Hours after the Daily News reported that Thomas Galante, the head of the Queens Library system, made $391,000 a year and had spent $140,000 to renovate his office, Queens Borough President Melinda Katz echoed Council libraries committee chairman Jimmy van Bramer in calling for “an oversight hearing on the Queens Library and the recent disclosures about certain expenditures made by the President and CEO.”

Katz also said she would “be speaking with the trustees appointed by this office to discuss the process by which funds were allocated to the various capital projects and programs” and “review board minutes, relevant committee minutes and any other documentation provided to the board of trustees at the times budget and funding decisions affecting the library were approved.”

This post is part of an ongoing project looking at the potential for New York’s libraries to fill a critical gap in our civic infrastructure, as well as the challenges and difficult choices the library systems face. It is supported by the Charles H. Revson Foundation. Read the full project here.