Posts by Beth Hays

Leironica Hawkins discovered the Grand Central Library by chance last year when she was living in a homeless shelter.

Now the neighborhood library has helped her rediscover herself and her voice by providing her with refuge, inspiration, and free computer access.

During the 36 years that sisters Frances and Terry Ziccardi have been visitingin the Bronx, they have checked out more than 5,000 items.

For more than two decades, Haw King Cheng has wanted to learn English so that he could get ahead in his new country.

Growing up, Leticia Cruz never thought she was smart enough for school and dropped out in the 10th grade.

Thanks to The New York Public Library, the 18-year-old from the Bronx discovered that she liked reading, and is now working on getting her GED so she can go to college to become a physical therapist.

For Bronx teen Jacques Jones, the Clason’s Point Library has long been a safe haven that has kept him off the street.

Now the branch and its staff have helped him finish his high school education. The 18-year-old from the Soundview section of the borough is proud to be getting his diploma this spring thanks to NYPL’s Wanda Luzon, who runs the Teen Zone at Clason’s Point. 

After everything he has been through, Tommy Foday wasn’t going to let a snowstorm keep him from finally learning to read and write.

Nearly 10 years ago, Foday, a torture survivor and refugee from Sierra Leone, was set to have his first adult literacy class at the St. George Library Center on Staten Island on the day of a major snowfall. Though the Library was nearly empty and all the other students stayed home, Foday still made it in — and has remained a dedicated student ever since.

Some people take the Library for granted. Not Festus Udeugwu, a Nigerian immigrant from the Bronx.

Isabella Rosario, a 6-year-old from Staten Island, went to the St. George Library Center nearly every day last summer.

It more than paid off.

Isabella read almost 250 books in three months — making her among the city’s top readers in last year’s Summer Reading program, which encourages kids to keep reading during their vacation.

William Logan, a retired truck driver from Harlem, didn’t have much of a chance to go to the Library as a boy growing up.

But now that he’s retired, he’s making up for lost time.

“I try to come to the Library every day,” said Logan, 68, who lives alone and comes to Harlem Library nearly every afternoon for inspiration, relaxation, and companionship. “Reading keeps your mind sharp.”

Anthony Suarez has always had a calling to help others.
 
So a few years ago, when he found himself out of work and in a shelter because he had no way to pay rent, it wasn’t easy for Suarez to admit he needed help himself.

Lucy Liu, who emigrated from China to New York City nine years ago, is proud that her two young children speak perfect English.
 
Now she wants to learn too.

Pedro Munoz, a junior-high dropout and recovering addict, had never set foot in a Library until two years ago.

Now, Tompkins Square Library is his favorite spot in the city — the place that gave him the strength to turn his life around.

When Rose Covington moved to Harlem from Brazil in 2005, she felt lost and alone because she couldn’t speak or understand any English.

But now, after nearly one year of free English classes in one of The New York Public Library’s English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) programs, she has found her voice and confidence again.

Myriam de Arteni has been painstakingly repairing the library’s vast collections for more than three decades. But for de Arteni, conserving works in the “Three Faiths” exhibit--which include some of the library’s oldest and most precious documents--has been one of her most ambitious projects yet.