Readers and patrons of the New York Public Library have one thing a present to be enthusiastic about this vacation season – a $50 million donation from a pair of culture-loving philanthropists.
Simply months after giving $50 million to advertise modern dance at Manhattan’s Lincoln Heart, philanthropists Lynne and Richard Pasculano introduced that they have been giving an equal quantity to endow the library’s grownup teaching programs.
Library officers mentioned the early Christmas current couldn’t have come at a greater time. The grownup teaching programs assist English-as-a-second-language programs, workforce improvement and digital tech literacy, all of which have been in excessive demand for the reason that inflow of migrants during the last a number of years.
“This extraordinary gift will open so many doors of opportunity for New Yorkers and greatly advance the library’s mission to foster lifelong learning,” mentioned NYPL President and CEO Anthony Marx.
“We are immensely grateful to our longtime donors Lynne and Richard Pasculano for their support, vision, and generosity. The New York Public Library was built on a foundation of philanthropy, and Lynne and Richard’s incredible legacy at the Library marks an important milestone in that story.”
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New York Public Library President Anthony Marx. (Getty)
One of many first locations asylum seekers typically go after getting arrange in a lodge is a public library, the place they will get an ID card — without spending a dime — and assist with numerous authorities paperwork.
In line with Marx, the library is the biggest non-municipal supplier of English language instruction. In 2025, English for Audio system of Different Languages (ESOL) attendance has already surpassed 200,000, exceeding final 12 months’s figures.
The library’s TechConnect program presents 1000’s of digital literacy programs annually that empower New Yorkers to be taught all the pieces from primary laptop abilities to app improvement.
And its profession companies division helps candidates with workforce improvement packages, together with assist for these beginning companies, resume refinement, and interview preparation.
The reward builds upon earlier donations from the Pasculano household totalling $18.5 million to assist grownup studying on the library,
In March, the Pasculano household gave $50 million to Lincoln Heart, the biggest the performing arts heart has ever obtained for program initiatives.
Lincoln Heart executives mentioned the reward would assist revive town’s dance trade after the coronavirus pandemic, which economically harm lots of the metropolis’s arts teams.
New York Public Library, which has 90 branches throughout Manhattan, Bronx and Staten Island, depends on private and non-private funding.

