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Vision for expanding library services and the need for baseline funding
1:24:00
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81 sec
Dennis Walcott shares his vision for expanding library services and emphasizes the critical need for baseline funding to support this expansion and meet growing public demand.
- Walcott expresses a dream to significantly expand library services
- He notes increasing public demand for expanded services
- Despite constant funding, library usage metrics are increasing across all branches
- Walcott imagines the potential impact of expanded Sunday service and increased hours
- He stresses the need for baseline funding and a constant stream of reliable funding
- Walcott argues that the uncertainty of funding threatens the quality of library services
- He asserts that New York City, as the greatest city, deserves the greatest library system
Dennis Walcott
1:24:00
Same with us.
1:24:01
We will be identifying the sites and then obviously share it with the speaker and the chair and the members of the council as far as once we identify those sites.
1:24:11
But, you know, I have a dream.
1:24:12
Mean, my dream is to really expand our services in a variety of ways.
1:24:17
I mean, the public is demanding that and they want it and they need it.
1:24:21
And even with our services staying basically constant right now and the threat last year, the peg and the restoration, as we reflected in our testimony was showing all of our metrics going up at all the individual libraries.
1:24:33
The metrics are going up and that's basically staying the same.
1:24:37
Can you imagine?
1:24:39
Can you imagine the numbers we would have and the public numbers that would be served with that expansion of Sunday service, but also expansion of hours, expansion in the way we do things.
1:24:50
That requires the money to be baseline and for us to have a constant stream of dollars that we can rely on.
1:24:56
There's it's never a way to do business with the constant thought of threat of dollar reduction and having to plan with not knowing how much you're gonna have for the next fiscal year.
1:25:08
The public shouldn't have that from our libraries.
1:25:10
We shouldn't have The city of New York should not have that.
1:25:13
We're the greatest city in the world.
1:25:16
We're the greatest library system and that investment will allow us to even be greater in what we do.