New York City Council Proposes that Libraries Be Open Six Days a Week

-- Library Journal, 04/09/2007

New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn has made increased library service a cornerstone of the Council's response to Mayor Mike Bloomberg's preliminary budget, recommending that libraries be funded to be open six full days a week. "The demand for library service is at an all time high, yet New York City libraries are open fewer hours per week than libraries in other major metropolitan cities," Quinn stated. "In order to expand hours to six full days a week, the Council is proposing $43 million in increased funding for all three library systems, to be phased in over the next three years." She made the announcement at the Chatham Square branch of the New York Public Library in Lower Manhattan. Though Quinn highlighted several initiatives in the budget, which won't be finalized until the end of June, the New York Times headlined its report "Quinn Urges More Money for Libraries in Budget." Quinn, the newspaper noted, aims to portray herself "as an ally of the middle class as she prepares for a widely anticipated but as yet unannounced run for mayor in 2009."