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About Us

The Digital Archives at Queens Library is the online repository for selected maps, photographs, manuscripts, newspapers and books documenting Queens, Brooklyn and greater Long Island (Nassau and Suffolk counties). The site is constantly growing to provide researchers from around the world with expanded and enhanced access to the library's local history collections.  To learn more about our approach to describing our collections, please read our Ethical Cataloging Statement.

About Queens Library

The Queens Library serves 2.3 million people from 62 locations plus seven Adult Learning Centers and two Family Literacy Centers. It circulates among the highest numbers of books and other library materials in the country.

Governance

Queens Library is an autonomous library system, guided by a 19-member Board of Trustees alternately appointed by the Mayor of the City of New York and the Queens Borough President. The Mayor, the Public Advocate, the Comptroller, the Speaker of the City Council, and the Borough President are Ex-officio members.

Meetings of the Board of Trustees are held in the Robert T. Groh Board Room, Central Library, 2nd Floor, 89-11 Merrick Boulevard, Jamaica NY.

Administration

Dennis M. Walcott is the President and CEO. A senior management team, comprised of specialists in a variety of areas, including Community Library Services, Information Technology, Marketing and Communications, Technical Services, Finance, and Human Resources, provide expertise in their respective fields.

Funding

Queens Library receives approximately 94% of its funding from New York City, New York State and the federal government. The library's budget is presented for public comment at an open budget hearing. Information on the budget is available here.  Public funding enables Queens Library to be a good Library; private donations to the Queens Library Foundation from our dedicated and generous community of funders make Queens Library exceptional.  Find out more our private fundraising by going to here.

At A Glance

  • In Fiscal Year 2015, 13.5 million items were circulated.
  • In Fiscal Year 2015, in-person attendance was over 11.2 million people.
  • Some 884,000 people attended more than 52,000 free programs in FY 15.
  • Staff answered almost 3 million reference inquiries in FY 15.
  • Queens Library has more than 8.4 million items in its collections.
  • There were 972,000 active borrowers in FY 15.
  • Friends of the Queens Library comprise 3,000 members. Friends are instrumental in volunteering, promoting, and advocating for the Library. For information, call (718) 990-8583.
  • More than 3,000 students attended structured classes in English for Speakers of Other Languages in Fiscal Year 2015. Thousands more used the Adult Learning Centers for self-study and English conversation practice.
  • More facts about Queens Library (PDF).

Publications

Queens Library Magazine combines great library-themed feature stories and two months' worth of information about our free programs, services, and special events, and it's available online and at a Queens Library location near you.

You can subscribe to Queens Library email updates and other publications delivered electronically here.