Being expert in the Dewey Decimal System really pays off.
Some of the richest pensions in the state are doled out to the loyal ex-librarians of the New York Public Library.
The seventh and ninth most generous pensions in New York, higher than every single state law-enforcement officer, belong to recently retired city librarians.
Indeed, for librarians willing to put in the time, the rewards are great – only retired doctors and attorneys have higher pensions from the state, which administers city library pensions.
After she retired as senior vice president for human resources from the NYPL in April 2008, Priscilla Southon earned the distinction of having the seventh highest pension in the state.
Her pension comes to $188,846 a year.
Reached outside her East 69th Street home, Southon, 68, declined to comment.
An NYPL spokesman said she worked at the library for 40 years.
Just behind Southon at No. 9 for the state’s richest pension is Mary Conwell.
Conwell, 65, retired from the NYPL in August 2004 as director of branches. She now enjoys her $184,498 pension from her Central Park West apartment.
Conwell did not return a call seeking comment.
The NYPL, a public-private partnership with 89 branches in Manhattan, The Bronx and Staten Island, receives the vast majority of its funding from the city, as do the separate Brooklyn Public Library and Queens Public Library systems.
Last year, the city contributed $320 million to give New York arguably the best public library system in the world. This year, drastic cuts that would have significantly reduced operating hours were just barely avoided.
Still, the city’s contributions to keep the branches open don’t include another $17 million to support the pension funds of New York’s three library systems, including $6.6 million for the NYPL, budget records show.
Although Southon and Conwell may be extreme cases, budget watchdogs suggest that the city should consider reducing its contributions to library and other cultural pension funds.
There are 1,128 individuals receiving library pensions worth a total of $21.6 million a year, records show.
“If these organizations determine that pensions for their employees are required, they should raise the necessary funds through donations,” the Independent Budget Office wrote on Feb. 11.