Library Workers Say They Are Overworked and Understaffed Amid Migrant Crisis
A week before the fall-semester Adult Learning classes started at libraries across the city, Sabbin Akter had to beg her management to limit new signups. “I told them, ‘No, please close my classes,’” she said. Her sections were already over capacity during orientation alone.
As the lead English instructor at the Long Island City branch of the Queens Public Library (QPL) for the past five years, Akter had grown used to helping a few dozen adult learners every few months. But now she finds herself scrambling for time and space. Her basic English classes used to have 20 students on average, but now her branch, which is near several asylum-seeker shelters in the area, has to squeeze up to 45 students in one classroom.
For decades, libraries have offered services that immigrant families relied upon, like homework help, free WiFi, and tutorials on how to navigate public transportation. More than anything, the 217 local library branches also serve as a safe space for new arrivals. “I see how some people just landed here three days ago and the first destination they go to is the library,” Akter said. “They feel lost in a new country.”
Despite that, libraries have not received the same recognition or support as other social services since large numbers of migrants started arriving in the city in the spring of 2022.
Venezuelans currently make up 40 percent of the city’s recent arrivals, according to City Hall data that was shared with City and State. Ecuador and Colombia are other most common countries of origin at 18 percent and 13 percent respectively. Library leaders say this is representative of the demographics of their recent guests, as well as migrants hailing from Haiti, West Africa, Ukraine and Russia
This past summer, libraries narrowly avoided a $36 million cut from the city’s budget allocation, after several hearings and pleas to Mayor Eric Adams. Every year is a struggle to maintain the budget that they have. Public libraries in New York receive some private donations but get most of their funding from the city. That is especially true for the Queens system, which is heavily reliant on the municipal budget.
Before the final budget was announced, a spokesperson for the mayor told library leaders that due to the migrant crisis, granting further resources to them would be an example of “irresponsible spending” that puts New Yorkers at risk. But that assertion, library leaders say, ignores the role they play in supporting the migrant community across the city, with 113,000 people new arrivals in the past year.
Brooklyn Public Library’s President Linda Johnson has also pointed to the increased demand for library services from migrants, stating that her system issued 143,000 library cards in the last year alone.
For almost a decade, the city has set up stands outside libraries to sign up New Yorkers for IDNYC, a free government identification card available to all, regardless of immigration status. It is a first step before getting a library card, which many apply for immediately after.
Gary Beharry, assistant director of the Adult Learner Program at the branch in Jamaica, remembers how up to 20 people would line up outside every day. That has grown to up to 200 people every morning since last year. “Everything just happened so fast,” he explained. Beharry helps adults earn their GED, an alternative certification to the U.S. high school diploma, so they can get better jobs. But he’s never dealt with demand like this in his 14 years working at the library. “We have not been able to catch up.”
At the moment, staffing is the biggest concern. “We don’t have an Adult Learning Center in every library, so there are some areas that really need more classes, but we just don’t have the space to do it, nor the staff,” Beharry said.
In some locations, like Jackson Heights and Elmhurst, there are over 1,500 people that QPL can’t help yet because classes are full for the next few weeks. At the Flushing branch, the staff had to set up a lottery for their classes when more migrants started coming last year. “Every three months we’d have 500 people come in in three days, and I could only pick 75 to 100,” Beharry said.
According to Steven Mahoney, associate director of Adult English Language and Literacy at New York Public Library, English classes have quickly become their most popular program. His library is piloting a similar lottery registration process as Queens to ensure more equitable access.
Some library educators feel overworked because, as Akter explains, a lot of migrants who come in for help are distressed about the uncertainty of their situation, and desperate for help, often mistaking teachers like Akter for social workers. “Sometimes [my students] ask me for other services, even though that’s not my job. I take extra steps. I go beyond my job responsibilities to show them where to go,” Akter said.
And some older students just want a place to socialize.
“They’re being placed in these shelters and they watch the news. Some of it’s positive, some is not positive. I think coming to the library, they feel safe. Being able to be themselves and say what they want to say in this environment is what’s helpful to them,” he explained. “And knowing that they can get the help they need without being afraid to ask for it, or being afraid for us to say no.”
With recent warnings from Mayor Adams that city agencies may have to cut their budgets due to the high cost of services for recent arrivals, library workers reaffirm that what they do is worth supporting. “We are serving migrants who have tears in their eyes when they get help,” Akter said. “So I feel our work is important.”
