8 THE QUEENS COURIER • JUNE 17, 2021 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Queens Public Library marks 125th
anniversary with time capsule burial
BY GABRIELE HOLTERMANN
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
In celebration of the 125th anniversary
of the Queens Public Library (QPL),
Queens Borough President Donovan
Richards and Councilman Jimmy Van
Bramer joined QPL President and CEO
Dennis M. Walcott, staff and P.S. 171 students
for the burial of a time capsule at the
Astoria branch on June 7.
Th e time capsule, which will be
unearthed and opened in 2046, contains a
laminated letter from Dennis M. Walcott
along with handwritten messages from
Richards and Van Bramer, letters from P.S.
171 students, a QPL mask as a reminder
of the COVID-19 pandemic, a QPL lapel
pin, a historic photo of the Astoria library
signed by its staff , blueprints of the construction
project and a laminated invitation
to the 125th anniversary gala.
It also contains a USB fl ash drive with
a welcome message from QPL President
Walcott and videos about the library’s history,
as well as events and programs the
library posted during the pandemic.
Walcott gave a quick history lesson
at the event. He pointed out that the
current Astoria library building, located
at 14-01 Astoria Blvd., was built in
1904 and was one of the four remaining
Carnegie libraries funded by philanthropist
Andrew Carnegie.
Th e lifelong Queens resident said he
took great pride in the Queens Public
Library system and was excited to celebrate
the 125th anniversary with a time
capsule burial.
“It’s really just commemorating the history
of the library and also planning for the
future of the library. But most importantly,
it’s for the people who will open up the
time capsule in the future,” Walcott said.
Richards — who paused to quickly do
the math and realized that he would be 63
years old in 2046 — thanked QPL for helping
Queens residents overcome the isolation
many experienced during the COVID-19
pandemic with virtual programs and books.
“Books and libraries certainly helped
our students escape, kept them up to
date with school and, more importantly,
made us feel less alone,” said Richards,
before addressing the students from P.S.
171, who he said were tasked with a great
responsibility.
“You will be able to send a message
that you persevered aft er a once-in-alifetime
pandemic and that we did not
just go back to normal, but to a new
normal,” Richards said. “A new normal
where we have learned to respect each
other in messages told in books from the
beginning of time.”
Van Bramer, who serves as the chair
of the City Council’s Cultural Aff airs,
Libraries, and International Intergroup
Relations Committee, admitted that he
gets emotional at events like the time
capsule.
The council
member,
who served
as the Chief
E x t e r n a l
A f f a i r s
Offi cer of the QPL from 1999 to 2009,
gave a shout-out to the entire staff , especially
the custodial staff “who sweep and
clean and mop and take out the garbage,
because I was raised by a janitor, and I
know how important all workers are.”
Van Bramer, who is also running for
Queens borough president in the June
primaries, recalled when he received his
fi rst library card at the Broadway branch,
making him feel like an adult because he
had a card with his name on it.
“I don’t know what that children’s librarian
thought what I would become because
I was pretty quiet when I was that age. But
I was reading, which is the most important
thing, and I was learning, and I was
growing,” Van Bramer said. “So I want
to thank all of those folks who helped to
make me what I am today.”
Tasniha Islam and Willian Lema, the
P.S. 171 students Tasniha Islam and Willian Lema,
Queens Borough President Donovan Richards,
Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer, and Queens Public
Library President and CEO Dennis M. Walcott bury the
time capsule outside the Astoria library.
fi ft h-grade salutatorians from P.S. 171 in
Astoria, read the letters they wrote for the
time capsule.
Islam’s letter described life during the
COVID-19 pandemic and how she imagines
life will be in 2046. Th e fi ft h-grader,
who plans on becoming an astronomer
and author, expressed that she was
concerned about global warming, rising
sea levels and envisions that by 2046
humans will have evacuated Earth and
live on Mars.
She also thinks that technology will
advance further — Apple will have introduced
the iPhone 46, cars can fl oat on
water, and a huge city will be built underground,
for instance.
Lema, who sees himself as a businessman
driving a Tesla and supporting his family
and the poor in 2046, hopes that cancer
will be eradicated and believes robots will
Photo by Gabriele Holtermann
accomplish all household chores.
Richards and Van Bramer read the letters
of two more students, who also hoped
scientists found a cure for cancer and that
robots would be popular.
Sharing the letter of one of the students,
Richards read, “Robots are very popular
amongst this generation. Th ey could help
humanity. For example, they can clean
oceans from pollution, and robots would
be able to do anything and even help you
out, like to take your dog outside or even
deliver things.”
Amused, Richards added, “Th is generation
doesn’t want to do anything.”
Before the burial of the time capsule,
Richards declared June 7 as Queens
Public Library Day and presented a proclamation
commemorating the nation’s
second-largest library system — with 66
locations throughout Queens — serving
the country’s most ethnically and culturally
diverse area.
Walcott also announced that more
events celebrating 125 years of instilling a
love for reading are in the works.
Photo by Gabriele Holtermann
Queens Borough President Richards presents QPL President and CEO Dennis M. Walcott with the
proclamation commemorating QPL’s 125th anniversary.
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