Hours after New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced yet another round of budget cuts that would affect public libraries, celebrated author Joyce Carol Oates issued a world-weary lament.
“[H]as anyone in the history of the world ever seen an announcement of budget cutbacks that did not include the word L I B R A R I E S,” she wrote last month on social media platform X.
Case in point: The recent $24 million cut prompted the end of seven-day service at the more than 200 library branches across the city. Officials have warned that further cuts could mean full weekend closures, which hasn’t been the case since the city reinstated six-day service at all libraries in 2015.
“One thing we’ve learned from the pandemic is that people are spending more time in their communities,” said Mitchell Moss, a professor of urban policy and planning at NYU. “Libraries are part of the social infrastructure of the city of New York.”
So why are libraries — those apparently universally beloved civic institutions — almost always on the chopping block when times get tough? Here’s a rundown of the factors that contribute to an unpopular but recurring City Hall decision to reduce public library funding.
The annual ‘budget dance’
Veterans of the city’s budget process know it as a drawn-out, episodic performance of threats, posturing and closed-door negotiations between the mayor and City Council.
“Every mayor says we’re not going to do the budget dance, and then every mayor does a budget dance,” said Councilmember Gale Brewer of Manhattan, who first joined the Council in 2002.
Libraries cost taxpayers under $500 million in annual city funding but make up less than half of 1% of the city’s budget.
But according to experts, libraries are often singled out for cuts because mayors know slashing library services will draw public outcry and spur a battle with the City Council — which chips in for library spending from its own discretionary pot of money.
“Mayors know that…
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