Galante stole from children when he lined his pockets with skimmings from the Queens Library.
City Comptroller Scott Stringer’s “Audit Report on the Financial and Operating Practices of the Queens Borough Public Library” of July 7 got a lot of attention, as it should have, because it details the unethical, if not illegal, conduct of ousted President and CEO Thomas Galante and the myriad failures by the Queens Library and many of its executives. While crying poor, they were actually increasing the salaries of management-level staff. They reduced Library hours and cut employees, so that means, simply, that kids were directly impacted, deprived of books and other library benefits while unrestricted funds were used, unrestricted, unjustified, and undetected for a time, to pay for questionable expenditures like concert tickets and smoking decks. Like taking candy – or CD-ROMS – from a baby.
Over 11 million patrons checked out 15.8 million books and other materials from the Queens Library system last year. It’s one of the largest library systems in the country and is funded primarily by City tax levy funds. For a five-year fiscal period ending June 30, 2013, the Library “received between $121 and $129 million per year in revenue and support,” according to the report itself. In addition to being a trafficker in traditional educational resources, the system offers a multitude of programs ranging from free exercise classes to movie showings and instructional lectures for adults and children alike.
We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: we at The Forum are fans of the Library. Our kids go there and check out DVDs. There are gardening and game groups, and ways for seniors to come together. We can use the free Wi-Fi if ours is down. New mothers get a bit of community time with other moms. This sort of opportunity tends to have a domino effect in the raising of happy, healthy children and the next generation of parents, auditors, and librarians.
The Comptroller’s report, viewable at comptroller.nyc.gov/reports/audit, again brings to light a number of things we already knew in lesser detail because Galante was fired and is being investigated by federal authorities for them. Prior to this report, the Queens Library hadn’t been audited in over 20 years, so if the audit had not been performed, it stands to reason that many of the problems might still exist.
We, like all Borough residents, are in a sense victims of the Galante regime. But since he’s been gone, the Library has made a great many earnest strides toward remedying the damage that was done during his tenure. Before the audit was even released, the Library and its Board had already accepted its findings and had begun to implement eight of the nine recommendations made by the Comptroller. Their detailed response to the audit can be found at http://tinyurl.com/qg376qd. The one recommendation the Library has merely “taken under advisement,” rather than accepted and fulfilled or begun to fulfill, is to establish “a reasonable methodology to properly allocate costs among different funds.” These things take time, we understand. The Library has said that it intends to look at other non-profits to see how they’ve maintained similar methodologies.
Among the reforms already long-ago made or currently under way: 14 new Board members have been appointed, and the Senior Management team was completely restructured, several key players terminated. New internal and external auditors were hired to oversee the Library’s account processes. Expense and other policies have been revised and more information, including annual reports and 990s, is being shared via the Library website. In fact, by the end of this year, we can expect to be able to read board meeting minutes online.
Given its past, accountability and disclosure appear to be at the forefront of Library priorities. As members of the press, we can’t help but like transparency, and we appreciate the efforts of Bridget Quinn-Carey and other Library employees to keep our communities informed and involved. We are optimistic they won’t waste this chance for the Queens Library to truly reform itself and become the amazing public resource it was meant to be.
