Blog posts

Happy National Friends of Libraries Week! It’s the annual celebration of library Friends groups and everything they do for their neighborhood libraries.

In honor of Friends of Libraries Week, we asked the staff at our branches to talk about the special relationship they have with their Friends groups, and how their Friends have supported them and their communities, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Visit our blog all week to read their stories!

Hear from our elected officials about the importance of our Friends groups!

Click here if you would like to join an existing Friends group, or send an email to friends@queenslibrary.org to start your own chapter for your neighborhood library.

Thank you again to all the Friends of Queens Public Library!

Ridgewood Friends

The Friends of Ridgewood Library (FORL) is an amazing and inspiring group. Being proud Queensters, they don’t let anything stand in their way, including COVID-19. When it hit, they found several clever and powerful ways to continue their mission serving the community.

First, staying true to their mission of connecting the library with the community, they quickly moved their meetings online. But they also knew they weren’t reaching everyone; some don’t have computers, some don’t have Internet access, so how do you reach everyone?

Even while working remotely, they created one of the most professional, interesting, and informative newsletters I have come across in my many years of professional life. It has an interesting mix of photos and stories and news, and it has been a lifeline to get information out to everyone. However, they knew they were still not reaching everyone. What about those without computers? The FORL has been working on distributing the newsletter in print version and they have been looking into creating a phone tree to make sure all their members are aware of programming and FORL business as well as what is going on at the branch.

They didn’t stop with the newsletter; they have also been a key communication channel to reach our community members with their presence on social media. When COVID-19 hit, Ridgewood rapidly transitioned to virtual programming, running storytimes, trivia, open mics, Spanish classes, ESOL conversation groups, and computer programming. The FORL helped promote these programs through social media, letting our community know what we were making available for them.

Their work didn’t stop with expanding communication—the FORL understands that without a thorough Census count, we can’t provide adequate services to our community. Current FORL president Michaeline Von Drathen stepped up to be a Census Navigator to bridge the gap and make sure community members were aware of the importance of being counted. Also, the FORL members promoted the Census in their newsletters and through social media. Nothing can replace person-to-person contact, which prompted FORL members to volunteer at our Census sidewalk outreach events.

Even while the Ridgewood branch was closed to the public, the FORL kept an eye on the building and property. We maintained our weekly meetings, but they also let me know immediately if there were items left outside the library or if they noticed the return machine was down.

The FORL are the epitome of an engaged community group; they are dedicated, connected, passionate, and motivated to make our community the best it can be. They push us to do our best, they care intensely about what is happening in the neighborhood, and they are willing to adapt and change as situations change.

I hope I have explained a little about how lucky Ridgewood is to have our Friends group, and how lucky the community has been to have them on their side during the COVID-19 pandemic. To the FORL: thank you for being such an amazing group to work with. We’re so lucky to have you on our team!

Thomas Maxheimer, Manager, Ridgewood Library

Rosedale Friends

Since the inauguration of our Friends group a few years ago, they have helped to bring our community to the library through various programs that they have offered thanks to the funds provided them by NYC Council Member Donovan Richards.

Before the pandemic, they had so many programs scheduled but alas!—these could not be put in place. However, Friends President David Pecoraro and his executive members have been helping to promote the Library’s programs through their email blasts.

Also, our Friends regularly provide information from community leaders/organizations and local and national politicians to both our library staff and the rest of the Rosedale community. They have been promoting the importance of the 2020 Census and the coming elections (including the website where you can obtain absentee ballot forms), as well as vital information pertaining to the pandemic and how to take care of oneself, through their community emails.

E. Patricia Eshun, Manager, Rosedale Library

St. Albans Friends

Reminiscing, remembering old times, times of joy and times of challenges. It takes me back to my childhood village, when, in normal times of harvest or in times of disaster, neighbors came together and gave a lending hand. The village carried on, planting collective seeds of wisdom and reaping hope that carried us through the hard times.

During the pandemic, I periodically telephoned members of the St. Albans Friends. In this time of gloom and devastation, a routine phone call took an added dimension, neighbor reaching out to neighbor. I got to know some members of the Friends on a deeper level, beyond the normal routine of a general membership or Executive Board meeting.

One member reminisced about the old neighborhood and places she had lived. She offered wisdom and comforts from the days of yesteryear when times were simpler. The death rate from March has significantly decreased and now an ordinary phone call may seem to be just ordinary. However, during the months of the raging pandemic, the words of wisdom and comfort from Friends who have given decades of service to the Saint Albans Library gave this manager an invaluable perspective of glimpses of hope.

