One day after his re-appointment as chair of the New York City Council’s Select Committee on Libraries, Councilman Vincent Gentile received statewide recognition for his advocacy on behalf of the public institutions and was named the New York Library Association’s 2009 Outstanding Advocate of Libraries.
The Brooklyn Public Library nominated Gentile for the award, granted annually “to recognize and honor an individual who has made a far reaching, sustained contribution to the promotion and/or support of library and information services to the people of New York State or residents within a designated service area within the State,” according to the NYLA Web site.
Gentile has served as the Chair of the New York City Council’s Select Committee on Libraries since 2006. In that time, he has increased most library branches’ days of operation to six days each week as well as extended late-night hours.
Gentile also led the fight last year against decreased public funding of the City’s three public library systems — the New York Public Library, Brooklyn Public Library and Queens Library — to keep libraries open and their free and affordable services available to the public in tough economic times.
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