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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Vipassana Vijayarangan, Member of New York City Public Library Action Network
5:17:03
ยท
3 min
Vipassana Vijayarangan, a member of the New York City Public Library Action Network, passionately advocated for increased and stable funding for public libraries in New York City. She shared personal experiences highlighting the vital role of libraries in supporting immigrants, providing essential services, and preserving democracy.
- Emphasized the need for a baseline funding of 0.5% of the city's annual budget for libraries
- Described libraries as "medicine to the assault of democracy at the federal level"
- Highlighted programs like Books Unbanned that counter book bans in other parts of the country
Vipassana Vijayarangan
5:17:03
Thank you, madam chair, and esteemed members of the committee for your support of public libraries.
5:17:11
I'm Vipassana Vijayarangan.
5:17:14
I'm with the New York City Public Library Action Network, and I would not be here with a broken arm if I didn't really, really care about public libraries.
5:17:24
I believe they're vital, especially in these times.
5:17:28
I appreciated hearing folks both on the committee and off the committee talk about recognize that public libraries are democratic institutions.
5:17:36
I would go one step further to say at this point they are the largest and most democratic government institution in this country.
5:17:46
Over the last year, I, an immigrant South Asian New Yorker, used my local Brooklyn Public Library branch to print documents to apply for the extension of my permanent resident card, ate lunch from a cafe that trains and is run by refugees, used it as a workspace, attended a fair on addiction and recovery that helped me support my friends dealing with addiction and recovery.
5:18:10
And when I was unemployed, I sought guidance from the career center, not to mention the innumerable number of books that I have put on hold and borrowed, including several books that are from my country of origin but are so expensive that I would have to spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars if I was living there.
5:18:32
Being able to rely on public libraries makes New York City affordable for me.
5:18:38
Dennis Walcott from Queens Public Library spoke about new arrivals going to the public library for help.
5:18:45
New York was very friendly to me so I didn't need that but when I had to move to DC for the first time, I didn't know anyone there.
5:18:52
It was a pretty hostile federal government situation and I was lonely and my first friend was a librarian.
5:19:02
He probably heard me crying in the stacks and was like I'm gonna check what's up and he was the last person I said goodbye to when I left.
5:19:11
The repeated cycle of libraries fearing cuts, advocating for more funds to meet the needs of New Yorkers, then magically stretching those funds to do the best they can is a prequel to the playbook of fear that we see in the federal government.
5:19:29
As several folks have said, the libraries need a baseline.
5:19:32
New York City Public Library Action Network is calling the administration to commit to point 5% of the city's annual budget.
5:19:41
I like to think about this as a commitment to democracy every year.
5:19:45
Every year you're committing at least at least point 5% to democracy.
5:19:50
Libraries are a medicine to the assault of democracy at the federal level.
5:19:55
The Books Unbanned program provides books by queer and trans authors to queer and trans teens across the country.
5:20:04
Funding healthcare benefits to library workers counters the harm of decimating Medicare and Medicaid, and libraries need way more than these asks.
5:20:13
It shouldn't be up to librarians to soothe every teary patron who comes in.
5:20:19
Thank you for your time.