Two New York Public Library Employees Nationally Recognized For Outstanding Contributions To Their Communities

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May 2, 2024— Two NYPL employees were recognized by Library Journal in its 2024 Movers & Shakers awards: Associate Director of Adult English Language and Literacy Steven Mahoney, who was named a Community Builder, and Director of Young Adult Programs & Services Siva Ramakrishnan, who was named a Change Agent. They are among a group of 50 library workers nationwide recognized for their achievements over the past year. 

“We're very proud of the work Steven and Siva are doing at NYPL—their efforts show the importance of libraries in our communities. No matter where you are in life, your library is here for you and has the services to help you excel. Siva’s work with teens is helping create a new generation of patrons, and Steven’s work with immigrants is opening the wonders of this city to our newest neighbors. The work they do is making our city a better place,” said Brian Bannon, Merryl and James Tisch Director Branch Libraries and Education.

Steven Mahoney
As Associate Director of Adult English Language and Literacy, Mahoney spearheads programs and classes that serve newly-arrived New Yorkers. NYPL has long been the largest non-municipal provider of free adult English classes in New York City. But the recent influx of asylum seekers to New York City meant that the Library had to not only increase its offerings, but also tailor the program to meet the unique needs of this population. The Library, under Mahoney’s leadership, conducted targeted outreach at city shelters that housed the migrant population to spread the word about the new programs. During the last term alone, his team enrolled over 4,000 students, which was a 17% increase over the previous year. For the year, the Library's ESOL program has provided over 15,000 classroom seats, which is 39% more than last year. Mahoney also collaborates with colleagues in NYPL’s Career Services and Tech Training departments to offer an ESOL Podcasting class that teaches digital literacy and employment skills in addition to language acquisition.

Siva Ramakrishnan
In recognition of the public health crisis among young people, the Library created Teens 360°, a system-wide initiative to holistically support the development and well-being of teens all over the city. These programs and initiatives are part of the Library’s Tisch Youth Education Programs. In the past year alone, the Library, under Siva Ramakrishnan’s leadership, has opened 19 new Teen Centers in library branches all over the city in neighborhoods where these resources are most needed, featuring modern spaces where they can do homework, attend programs, record music, explore creative tools such as 3D printers, digital cameras, and sewing machines, access books and digital databases, and build community with their peers. As part of the Library’s Teens 360º work, Ramakrishnan’s team also helps lead the Library’s Teen banned books campaign, “Books for All,” an anti-censorship book drive, which includes a teen book club, national author talks facilitated by NYC students, and a writing contest in collaboration with 826 National and Teen Vogue. Overall, these efforts have made NYPL popular with more teens: teens’ attendance at programs across the library system has increased by 125% in the last year.

These programs and initiatives are part of the Library’s overall commitment to our branch patrons and education programs, led by the Merryl and James Tisch Director of Branch Libraries and Education. Major support for educational programming is provided by Merryl H. and James S. Tisch.
 

About The New York Public Library
For over 125 years, The New York Public Library has been a free provider of education and information for the people of New York and beyond. With over 90 locations—including research and branch libraries—throughout the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island, the Library offers free materials, computer access, classes, exhibitions, programming and more to everyone from toddlers to scholars, and has seen record numbers of attendance and circulation in recent years. The New York Public Library receives millions of visits through its doors annually and millions more around the globe who use its resources at www.nypl.org. To offer this wide array of free programming, The New York Public Library relies on both public and private funding. Learn more about how to support the Library at nypl.org/support.