The New York Public Library and Online Tutoring Service Brainfuse To Provide Free 24-7 Virtual Job Resources to Support Library Users

Media Contact: Bobby Sherwood/robertsherwood@nypl.org

FEBRUARY 9, 2022—The New York Public Library is partnering with online tutoring service Brainfuse to offer all New York area job seekers access to Brainfuse JobNow; a free, online career development tool providing job search support, resume building, career coaching, interview preparation, and more.

The new resource — available today at  nypl.org/careerservices— offers virtual job search assistance, including one-on-one job, interview and resume coaching via live chat from 2 PM to 11 PM, in both English and Spanish. In addition it offers professional resume critique and proven interview techniques, up-to-date nation-wide and local job search engines, and other career tools. The service is free and available 24 hours a day with a New York Public Library card, which can be obtained via the Library's e-reading app SimplyE  or in-person at a local neighborhood library.

“The pandemic has New Yorkers rethinking their priorities when it comes to employment, and the Library wants to help, by providing the tools they need to successfully explore new opportunities,” said Dr. Brandy McNeil, the Library’s Director of Adult Services. “With Brainfuse JobNow, patrons can remotely and immediately access last-minute interview prep, get assistance generating a resume at the drop of a dime, or discuss which of their skills are transferable and can be used for a career shift. This new offering builds on the suite of services the Library offers to support lifelong learning, workforce development, and new opportunities, and we’re pleased to bring it to New Yorkers.”

The partnership with Brainfuse builds on the success of the Library’s previous collaboration with the service in March 2020 to provide New York City students with online tutoring support at the start of the pandemic. Thousands have taken advantage of the free educational support during this time of remote learning. 

The efforts to further support lifelong learning and workforce development is part of the institution’s overall, robust investment in lifelong learning and education, made possible in large part by a significant, $20 million gift from Library Trustee James Tisch and his wife Dr. Merryl Tisch in 2017. That investment was meant to build on, expand, and strengthen the Library’s robust work in the areas of early literacy, summer learning, adult literacy, digital equity, and technology training by developing innovative, cohesive programs coordinated across the Library’s network of branches and research libraries ​to educate learners of all ages. It also established the Merryl H. and James S. Tisch Director of The New York Public Library to lead these efforts.

Brainfuse JobNow is just one of a number of tools available at the Library that support lifelong learning and adult education, joining vital programs such as TechConnect, which provides free technology and digital workshops, and ESOL classes. The Library’s Career Services department, which will resume offering workshops and events next month, has a range of professional development resources to help job seekers, including:

• LinkedIn Learning provides video training tutorials and access to 16,000 courses in various skills, including Microsoft, Adobe, HTML, resumes, salary negotiation, interviewing skills, business writing, and many more.  LinkedIn Learning includes courses in English, French, German, Japanese, Spanish, Mandarin, and Portuguese.
• Career Services LibGuide is designed to assist job seekers through career planning with helpful links to online resources. This is a one-stop guide that provides resources to help with job searching, resume building, interview skills, and more.
• Learning Express provides online tutorials, practice tests, and e-books to help patrons of all ages in job search and workplace skills improvement; building skills in reading, writing, math, and basic science; career certification; licensure exam prep; college and grad school entrance test prep; G.E. D® test prep; and more.
• The Chronicle of Higher Education is a top destination for news, advice, and jobs for people in academia.
• Gale Virtual Reference Library is an online library of reference titles for multidisciplinary research, including texts relating to American and world history, biography, health, the arts, business, travel, religion, and multicultural studies.

For the latest information on service offerings, patrons should sign up for NYPL Connect, a new, special newsletter focused on digital resources. They can visit nypl.org for more information.

About The New York Public Library
For over 125 years, The New York Public Library has been a free provider of education and information for the people of New York and beyond. With 92 locations—including research and branch libraries—throughout the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island, the Library offers free materials, computer access, classes, exhibitions, programming and more to everyone from toddlers to scholars, and has seen record numbers of attendance and circulation in recent years. The New York Public Library receives approximately 16 million visits through its doors annually and millions more around the globe who use its resources at www.nypl.org. To offer this wide array of free programming, The New York Public Library relies on both public and private funding. Learn more about how to support the Library at nypl.org/support.