NYC Public Library Action Network

@nycplan.org

1742 Followers 40 Following

To amplify, strengthen, and progress the futures of New York City’s three public library systems through community-led organizing, action, and increased funding. https://nycplan.org/

A tan square with a NYC Public library Action Network at the top is filled with a graph showing comparative funding for FY26, FY26 adjusted for inflation, FY27, and FY27 if Mayor Mamdani had kept his campaign promise to fund our library systems at 0.5% of the budget. The graph shows that FY27 funding is less than the funding provided for FY26 when accounting for inflation, and significantly less than the funding our libraries would have received if Mayor Mamdani had kept his promise.
A masked New Yorker holds a sign that reads “fund our local libraries” and another sign that says “0.5% now!” Photo by Roxas Timmons with Human Flower Productions
A masked New Yorker holds a picture of a book mobile and a sign that reads “fund our libraries!” Photo by Roxas Timmons with Human Flower Productions
Two New Yorkers, one adult and one kid, hold signs that say “fund our public libraries” and “I love my library”
A tan square with a pattern of illustrated books is overlaid with bold maroon text that reads “NYC PLAN called on members of the budget negotiating team to dedicate 0.5% of the budget to public libraries”
Two New Yorkers hold signs that read “fund our local libraries” with illustrations on them of a young black girl reading and a series of library buildings. Photo by Roxas Timmons with Human Flower Productions
A picture of young kids being read to by an adult in a library is overlaid with a quote from Anastazia, a library patron. The quote reads “Under the current proposal, for every $100 of the budget, only $0.42 will go to libraries. In Eric Adam’s’ budget, libraries got $0.45 out of every $100. Mamdani, if you let him out swag you on this, you will never hear the end of it.” Underneath this quote, text reads “demand 0.5% for your library” with a link to nycplan.org/actions
Two New Yorkers are enthusiastically holding signs that read “fund our local libraries” and “0.5% now!”
A New Yorker smiles while holding a sign that reads “Fund our public libraries” in bright bold font, with a photo of a library behind the text. Photo by Roxas Timmons with Human Flower Productions
Two New Yorkers raise their fists while holding signs that say “find our public libraries” and “mayor Mamdani keep your promise”
A tan background has the NYC PLAN logo written above a large letter 11, the number of City Council members who have publicly committed to fighting to dedicate 0.5% of the city budget to our three library systems. Beneath this number are the names of the CMs who have publicly agreed to our demand. They include: Lynn Schulman Christopher Marte Lincoln Restler Shahana Hanif Alexa Avilès Chi Ossé Rita Joseph Mercedes Narcisse Julie Won Virginia Maloney Harvey Epstein
A person holds up a poster in front of their face. On the poster is a beautiful illustration of a young black girl reading while stars float around her. In the illustration, a ribbon floats above her head with the words “fund our public libraries” Phots is by Roxas Timmons with Human Flower Productions
An illustration of a book on its side with a window in the cover, emitting a bright gold light in the dark landscape
Blue background with orange and white bold text overlaid. The text reads “nyc council fund nyc public libraries at 0.5% of the city budget” In smaller font below, text reads “for more information visit nycplan.org”
A broadly smiling New Yorker holds a sign shaped like a comment bubble that reads “Fund our libraries!” with a smaller sign above it that says “read more books” with cute drawings of books on it. Photo by Roxas Timmons with Human Flower Productions
Two New Yorkers hold a bright yellow sign that reads “fund our local libraries”, with purple and red illustrations of different library branches behind the text. Photo by Roxas Timmons with Human Flower Productions.
Two masked New Yorkers are holding brightly colored signs that say “fund our local libraries” and “mayor Mamdani keep your promise, fund NYC public libraries at 0.5% of the city budget”
A picture of a bookshelf is overlaid with a quote from Melody, who is 8 years old. The quote reads “libraries should get more money because the buildings are breaking apart! At my library, we have no water fountains, one toilet, and the elevator is very slow. That is why we need mayor Mamdani and the city council to give us 0.5% of the budget for our libraries.” Underneath text reads “demand 0.5% for your library!” A website is listed underneath: nycplan.org/actions
Two adults and a young kid hold signs supporting a minimum of 0.5% of the executive budget to go to funding NYC public libraries Photo by Roxas Timmons with Human Flower Productions.
