Celebrate New Library Hours

Children's author Eric Hill, Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Queens Borough Public Library Director Thomas Galante, and City Councilmembers Helen Sears and Vincent Gentile. On Saturday, July 14, New York City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn joined Vincent J. Gentile, chair of the council Libraries Subcommittee, Domenic Recchia, Cultural Affairs chair, and Queens Councilmember Helen Sears at the Jackson Heights branch of the Queens Borough Public Library, 35-51 81st St., to announce that public libraries citywide will now offer full-day library services. Queens Borough Public Library Director Thomas Galante and Daniel Dromm, Democratic District Leader from Jackson Heights, were on hand to help celebrate the announcement. Gentile and Recchia represent districts in Brooklyn; Sears represents Jackson Heights.

The councilmembers' visit to the Jackson Heights branch was part of a three-borough tour to make the announcement that six-day library service, a top budget priority for the Speaker and the city council, received $42.7 million this year in baselined city funding. Quinn, Gentile and Recchia also visited the Windsor Terrace branch of the Brooklyn Library and the New York Public Library Chatham Square branch in Manhattan.

Photo Dan Miller/DMD Images Children wait and parents watch for Council Speaker Christine Quinn to begin reading Where's Spot?, a children's picture book by Eric Hill, at the Jackson Heights branch of the Queens Borough Public Library July 14. "Securing expanded library service has been a top priority for me and the city council," Quinn said. Quinn also read Where's Spot?, a children's picture book by Eric Hill, to some dozen neighborhood children as their parents watched from the sidelines. Parents and children expressed excitement about the library now being open six days a week.

The Queens Borough Public Library and its sister libraries in the other boroughs lost city funding for most weekend service following 9/11. Funding for new library materials was also severely curtailed. In spite of the reduced hours and the lack of books on the shelves, circulation continued to climb, setting a record 20.2 million items last year, a testament to the high demand for library services.

The adopted Fiscal Year 2008 budget contained a total of $320 million in funding for the city's three library systems. In extending the hours of operation, libraries will be able to increase access to vital services such as improving literacy programs, providing career development and increasing access to technology.

"Libraries are not only places of learning, they are places where you can explore the furthest corners of the globe, regardless of your economic background. Increasing service to six full days will give our kids the chance to take a giant leap toward their future, through enhanced access to summer and afterschool programs. It will also allow more hardworking New Yorkers to improve their careers by making services more readily available," Quinn said. "I want to thank the [Bloomberg mayoral] administration and my colleagues in the council for securing

this funding and for demonstrating just how vital a role libraries play in our communities."

"Offering six-day library service will give more New Yorkers the chance to take full advantage of the resources available to them in the New York public library system," Sears said. "If we are going to give people a better chance to compete in today's hyper-competitive job market, we must make sure that our libraries are as accessible as possible.I commend Speaker Quinn for her commitment to improving the future of all New Yorkers who take advantage of the extended library service."

"I would like to thank Speaker Quinn and the entire city council for the commitment and dedication to restoring six-day library service to every neighborhood in Queens," Galante said. "Speaker Quinn told us that libraries were among her top priorities and we are thrilled and grateful that she delivered on her promise to fully fund libraries across New York City."

This year's budget provides guaranteed service levels to libraries, instead of leaving them at the whim of a fluctuating annual budget process.

The national average for library service is 47 hours per week. Before the extension of service to six days, New York City's libraries averaged only 39 hours per week, which meant that many branches were forced to close for an entire weekday or for multiple mornings in order to provide service on Saturdays. The extended hours will bring the city's average up to 45 hours. The new level of funding will allow our libraries to meet the need for electronic materials, foreign language books, youth programming, higher education and job placement assistance, and other community functions.

New York City's five boroughs are served by three independent library systems: the New York Public Library, which serves the boroughs of Manhattan, Staten Island and The Bronx, the Queens Borough Public Library and the Brooklyn Public Library. The three library systems operate a total of four research libraries and more than 200 local library branches, which provide more than 65 million books, periodicals and other items to New Yorkers.

The following branch libraries will be open on Saturdays beginning August 4:

• Arverne, 312 Beach 54th St., • Astoria, 14-01 Astoria Blvd., • Briarwood, 85-12 Main St., • East Elmhurst, 95-06 Astoria Blvd., • Glendale, 78-60 73rd Pl.,

• Lefrak City, 98-30 57th Ave.,

• North Forest Park, 98-27 Metropolitan Ave.,

• Peninsula, 92-25 Rockaway Beach Blvd.,

• Queensboro Hill, 60-05 Main St., • Rochdale Village, 169-09 137th Ave.,

• Whitestone, 151-10 14th Rd. and

• Windsor Park, 79-50 Bell Blvd.

On July 7 the Cambria Heights branch at 218-13 Linden Blvd. and the Long Island City branch at 37-44 21st St., started Saturday hours. Libraries in 23 communities already have weekend service. Their schedules will continue. Expanded hours of service at additional Queens Libraries will be announced in the next few weeks.