The library isn’t just for reading anymore

As more people look for work, librarians turn into job counselors

As unemployment rises, the city’s librarians are taking on a new role on the front lines of the economy — helping people search for work.

“The mission of the library has always been to help people ... what’s changed now is the form of service,” said Paul LeClerc, president of the New York Public Library.

Attendance at the library’s career classes has spiked 82 percent, with 38 percent of attendees unemployed.

In response, the NYPL yesterday opened a job center at the Science, Industry and Business Library on Madison Avenue at 34th Street that offers one-on-one job counseling, advice for aspiring entrepreneurs, thousands of employment-related books, and career databases.

The institution is also training librarians on employment searches and financial literacy.
They have also become social workers to some extent. 

“Some of the patrons who come are under enormous emotional stress,” LeClerc said, adding they may give librarians some training in how to deal with distraught out-of-work patrons.

Elliott Abney, 58, went to the library for help when he lost his job. “They gave me a foothold,” said Abney, taking a break yesterday from searching Craigslist.