Picture of a library faded in the background with text overload reading “you will miss us when we’re gone, and if we lose libraries, we’ll never get them back”, as a quote from a Brooklyn public library employee. Underneath is text that reads “demand 0.5% for your library” with a link to NYC PLANs website : nycplan.org/actions
Three NYCers hold up signs in support of providing funding to our NYC public libraries. The signs read with different variations of “fund our local libraries!” with bold font and images of NYC libraries on them. Photo by Roxas Timmons with Human Flower Productions
NYC public library art and propaganda fair, June 13, 11am-5pm. Art, zines, activities for kids, readings, and more!
NYC PLAN statement on Mayor Mamdani’s City Budget : Mayor Mamdani released his Executive Budget for FY27. NYC PLAN is disappointed to see that it was $97 million short of his promise to fund libraries at 0.5% of the city expense budget. We will have a more detailed statement in the coming days. In the meantime, please follow NYC PLAN on social media to get plugged into our work. The fight isn't over. No more broken promises!
Picture of a table with library stickers, zines, and information about nycplan.org
Blue background, with bold text in orange and white capital letters reads “NYC council; fund nyc public libraries at 0.5% of the city budget. For more information, visit NYCPLAN.org”
Bold black letters on a white background read “Mayor Mamdani keep your promise! Fund NYC public libraries at 0.5% of the city budget. For more information visit nycplan.org”
Big block letters in orange and white are overlaid on a blue background. The text reads “NYC Council fund NYC public libraries at 0.5% of the city budget. For more information visit nycplan.org”
A light tan background with text overlaid, and at the center an illustrated image of a stack of blue books with a rose on top. The text reads “be a part of the NYC PLAN library propaganda fair, submit your art!” At the bottom is a link to the submission guidelines and more information. The link is https://bit.ly/library-propos
The image is a bold blue background with big block letters overlaid in orange and white. The text reads “nyc council, fund nyc public libraries at 0.5% of the city budget. For more information visit my plan.org”
A bright pink and orange graphic with a stylized illustration of a determined lion in the middle holding a blue triangle with yellow lettering reading “0.5% promised”. Above the lion illustration is bold text that reads “budget rally for next libraries” and underneath the lion is text that reads “March 18, city hall, 9 am”
A bold blue background with large block letters overlaid that read “NYC Council - fund nyc public libraries at 0.5% of the city budget”. In small letters at the bottom, text reads “for more information visit nycplan.org
A photo of Mayor Mamdani leaning forward like he’s listening is overlaid on a simple striped background. Large text above his head reads “keep your promise! Fund nyc public libraries at 0.5% of the city budget.” Smaller text at the top reads “NYCPLAN Public Library Action Network” At the bottom of the image is an oblong bubble with text inside that reads “visit nycplan.org for more information”
An illustration of an iconic NYC public library entrance sits on a light blue background. Text in red is overlaid that reads “March 18th, fund our public libraries, budget meeting, register to testify.” A link is included with more information to be reached at https://bit.ly/4b1ze3H Graphic created by @montimer.bsky.social
A black background with large green text that reads “2%”. Underneath, there is a quote from the New York Times that reads “[libraries and parks are] the lifeblood of many neighborhoods, crucial to public health and climate resistance. The city devotes barely 2 percent of its funds to them now.” Small text at the bottom of the image reads NYCPLAN : Public Library Action Network
A black background with bold green text reads “35,000 upvotes”. Below, a quote from the New York Times article reads “a suggestion to devote more resources to parks and libraries …. received the most up versus down votes. Supporting libraries and parks - beyond the roughly 2 percent of the city’s budget now spent on them - may seem a mild no brainer. But 35,000 up votes to increase the funding makes plain just how valuable these traditional rent poles remain to residents and others in a swiftly changing city besieged by competing budget demands”. Small text at the bottom reads NYCPLAN : Public Library Action Network
An image of books in a library with a woman reaching for a book, superimposed with text that reads “The winner? Dedicate more of the city budget to public libraries and parks, the lifeblood of many neighborhoods, crucial to public health and climate resilience. The city devotes barely 2 percent of its funds to them now.” Small text at the bottom of the image reads : NYC PLAN : Public Library Action Network
