NYC Mayor Orders Budget Cuts, with Major Hit to Libraries

Nearly 700 jobs would be cut, including 464 layoffs

Norman Oder -- Library Journal, 01/28/2010

• Layoffs disproportionate
• Too soon to estimate impact
• City Council often restores budget cuts

New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg has proposed sweeping budget cuts to close a $4.9 billion deficit for FY 2011 with no tax increases. Libraries and library jobs would take a disproportionate hit.

Historically, the mayor has proposed major cuts to libraries and the City Council has restored them. Last year, Bloomberg proposed a 22% budget cut for libraries, which was reduced to about 8%, with no layoffs.

Planned cuts
There would be 891 jobs to be cut citywide in the current fiscal year, and libraries would account for 255 of those overall job losses. The job cuts consist of layoffs and attrition; of  the 347 layoffs (out of the total of 891), libraries would account for 165.

In the next year, FY 2011, 4,286 jobs would be cut citywide, mostly by attrition. Of the 834 layoffs, libraries would again suffer disproportionately, with 299. There also would be 135 jobs lost through attrition. (See chart on p. 18 here.)

All told, over less than two years, the three libraries—New York Public Library, Queens Library, and Brooklyn Public Library—face 464 layoffs and 225 positions cut through attrition, for a total of 689 jobs lost.

The libraries would face a 4% budget cut in the current fiscal year, which, given that it's halfway concluded, has the impact of an 8% budget cut. For FY 2011, the budget cut would be 8%.

Biggest loser
The New York Times called libraries the "biggest loser in the mayor’s 2011 budget." By contrast, cultural institutions will lay off 186 workers and the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene will lay off 141.

Contacted by LJ, libraries said they were still analyzing the news and could not yet estimate the impact.