Press Release
Unprecedented $10 Million Partnership Makes Reading
a New York Priority
Mayor and City Council Respond to People's Cry for More Books by Matching
Funds from the Vincent Astor Foundation
June 6, 1997, New York City -- An unprecedented partnership benefitting
the 84 Branch Libraries of Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island was
announced by Dr. Paul LeClerc, President of The New York Public Library.
Responding to the public's demand for more books in their libraries, over
$10 million in public and private funds have been targeted specifically
for reading.
The Vincent Astor Foundation, headed by the Library's longtime benefactor
and Honorary Chairman, Brooke Astor, has committed $5 million to establish
a book endowment for the purchase of quality fiction, poetry, and anthologies.
Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani with Speaker Peter F. Vallone and the City Council
have allocated in FY 98 budget $5.3 million in matching funds for a similar
cause: $4.1 million for reading materials and $1.2 million to expand the
Connecting Libraries and Schools Project (CLASP), a program to improve
the reading ability of schoolchildren. The independent library systems
of Brooklyn and Queens will also receive additional funds from the City
this year.
"This remarkable effort on the part of New York's leaders - both
private and public - underscores the important role of neighborhood libraries
in the City's initiative to improve reading skills and strengthen the educational
infrastructure," said Dr. LeClerc." The Foundation's gift is
the largest ever received by the Branches since Andrew Carnegie stepped
forward nearly 100 years ago," Library Chairman Elizabeth Rohatyn
said. "Combined with the City funds, the grant will enable the branches
to purchase about 140,000 new books this year."
Both Mayor Giuliani and Speaker Vallone recognized the tremendous contribution
by The Vincent Astor Foundation grant, and the benefits a matching gift
would have to all of New York's neighborhoods. "Brooke Astor, one
of the New York's greatest benefactors, has addressed one of the City's
greatest needs," said Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani. "New York City
has always been a true partner with libraries in the effort to make our
school children better readers. This budget builds on that partnership
by strengthening our commitment to reading and education."
Initially funded by the City Council, CLASP is a Citywide coordinated
program that creates a community environment to support reading and learning
at school and in the home." Expanding the CLASP program is the the
perfect complement to the reading initiatives we are encouraging and supporting
in the City's Schools," said City Council Speaker Peter Vallone. "Because
of CLASP, schools, libraries and parents are working together to promote
reading and create an atmosphere of learning at home and throughout their
communities."
The Branch Libraries have experienced a record increase in attendance
numbers over the last few years. Coupled with the dramatic rise in the
cost of books, the increase has placed a considerable strain on materials'
budget, limiting The Branch Libraries' ability to meet public demand. In
the first six months of this fiscal year, attendance rose 10 percent over
the record set in the previous year. However, during that same period,
circulation increased by only 4 percent, reflecting the fact that users
are not finding all the books they need.
The Vincent Astor Foundation grant addresses an immediate need for books
in the area of quality fiction and poetry, and as an endowment, will protect
these collections from future financial constraints.
"This gift is an expression of my love of books and The New York
Public Library," Mrs. Astor said. "To have this commitment matched
by the leadership of the City I love makes this a truly great moment for
all New Yorkers."
The endowment from The Vincent Astor Foundation will allow the Branch
Libraries to purchase more than 13,000 new literary works and poetry titles
each year. Among the verse to be considered for purchase is You Don't
Miss Your Water, by Cornelius Eady and Imagine the Angels of Bread,
by Martín Espada. Examples of literary fiction titles are: House
of Mirth, by Edith Wharton; A Heart So White; by Javier Marias;
and Our History in New York, by Linsey Abrams.
The Vincent Astor Foundation and The New York Public Library
Since its founding in 1948, the Astor Foundation has contributed more
than $20 million to The New York Public Library. During the fiscal crisis
of the mid-1970, several grants from the Foundation allowed the Library
to maintain services and begin a period of recovery and expansion. Most
recently, The Vincent Astor Foundation donated $250,000 to the Science,
Industry and Business Library to create the Brooke Russell Astor Staff
Center. In December of last year, Mrs. Astor announced that The Vincent
Astor Foundation would close and that the Trustees would give away the
remaining $25 million by the end of this year.
City Funding Supports Reading
CLASP encourages greater use of local branch libraries by introducing
students, parents and teachers to opportunities that foster family education
and provides for the purchase of additional books in CLASP libraries. Through
a series of programs, workshops and class visits, CLASP establishes a new
link between school libraries and neighborhoods.
CLASP is presently in three school districts served by The New York
Public Library -- District 6 in Northern Manhattan, 8 in the Southeast
Bronx, and 9 in Staten Island -- reaching nearly 60,000 students, teachers
and parents. The City funding will expand the program to include three
new districts: District 1 in Lower Manhattan, District 5 in Central Harlem
and District 10 in the Bronx, meaning that CLASP's services will reach
an additional 77,000 new students, and involve 21 new Branch Libraries.
Norman Holman, Senior Vice President and Director of the Branch Libraries
said, "Last year, more than over 12.5 million people visited The Branch
Libraries, checked out over 11 million items, and signed up for 203,000
new library cards. These numbers will undoubtedly increase this year, making
the books we will be able to purchase with this money even more essential."
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