Wireless Internet Access Is Free At All Queens Libraries

The 63 branches of the Queens Borough Public Library all now have free wireless Internet access. Customers are invited to bring in their own laptops and boot up. Once logged on to the library's network, they will have access to the same range of databases and Web sites as if they were on the library's own workstations.

Customers are required to have a Queens Library borrower's card (free at any branch or the central library's information/circulation desk) and a PIN. Laptops need a wireless network interface card, 802.11a, 802.11b or 802.11g or later and a charged battery. Headphones are required if audio files will be used. Customers using the wireless network do not have time limits.

More than 3 million users logged on to the library's computers last year. Wireless Internet is a huge convenience for customers who have their own laptops. It provides computer access to more people at the same time, and also helps relieve the demand for the library's public access computers. The Queens Borough Public Library first offered wireless Internet service in select libraries in November 2005. Access points have been installed in more than 50 libraries in the six months since.

The Queens Borough Public Library serves a population of 2.2 million in the most ethnically diverse county in the United States. With a record 18.9 million items in circulation for Fiscal Year 2005, the library has one of the highest circulations of any public library system in the world. For more information about programs, services, locations, events and news, visit www.queenslibrary. org or phone 718-990-0700.