New York Public Library Sees Surge in Users Amid Pandemic

Nidhi Upadhyaya
4 min readMay 7, 2021

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One day in late February, a group of women gathered together online for what was officially billed as an “Adult Coloring Social Hour.” The group reflected the ethnic diversity of New York City and included the host, a librarian from the Pelham Parkway-Van Nest Library, as well as two teachers, a stay-at-home mom, among others.

Each participant had colored pencils, markers and sketch pads but they were mostly there to chit-chat and unwind. With the sound of pencils scratching against papers in the background, the six members bonded over discussions on their day-to-day life, struggles faced by schools and teachers during the pandemic, the New York City Subway, outdoor dining, marine life, art, and library events they have been attending.

The coloring group was one of the new virtual projects of the New York Public Library created to enable New Yorkers to connect during the isolation of this era of coronavirus. While others have struggled with the transition to remote operations during the pandemic, the New York Public Library system looked at the challenging circumstance as an exciting opportunity.

The library has stretched beyond its traditional role of being a place to find books to a place for educational, social and artistic programs. They have organized events for creative writing, book discussions, financial consulting, career guidance, software training, crochet, poetry, movie discussions, and more.

“The library has definitely been helpful. I hope they keep these virtual programs forever. I travel the world looking for programs,” said Jeanne, who lives upstate. “Even if it kills me, I’m going to get into the one in Ireland.”

Christina, a resident of Upper West Side, often found herself interested in multiple events happening at the same time. She said, “You end up popping in for half an hour and then jump to the next. Can you imagine being so busy at home?”

While they ramped up virtual services, they haven’t forgotten the books. Out of the 92 libraries, 50 opened for Grab and Go operations in July 2020, where cardholders can reserve a book online and collect it from the physical location.

On a Saturday in late February, several patrons visited the Morningside Heights Library to drop or pick up books. People had to wait in line to get scanned by a facial recognition temperature measuring device. Once approved, those wanting to return a book had to drop them in large bins where the books are quarantined for at least 72 hours. Members who wanted to collect theirs had to go over to the pickup shelf where books were arranged by their membership codes. The popularity of the library was evident given the number of shelves filled with books — ranging across several genres and styles.

It was sad to see the rows of bookshelves on the street-facing side of the room barricaded. A space that should have been buzzing with noises of pages turning, muffled footsteps and an occasional dropped book was silent with only three staff members occupying it.

One of the patrons entering the library, an excited little girl dressed in a burgundy puffer coat and bright pink shoes, was jumping in excitement as her dad guided her into the library. They were followed by a young mother who was dragging her sleeping child in a pram. A senior member stood in a line outside, waiting her turn.

At the same time, a young woman named Clara stepped out clutching her shy son’s hand. She said, “This is the first time that we are visiting since the pandemic. I didn’t know this service had started. We were very excited.”

Amy Geduldig, Assistant Director of Media Relations at the Library, said: “During the pandemic, we discovered that physical locations are still wanted, needed and loved by the community. People are excited for operations to resume again. Everyone has been isolated for months, and the sign that the library is opening is a harbinger for good things to come.”

Over 100,000 new users signed up last year for e-reader access, and more than a million e-books were checked out in 2020 using SimplyE, their e-reader app. That they saw a rise of about 200% in new users in the past year. For digital resources that were available prior to the pandemic, they noted an increased use in digital research books (over 500%), educational resources (over 200%), database sessions (30%), digital collections (25%), and other areas.

Librarians who were trained to work in brick-and-mortar libraries have charted out several virtual initiatives to provide services to all those with phone or video access. On a weekday, patrons have about 30–50 event options to sign up for. Last November, they created Shelf Help, a personalized book recommendation service. Geduldig shared, “It is not a shocking service, but it was well received. A grandparent wanted book suggestions for her granddaughter, an art lover wanted recommendations for art history books, and so on.”

Storytime, an initiative for children, received 70,000 views. Geduldig added, “People love our Storytime programs. Some kids got so excited when they saw their local librarians on TV.”

Robert Sherwood, library spokesman, said they created virtual programs and curated remote learning resources for students in grades K-12 to support them during the pandemic. They collaborated with Brainfuse to provide students access to one-on-one remote tutoring online. This portal has already seen over 60,000 interactions. The library also partnered with the Department of Education to place SimplyE on all 300,000 iPads being distributed to school students.

Geduldig, who has been with the library for 10 years, said, “We are a bit greedy. We always want more engagement. People are reading more now that they are stuck home.”

But the nature of these sessions will likely change once the pandemic is over. Geduldig said, “There are services that people have enjoyed and we might continue providing them. There is also a possibility that these services could be offered on-site. We will see how we can restore virtual services that can meet the needs of the patrons while keeping in mind how it will work with the staff. It’s a process of trial and error.”

Produced as part of classwork at Columbia Journalism School.

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Nidhi Upadhyaya
Nidhi Upadhyaya

Written by Nidhi Upadhyaya

A journalist with experience in print, digital content and audio stories.

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