After a nomination period for the 2nd Annual NYC Neighborhood Library Awards was kicked off by Brian Lehrer in, 10 finalists were announced in March, and 5 winners are set to be chosen on Wednesday, May 20. The awards, according to the press release, “celebrate the crucial role of local libraries in serving New York City’s diverse communities.”

Library users across the city sent in almost 13,000 nominations, with 10 finalists left in the running to win the five NYC Neighborhood Library Awards and $20,000 each. The five winning libraries are chosen by a panel of judges: authors Maira Kalman, Jonathan Safran Foer, and Jacqueline Woodson; Susan Hildreth, former Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services; Dutton Children’s Books publisher Julie Strauss-Gabel, and Maya Wiley, Counsel to Mayor Bill de Blasio. Beyond seeing libraries as just places to pick up books, nominees were grateful to their local libraries for offering computer, exercise, English, and philosophy classes; creating an instinctual love for books; and offering a safe space after school.

The 10 finalists come from all 5 boroughs: Cambria Heights Library in Queens, Clinton Hill Library in Brooklyn, Jefferson Market Library in Manhattan, Langston Hughes Library in Queens, Mott Haven Library in the Bronx, New Lots Library in Brooklyn, Parkchester Library in the Bronx, Stapleton Library in Staten Island, Sunnyside Library in Queens, and Windsor Terrace Library in Brooklyn.

New York Magazine , noting that patrons sending in nomations “described how libraries offer free English classes to struggling immigrants, tutor kids with no one to watch them after school, and provide job training for the recently unemployed,” has videos of each library’s inspirational story here.