“The Center for an Urban Future is proud to report that our research helped lay the groundwork for an enormous win for the libraries and the millions of New Yorkers who use them. Late last month, Mayor de Blasio and City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito agreed on a city budget for fiscal year 2016 that increases funding for libraries by $39 million and ensures six-day service in all 210 branch libraries across the city. Combined with an additional $300 million for libraries that was included in the city’s 10-year capital plan, this year marked “the largest ever combined increase in operating and capital funding for public libraries”. There is still more that needs to be done by city policymakers and the libraries themselves to harness these critical community resources. Our reports—Re-Envisioning New York’s Branch Libraries and Branches of Opportunity – offer a number of ideas for doing so. But the significant increase in operating and capital funding for city libraries is a huge step forward…”