New York Public Library Workers Speak Up About Mounting COVID-19 Fears

On March 14, 2020, the New York Public Library (NYPL) closed all of its locations due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. This decision was the subject of many debates across library systems in the United States. As the library moved from virtual mode to modified, phased services that would culminate in the eventual reopening, NYPL was held up as an example of a library system that stayed “ahead of the curve,” continuing to provide services to patrons in need while simultaneously prioritizing the welfare of its staff. As pre-pandemic library services are restored, the public will hear messages from the library administration about how everyone was “kept safe” and that library staff are looking forward to going back to business as usual. We, a group of NYPL workers from across the system, are here to say that this is a profound lie.

The last year and a half have been a nightmare for NYPL workers. We’ve been subject to the whims of an apathetic administration, and our experiences were hidden from the public in an attempt to present a veneer of normalcy. All of this was done during a pandemic that continues to have a devastating effect on the various communities throughout the city. The mismanagement of the library’s operations, the refusal of upper management to allow staff the chance to communicate their concerns to them directly, and the continual gaslighting of staff who speak out against NYPL’s policies continues, even in light of rising COVID-19 cases due to the Delta variant. An account of our struggles is as follows:

• From the beginning of the pandemic, NYPL management’s priority was never to consider staff’s input, or to find a new model of delivering services, but to open the buildings as quickly as possible. As COVID-19 cases spiked across the city from September 2020 to January of 2021, upper management continued to open even more branches for modified service. This rush to open the physical spaces was done without regard for the pandemic’s effects or the severe understaffing problems that have plagued the system for years. During the two-and-a-half months that library staff were home, we never stopped working, as evidenced by the high volume of effective virtual programs and outreach that we conducted. Our colleagues who are maintenance and custodial staff were never given the option to work from home, and were made to report to the buildings every day during the closure last year, a decision that we also spoke out against.
• Staff were told via communications from upper management that the physical distance between us and our building spaces constituted a “crisis” for those who needed library services the most, and that coming into the buildings in spite of the pandemic was necessary because “our patrons need us,” a common refrain from library systems across the country. We understand that public libraries have long been a stopgap for social services where social safety nets have failed and/or disappeared, but this model has never been tenable, and upper management refused to answer why they continue to place this burden on our shoulders, particularly during a global health crisis.
• NYPL management continues to tout bringing increasing numbers of patrons into the library as “beneficial,” despite the health and safety risks large gatherings pose to both them and library workers. For three months, human resources and upper management refused to release the results of a March 2021 survey querying staff about their work-from-home or hybrid preferences. Despite 90% of staff stating that they wanted the Library to adopt a hybrid model of services, citing effectiveness and safety concerns, and 93% of staff stating that their outreach efforts increased while working from home, HR and upper management were extremely dismissive and disrespectful in refusing our requests. We were told that the evidence “did not fit the Library’s current model of service,” coupled with the suggestion that we were unwilling to “face reality.”
• Workers’ basic rights have been denied in an effort to facilitate full branch reopenings. Parental staff were denied the option to continue working from home, even as their children were learning remotely. They were berated for not keeping up with arbitrary work quotas while trying to care for their families. Staff who have not seen family members for over a year, as well as those who are suffering from familial loss and other emotional anguish, were and are being denied leave requests in order to cover for aforementioned staff shortages. Library pages and other part-time staff were furloughed in July of 2020, due to “budgetary concerns.” Some of them passed away; others, we have not been able to keep in contact with. Due to limits on sick leave available, and with no designated time set aside for recovering from the effects of the vaccine, staff have been forced to come to work sick because they have no other choice.
• Management have ignored or dismissed staff concerns about physical safety during the pandemic. The branches have operated in a patchwork model when it comes to PPE distribution, with some locations receiving little to no equipment, forcing staff to provide their own. Library buildings continue to have problems with improper heating and air-conditioning, crumbling infrastructure and water damage, and vermin. Despite staff insisting that the locations are not fit for patron usage, staff were told to operate on a “work as you go” model, placing a proverbial Band-Aid on these issues while dealing with an increased workload. NYPL management has also brushed aside concerns of staff regarding the safety of commuting to and from work with the reports of subway attacks, as well as the fear of potential violence faced by AAPI staff and communities.
• Our union, whose role is to serve as the voice of the workers, has unfortunately been complicit in management’s push to disregard the problems in staff working conditions. We were told by the union in October 2020 that NYPL could not keep “paying us to stay at home” (an asinine statement considering the aforementioned virtual work) and that we were “giving in to hysteria” when citing the spikes in COVID-19 cases. Like NYPL management, our union has conflated the 70% statewide vaccination rate with the much lower 53% one in the NYC area as an attempt to show staff that there are no issues in returning to the buildings. They also ignore the stark contrast between the lower vaccination rates in some boroughs and neighborhoods throughout the city, which hover in some places at around 30%.
• Most disturbingly, NYPL failed in what it outwardly claimed to be its highest priority; keeping everyone safe from the effects of the coronavirus. From July 2020 (when staff returned to the branches for the first round of phased reopening services) to the present, there have been over 130 (reported) positive COVID-19 cases throughout the system’s 92 branches. These numbers were withheld from patrons even as they visited affected locations to get their materials; branches instead closed suddenly without any explanation to the public. To make matters worse, library staff themselves were not told about positive cases until two or three days later; as expected, some became sick. Although upper management outlined a plan in which libraries would close for “deep cleaning” and isolation if positive cases were found, this protocol was rarely followed. Branches immediately reopened for service after shutting down for a day (if that,) while workers were called from different locations to keep as many buildings open as possible. Throughout this time, messages from human resources spoke of “minimal” staff transmission, extolling their confidence in their own contact tracing efforts while telling workers that they were still expected to work onsite at their prescribed times.

At best, a term that we use very loosely, our concerns about safety and pacing of the reopening process have been met with tepid platitudes and hollow attempts at understanding. At worst, we’ve been bombarded with accusations of laziness and stubbornness. And at their very worst, we’ve been met with barely concealed vitriol from upper management and our executive board, as well as a lack of compassion for our increasingly unsustainable workload. Management has told staff both overtly and covertly that our unwillingness to work under certain conditions translates into disregard for the public, and implied that we are ungrateful considering the way that we’ve “taken care of each other” (another lie) through this difficult time.

The libraries have fully reopened now. All available staff are back in them, as all of the scant accommodations that were granted have ended, without exception. Upper management has hastily added a plethora of open positions to the company website to give off the impression of active recruitment. Already, staff are experiencing the same issues that characterized our pre-pandemic work environment, compounded by pandemic-related problems, including resistance from library patrons about wearing masks. Library workers are already targets for abuse; we are afraid that these problems will escalate with potentially tragic results. A number of our colleagues have either left or are planning to leave the organization, and we anticipate that more will follow. We are severely overworked, and morale is low.

Library staff have always given as much as we can to help others, even at our own physical and emotional expense. But libraries cease to exist without the people who work inside of them. We are not disposable, and our welfare is not a negotiable item that can be played with at will. Unfortunately, the New York Public Library has shown throughout this pandemic that it believes our safety is a non-issue. We hope that others will take note and see the truth.

Signed,

Concerned Staff of the New York Public Library