QUEENS PUBLIC LIBRARY MARKS 125TH
ANNIVERSARY WITH SERIES OF EVENTS
A QBPL book bus at the Cedar Manor stop in South Jamaica in 1935. Courtesy of the QPL
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | APRIL 23-APRIL 29, 2021 19
BY BILL PARRY
Queens Public Library
launched its 125th anniversary
celebrations with the release of
“Love Letter to Queens,” a curated
list of all QPL materials
set in or around the borough,
including fiction and nonfiction
books, e-books, music,
movies and e-resources.
The list, which will continue
to expand throughout the
year, will also include creators
from Queens.
The library will also roll
out “QPL Stories Project,” led
by Queens Memory, its community
archiving program,
in partnership with technology
nonprofit Urban Archive.
They have developed an interactive
map marked with every
QPL branch, and are asking
for customers to share photographs
and stores that will be
pinned to specific locations,
creating a community gallery
for each branch and documenting
the role it has played
in their lives.
Customers may also share
their QPL memories by calling
855-QNS-LOVE to record their
message.
Customers can also join the
125th anniversary celebration
by taking the “QPL Quiz,” a
fun, interactive and informative
six-question personality
test. Their answers will reveal
their QPL personality avatar
and point them to the QPL resources
that match their interests.
Additionally, QPL’s website
will feature fireworks animation,
and the library’s social
media channels will be full of
historic pictures and information.
“As we mark the 125th anniversary
of Queens Public Library,
we honor the people we
serve in the most diverse place
in the country, and uphold
our commitment to inclusion,
equity and free access to information
and opportunity for
all,” Queens Public Library
President and CEO Dennis M.
Walcott said. “We celebrate
the library’s rich past and
promising future in building
resilience and unity in our
communities, and as a force
for truth and democracy.”
Queens Public Library was
founded in 1896, with the goal
of providing free access to
knowledge, information and
lifelong learning opportunities
to all residents. Its roots
took hold in the fall of 1895 in
Long Island City, an independent
municipality at the time,
when local resident William
Nelson acquire a large number
of books, consisting of the
inventory of three circulating
subscription libraries, and
pledged to give them to and
“person or association” that
would open a free public library.
The idea galvanized two
other Long Island City residents,
Dr. Wallace G. Frey and
George E. Clay, who obtained
a charter from the New York
State Board of Regents for the
Long Island City Public Library
on March 19, 1896. The
mayor of Long Island City,
Horatio Sanford, had already
allocated $3,000 from municipal
funds for this civic enterprise.
The library opened its
first location, the Nelson
Branch, in Hunters Point on
Aug. 3, 1896.
The Steinway Free Circulating
Library became the
second branch after William
Steinway’s death in 1896, and
its third branch, Astoria,
opened in a rented storefront
on Fulton Avenue in February
1898.
On Dec. 21, 1899, the Long
Island City Public Library was
renamed the Queens Borough
Library. Elsewhere in Queens
around that time, other efforts
were underway to merge
several private libraries into
a single public institution to
further their missions.
“As this amazing borough
has grown and changed over
these many years, so have we,”
Walcott said. “Through constant
innovation and outreach,
we have worked to provide the
resources and support people
need to realize the promise of
their lives.”
Over the years, QPL and
its librarians have continued
to respond to the changing
needs of the diverse communities
they serve, offering free
classes on ESOL, citizenship
and coping skills, and building
a multilingual collection
of materials in more than 30
languages.
Today, Queens Public Library
is one of the largest
and busiest library systems
in the United States. It welcomes
nearly 11 million visitors
each year and consists of
66 locations, including branch
libraries, a Central Library,
seven adult learning centers, a
technology lab, one universal
pre-kindergarten and two teen
centers.
QPL offers free access to a
collection of more than 5 million
books and other materials
in multiple languages, technology
and digital resources, and
more than 87,500 educational,
cultural and civic programs a
year.
“We are grateful to the people
of Queens and beyond for
making us part of their lives
and inspiring us each and every
day,” Walcott said.
Under regular circumstances,
these programs and
resources are available at
branches located throughout
the borough, usually whitening
a mile of where most of the
borough’s 2.3 million residents
live. In addition to books and
other materials, QPL continues
to expand its online resources,
including e-books,
audiobooks, e-magazines, music
and movies, as well as its
research databases.
To serve and engage the
public during the COVID-19
pandemic, QPL quickly pivoted
to develop a robust slate
of virtual programming for
children, teens, adults and seniors,
including computer and
technology workshops, small
business and entrepreneurship
assistance, résumé writing
and job search help, story
times in multiple languages
and even live DJ sets.
“All year long, we will be
honoring the people of Queens,
with a variety of events and
activities,” Walcott said. “The
celebration is dedicated to
them.”
All of QPL’s systemwide
initiatives this year will incorporate
a 125th anniversary
component. For example, their
expert librarians curated a
list of 125 books by African-
American authors during
Black History Month and a list
of 125 books by women writers
for Women’s History Month.
Both lists represent different
genres, from history to fiction,
and from classics to the newest
releases.
For more information,
visit to queenslibrary.org
or QPL125.org, a microsite
dedicated to the 125th
anniversary.
Reach reporter Bill Parry
by e-mail at bparry@schneps
media.com or by phone at (718)
260–4538.
/QPL125.org
/queenslibrary.org
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