Queens Library Hours Changing
14 Branches Affected by City/State Budget Cuts
As of February 1, 2010, 14 Queens Library locations will no longer be open on weekends, providing Monday - Friday service only. Those libraries are the Queens Libraries at: Arverne, Astoria, Baisley Park, Court Square, East Elmhurst, East Flushing, Kew Garden Hills, Lefrak City, North Forest Park, Ozone Park, Queensboro Hill, Ridgewood, South Hollis, and Windsor Park. All other library locations will maintain their current service levels.
The service reductions are necessitated by reductions in City and State funding over the past two years.
In announcing the changes, CEO Thomas W. Galante said, “Reducing service hours is a painful course of action. Queens Library has been in a hiring freeze that began in 2008. At this time, we are forced to reduce our service schedules as our workforce has been reduced.”
Library users are invited to use any of the other 48 library locations on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Queens Library at Central in Jamaica is open on Sunday from noon to 5 pm. Many services are available through the library’s Website, www.queenslibrary.org, including downloadable ebooks, 24/7 chat reference service and online research databases.
Queens Library is an independent, not-for-profit corporation and is not affiliated with any other library. The Queens Library serves a population of 2.2 million in the most ethnically diverse county in the U.S. With a record 23 million items in circulation for FY 2009, the library has the highest circulation of any public library system in the U.S. and one of the highest circulations in the world. For more information about programs, services, locations, events and news, visit the Queens Library Web site at www.queenslibrary.org or phone 718-990-0700.
Hal Drucker (hdrucker@aol.com) is a member of The Drama Desk and the Outer Critics Circle and the co-author of the book: From the Desk Of: Work Styles of 43 Famous Americans.