Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani today announced that the Fiscal Year 2027 Executive Budget permanently baselines $31.7 million for New York City’s three public library systems: the Queens Public Library, the Brooklyn Public Library and the New York Public Library.
Category: government
Massachusetts Families Confronted with Increasing Food Insecurity
“Food insecurity is on the rise across Massachusetts, impacting roughly 1.1 million Bay State households, a rate that the Greater Boston Food Bank says is a record and has doubled since 2019.”
Protection, Not Expansion: Library Referenda 2025
Results of last year’s library elections show strong support for existing work, but also caution about new initiatives.
Homelessness Is About Affordability
New York City housing advocate Patrick Markee’s new book, Placeless: Homelessness in the New Gilded Age, looks at homelessness through the lens of housing affordability.
Bronx Library and Affordable Housing
“New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) and New York Public Library (NYPL) officials are making good on their promise to add affordable housing atop public libraries sited on city-owned land.”
SC Housing Seeks Homebuilders for Innovative Affordable Housing Program
Cost of building affordable single-family homes would be subsidized, deadline to apply is Sept. 30.
How Social Work Interns are Changing Lives at these Public Libraries
“While many homeless library patrons seek assistance, Montano said, others like 76-year-old Elizabeth Fresquez see the library as their last hope to keep their housing and find other services.”
Menomonee Falls Diverts $300k from Library to Police Budget
“Menomonee Falls residents are concerned about the future of their public library after the village board voted late last month to move $300,000 from the library’s 2026 budget to the police department.”
Educators Fear Their Homeless Students Could Become a Target for Trump Cuts
“At some point in the school year, roughly 1.4 million students are homeless. Federal law provides extra help to make sure they get an education. That law is overseen by the U.S. Education Department, which the Trump administration wants to close.”
How Will the IMLS Cuts Impact Your Library?
SLJ wants to share the stories of how the loss of funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services—including Laura Bush Foundation grants —will impact your library and community.