CPSC Continues Community Outreach and Education, The New York Public Library to Provide Parents and Caregivers Lifesaving Information

Consumers are bombarded with news and information every day. Important safety information may be missed by parents due to the hectic pace of the day. Now, caregivers and consumers in New York City and across the country have an easy way to keep their families safe in their homes.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) offers free safety information to the public through its Neighborhood Safety Network (NSN), an initiative designed to assist local organizations in providing lifesaving information to underserved members of their community. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, a major health insurance company, fire departments, health clinics and numerous other organizations receive critical safety information from CPSC on poison prevention, carbon monoxide safety, bicycle safety and many other topics, which they provide to tens of thousands of parents and consumers across the country.

Today, The New York Public Library (NYPL) system announced that they have signed up to become a member of the NSN, joining a network of 5,200 grassroots organizations. In addition, CPSC encourages residents of New York City to join our “Drive To One Million” campaign – an initiative aimed at signing up one million consumers to receive free e-mail alerts on topics ranging from lead in toys to fire hazards with appliances to keeping babies and children safe at home.

At a press conference today at The New York Public Library’s Bronx Library Center, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Acting Chairman Nancy Nord, U.S. Congressman José Serrano, and the Bronx Library Center Chief Librarian Michael Alvarez urged parents, caregivers, and community leaders to sign up for the NSN and for CPSC’s free e-mail alerts. Both of these services can be accessed from www.cpsc.gov

“If you have a toy, a mattress, a toaster, or a crib, we have vital information for you. We want our safety messages to reach all consumers and we need your help,” said CPSC Acting Chairman Nord.

“I urge people to sign up to get alerts about product safety issues because it can help prevent accidents that could endanger children and adults,” said Congressman Serrano, whose Subcommittee oversees the budget of the CPSC. “I applaud the CPSC for trying to get the word out – both in English and Spanish – via traditional methods and new technologies. We all agree that we must step up efforts to protect consumers, and this is a vital program toward that end.”

“For the NYPL, joining CPSC in sharing safety information is a natural relationship. Libraries are information gateways for our communities,” said Michael Alvarez, Chief Librarian, Bronx Library Center. “We encourage users of the Bronx Library Center and other libraries to use our computer terminals to access this lifesaving information.”

The Library serves some 16 million patrons who come through its doors annually and another 25 million users internationally, who access collections and services through the NYPL website, www.nypl.org

To make product safety information available to an increasingly diverse community, CPSC is offering much of its safety information in Spanish. Consumers can receive instantaneous notice of product recalls by signing up at www.cpsc.gov