New York

We arrived in New York on Tuesday afternoon after a pleasant train trip from Washington DC. It was great to be back here and the weather is cooler (but its getting hot again next week, mid 90s). Yesterday we went to Queens on the train and visited the Central Library and the Flushing Library, both huge, very, very busy libraries, facing budget cuts just like everyone else but still managing to run lots of programs. The themes that have emerged from out trip have been, early literacy programs, job hunting programs, public art and budget cuts. Libraries here do a lot more of the social support work than we do and seem to spend time finding the gaps and then filling them with programs that they fund with grant money and donations. The official Great Public Library Tour finished at lunch time today foillowing a tour of the NY public library. It has been a fantastic opportunity and I have some great pics and ideas to bring home.
Now it is time for my holiday...so I can relax a bit and take in some of the sights and sounds of New York. We spent the first day exploring the city from our hotel in East 39th Street and today have moved to our fabulous two-bedroom apartment in West 44th street (just around the corner from Times Square). Have a couple of things I really want to do on this trip, like have brunch at the Russian Tea Rooms and high tea at the Plaza as well as some shopping.