Queens residents enjoy a Blues band at the Langston Hughes Community Library and Cultural Center during the institution's annual Kwanzaa celebration on Saturday, Dec. 13, 2008. Due to decreases in funding, the future of such programs is uncertain. (Arvind Dilawar)
Jackson Heights and Corona residents of all ages enjoyed soul food while a blues band performed in the program hall of the Langston Hughes Community Library and Cultural Center during the institution’s annual Kwanzaa celebration on Dec. 13. Though the blues singer’s gruff voice was sorrowful and his stories heart wrenching, the real tragedy was unfolding behind the scenes in the library’s accounting office.
“We’ve already lost, just from funding that was scheduled to be here, $13,000 that would have gone into this celebration and another $15,000 that would have gone into acquiring audiovisual equipment to install into the lower level program room,” said Andrew P. Jackson, the library’s executive director, during an interview at his office. “So that’s $28,000, and it hasn’t even gotten serious yet. What happens after January is a big question mark.”
The Langston Hughes Community Library and Cultural Center, a branch of the Queens Library system, receives 60 percent of its funding from New York State. As the United States’ current recession translates into lower tax revenues for the state, many public services, such as libraries, are in jeopardy of, if not already victims to, drastic budget cuts.
“When it trickles down, it trickles down from all levels, and it trickles down on what we can do at the library,” said Jackson. “It can impact library hours, could impact monies for the collections, programs–definitely on programs.”
Besides housing Queens County’s largest collection of print and non-print material on the black experience, the Center doubles as an arts institution, hosting a variety of workshops, film festivals, music programs, art exhibitions, and cultural celebrations. It also serves as a bastion of free resources, which may become more necessary during an economic slump.
“You have people who are out of work looking for jobs that need access to the internet,” said Jackson. “Those that don’t have computers at home; they need access to the internet. Those that need access to printing services to write resumes, write cover letters.”
“During the depression they opened libraries seven days a week because people needed the libraries. So why are we talking about closing libraries, cutting back on library hours when you have same situation? You talk about people losing their jobs, hundreds of thousands of people–they have to go somewhere. And the library is one of those places that they have historically gone to.”
Jackson attributed the vulnerability of library funding to politicians’ disregard for the role libraries play in supporting communities. Yet, he seemed to have internalized this dilemma, recognizing it as part of the struggle in running a community library.
“This is a quote that we talk about when it comes to libraries,” he said, removing a bookmark from his desk drawer. It was a broad, white and gray piece of stiff paper printed with the words:
“Libraries will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no libraries.”