QPL’s Elmhurst Library To Celebrate the Burmese New Year and the Expansion of Its Burmese Collection  

NYC’s only publicly circulating Burmese language collection triples in size with the addition of 230 books

Elmhurst, N.Y. – Queens Public Library’s Elmhurst branch will celebrate the expansion of its Burmese language collection - the only circulating Burmese collection in New York City – and the Burmese New Year, known as Thingyan, at 86-07 Broadway on Saturday, April 20 at 2PM. Queens Public Library President and CEO Dennis M. Walcott, local elected officials and representatives of the Burmese community will attend the ceremony, which will feature music and dance performances. 

About 230 books were recently added to the collection, formed in 2018 with approximately 130 volumes. It includes fiction and non-fiction, biographies, books on technology and children’s books, some of which are bilingual Burmese/English picture books.

The books were purchased with $5,000 donated by the Burmese-American community, and partially matched by the Queens Public Library Foundation.  

The Burmese community has been growing in Queens, and according to the 2018-2022 American Community Survey, there are currently more than 4,000 Burmese-language speakers in the borough, about a quarter of whom live in Elmhurst. 

The Burmese-language books are part of the Queens Public Library’s robust international language collection. The Library started building it in the 1970s, initially focusing on the Hispanic, Greek and Chinese communities. Today, the Library circulates materials in almost 50 languages, including Spanish, Chinese, Bengali, Korean, Russian and Hebrew.

WHAT:            QPL’s Elmhurst branch marks the expansion of its Burmese language collection and            celebrates the Burmese New Year

WHO:            Queens Public Library President and CEO Dennis M. Walcott

                       QPL New Americans Program Assistant Director Fred Gitner

                       NYC Council Member Shekar Krishnan

                       Burmese Community Leader Moe Chan

                       Burmese Community Members

WHEN:          Saturday, April 20, 2024
                        2-3:30 PM       

WHERE:        Queens Public Library / Elmhurst Branch
                        86-07 Broadway, Elmhurst, N.Y. 11373

CONTACT:     Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska, ekern@queenslibrary.org, 917-702-0016