on WNYC.NyC. It's than a month now since New Yorker said goodbye to

Sunday service at public libraries. The decision to make cuts to the city's

libraries is one Mayor Adams admits was difficult but he says he had no choice and that it would save the city 23 million dollars

Amid the migrant situation if there's any silver lining it's that the mayor was able to spare libraries further cuts in the

preliminary budget that he announced this week for the next fiscal year which

begins in July. Now many of you know that New York City's libraries don't just lend out books or host important

archives. They help to narrow the digital divide by offering free internet access.

Access to after-school programs also vary by school so many children will get themselves to the nearest library while they wait for the parents to get back from work.

Let's not forget about language services.

But despite the vital services libraries offer,

their budgets seem to be in the crosshairs

whenever there's a downturn in the city's financial outlook.

So we'll talk about what these cuts mean for libraries

and the communities they serve at the granular and community level now

with Lauren Camido, executive director of Urban Librarians Unite, and a long-time librarian.

Lauren, thanks for coming on.

Welcome back to WNYC.

Thank you so much for having me.

By way of introduction, do you want to say a bit about your work at Urban Libraries Unite and as a librarian

in one of the city's library systems?

Yeah, so Urban Librarians Unite is sort of a worker advocacy organization for urban

urban library workers across the country. We do you know professional development we

...