After coming to the United States in 2014, Yerfi Saldana found that his limited English skills were holding him back, both professionally and personally. Promising his son that he would do whatever it took to learn English, Yerfi called a friend, who told him, “Go to the Library.” Now, with the help of NYPL’s free ESOL classes, Yerfi feels confident in an English-speaking world — at work, at home, and throughout the vast city of New York.

Library Stories is a video series from The New York Public Library that shows what the Library means to our users, staff, donors, and communities through moving personal interviews.

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