NYPL Pays Students $50 to Sign Up for a Library Card

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Debra Lau Whelan -- School Library Journal, 9/18/2007 2:05:00 PM

Some New York City students may soon be $50 richer. That’s because Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s new pilot program—Opportunity NYC—aims to break the cycle of poverty by offering families financial incentives for promoting education.

Opportunity NYC is the nation’s first conditional cash transfer program, says Dawn Walker, press officer in the Office of the Mayor. Starting on September 1, to coincide with the beginning of the school year, families with kids in elementary, middle, or high school can earn $50 for signing up for a library card. 

Bloomberg, along with Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Linda Gibbs officially unveiled the program in June. The pilot program also allows fourth- and seventh-grade students across the city who perform well on standardized tests to earn money. A total of 40 schools, which include 9,000 students, will participate in the program, to “test the effectiveness of small monetary incentives in reducing the educational achievement gap,” according to a statement from the mayor’s office.

“Based upon successful models of conditional cash transfer programs around the world, Opportunity NYC is a key initiative of Mayor Bloomberg’s Center for Economic Opportunity, which was established to implement his second-term agenda to reduce poverty and increase economic opportunity in New York City,” according to the statement.