopening our physical locations. There are still many uncertainties and we don’t at this point have firm dates or all the answers, but we want to keep you updated in real time and share what we know now.
Working with our partners in government and safety experts, and putting the health and safety of patrons and staff first, The New York Public Library is planning to:
Open with 8 branches to start, learning from them what best practices work.
Those branches will offer grab-and-go service to start. Patrons will be able to place holds from home and pick them up and return them at the open locations. The staff and public will be required to wear face coverings, and maintain appropriate physical distance. We will also employ special cleaning protocols to lower the risk of COVID-19.
As we evaluate developing circumstances, additional branches will be added, and when safe, we will open more branches for increased on-site use (computer use and browsing, for example).
At our research centers (where most materials cannot be checked out), we will focus on expanded and enhanced digital delivery of on-site materials until we can, in a later phase, have the public come in.
We will evaluate circumstances and cautiously begin reinstituting further services as we can ensure safety (and will also be prepared to walk back to a previous stage if that becomes necessary).
The first priority in all of our planning is the health of our staff and patrons: New York City has been at the epicenter of this pandemic, and we must not take actions that put anyone at undue risk, much as we are all eager to get to whatever the new normal looks like. In the meantime, we will continue to expand digital resources and virtual programs (as we don’t anticipate gatherings, in-person classes, or public programs to be held anytime in the near future).
As we develop more detail around this plan, we will be sure to update you. We are working hard to offer services online but we miss being with you, and look forward to seeing you in person.
Thank you, and be safe.
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