A picture of a 4 train entering a platform with the city behind it. On top of the graphic, text is superimposed that reads : “The New York Times asked readers to vote on 17 ways mayor Mamdani could improve New York.” At the bottom of the image, small font reads NYC PLAN : Public Library Action Networl
Photo of NYC Mayor Mamdani smiling, with text in bold letters superimposed that read “New Yorkers want more funding for libraries”. A small header reads “NYC PLAN : Public Library Action Network”
Tan colored square with red and brown text on top that reads “We need the NYC council to stabilize and properly fund NYC public libraries in the city budget” and then in smaller text below there is text that reads “send your council person a letter today!” With arrows pointing to a website located at “bit.ly/nyccouncil2026”
Image showing Mayor Mamdani looking frustrated, with a text overlaid that reads “NYC Public Library Action Network” at the top, and in large bold letters text that reads “Mayor Mamdani did not honor his commitment to allocate 0.5% of the city expense budget to NYC public libraries in his preliminary budget” and then in smaller font below, there is text that reads “visit NYCPLAN.ORG for more information”
A still black and white image from the Addams Family, with Wednesday Addams holding the hand of Uncle Fester. Text overlaid on the character of Wednesday reads “Wednesday phone zap”, and the text overlaid on the character of Uncle Fester reads “City Council funding libraries with at least %0.5 of the city budget”
Image of a pink telephone on a background of notepad paper, with text that reads “calls will continue until library budgets improve” and underneath, additional text saying “join us in calling our city council members every Wednesday to let them know library funding is a non-negotiable priority! Ask for 0.5% of the budget for libraries”
A illustration on a tan background that reads “have a spine, support the library budget”, above a stack of books, with words underneath that read “join us in calling our city council members every Wednesday to let them know library funding is a non-negotiable priority! Ask for .5% of the budget for libraries”
Meme showing the characters from the movie mean girls, wearing pink in a lunch room, with text that says “on Wednesdays we demand .5% of the city budget for library funding”
An image still from the movie mean girls, where both characters are wearing pink, with text that reads “On Wednesdays we demand .5% of the budget for library funding”.
The image is a hand drawn flow diagram with the title of “how can I get involved?” The diagram shows a deepening commitment and involvement with NYC PLAN as options are chosen. The first way to get involved is through being an Ally, subscribing to our newsletter or getting connected with For the People for someone outside nyc. The next option is to be a Sponsor, and provide material resources to our group such as space, money, or printed materials. Then there’s a Network Supporter, for someone who is contributing to campaigns and events when they can. Then there’s a member - someone who comes to meetings, joins a working group, and gets involved with events.
A tan image, with a stack of books in the center. Above the books is text that reads “Have a spine, support the library budget”. Below the image, there is text that reads “Join us in calling our city council members every Wednesday to let them know library funding is a non-negotiable priority!” And the last line of text reads “ask for .5% of the budget for libraries!”
An image of a phone and text on line ruled paper - the text says “calls will continue until library budgets improve! Join us in calling our city council members every Wednesday to let them know library funding is a non-negotiable priority! Ask for .5% of the budget for libraries!”
A illustrated graphic showing a stack of books, with the spine facing the viewer. The titles say “Wednesdays for libraries”, “call your city council member”, “advocate for library funding”, “we want .5% of the budget”, “now through January”, “every single Wednesday”, and “scripts available”. The background is a warm tan, the same color as PLAN NYC’s logo.
A meme based on the movie Mean Girls where one of the popular kids says “on Wednesdays we wear pink”, this image shows two characters from the movie at a lunch table with the text “on Wednesdays we demand %.5 of the city budget for library funding”
NYCPLAN is hosting a People’s Assembly in Manhattan at the NY Society for Ethical Culture, located at 2 W 64th st, on Saturday October 4th, from 12:45-4:30pm. RSVP at nycplanpeoplesassembly.eventbrite.com In this image advertising the event, people are sitting around a table taking excitedly about their vision for NYC public libraries and how we can secure more funding for libraries. There will be snacks, and Spanish translation can be provided if asked for. We’d love to see you there!