Michael Brice, Manager, St. Albans Library

Happy National Friends of Libraries Week! It’s the annual celebration of library Friends groups and everything they do for their neighborhood libraries.

In honor of Friends of Libraries Week, we asked the staff at our branches to talk about the special relationship they have with their Friends groups, and how their Friends have supported them and their communities, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Visit our blog all week to read their stories!

Hear from our elected officials about the importance of our Friends groups!

Click here if you would like to join an existing Friends group, or send an email to friends@queenslibrary.org to start your own chapter for your neighborhood library.

Thank you again to all the Friends of Queens Public Library!

Lefrak City Friends

The staff of Lefrak City would like to thank the Friends for their continued support of the Lefrak City Library and community. During the past six months, the board members of our Friends group have devoted countless hours to helping residents and local businesses. Despite the fear during the peak of the pandemic, board members volunteered their time to distribute masks to local businesses, including delis, supermarkets, laundromats, and pharmacies. Business leaders were very appreciative of this kind gesture.

With assistance from elected officials, our Friends group board members were able to deliver meals to seniors and homebound residents on numerous occasions. The Board members went above and beyond to distribute masks to every tenant in the Lefrak City complex. Each building consists of 1,000 apartments, and two masks were presented to each household, bringing the grand total of masks distributed to 10,000.

Friends Board members also conducted wellness checks on the parents of our registered Spellabration and Teen Trivia participants. During phone conversations, Friends Board members reminded Lefrak City’s residents about the virtual programs that are being offered by Queens Public Library.

Considering that many individuals are now faced with uncertainties and daunting challenges, the Friends of Lefrak City Library have done their due diligence by staying connected to the seniors, adults, and youths in their community and have done so without demur.

Sharon Diamond-Velox, Assistant Manager, Lefrak City Library

Long Island City Friends

In January, at their rechartering ceremony, the LIC Friends of the Library pledged to advocate for the library and to support the staff, LIC/Astoria's growing homeless population, and library programs. They maintained this pledge throughout the year, especially during the pandemic.

When the library was open before the pandemic closure, the LIC Friends supplied staff with lunch following monthly staff meetings. After the library reopened, they ordered takeout or desserts once a week to encourage onsite workers. Plus, the Friends president donated additional PPE face shields to increase the comfort level of the onsite team. The Friends attended an employee's virtual graduation and supported other workers who have gone back to school.

Our homeless members of the Friends group informed the board that many hotel shelters were popping-up in LIC/Astoria as a result of social distancing. The new sites did not have enough support for security personnel or social services. So, the Friends group reached out to Long Island City Partnership, Queens Public Library, and public officials to solicit support for this exploding population.

The Friends had two programs this year, Black History Trivia and a Reuseable Bag Giveaway. During the pandemic, they have supported the library branch's podcast series, storytime, and STEM summer programs by posting them on their Facebook page. The LIC Friends also rewarded staff with $35 Amazon gift cards for providing the LIC/Astoria community with engaging virtual programs and timely information. During our Census 2020 campaigns, the Friends volunteered at a tabling event, circulated Be Counted flyers, and encouraged LIC/Astoria co-ops like North Queensview to robocall residents to remind them to complete their census surveys.

Tienya Smith, Manager, Long Island City Library

Maspeth Friends

Our thanks and gratitude to the Friends of the Maspeth Library for doing such great work for our community and library. Since their chartering in March 2019, the core team—Crystal Wolfe, Deborah Cox, Pamela Perrotta, Diane Irwin, and Gosia Lewandowska—have worked tirelessly to hold events and advocate for funding for the betterment of our community and library. They met once every month to brainstorm ideas for events and fundraisers. The most successful event was the Holiday Festival in December 2019 with many activities during the day and an attendance of around 200 customers. Other successful programs include many author talks. Programs were scheduled for this spring/summer but unfortunately did not materialize due to the pandemic.

Our Friends advocated and received funds/donations from politicians and other sources. A special “shout-out” to Pam Perrotta for personally raising $1000 for programs. The group has also attended street fairs to promote the library and solicit membership. It is wonderful to have our Friends group and we appreciate all they do for us.

Usha Pinto, Manager, Maspeth Library

Pomonok Friends

Not long after I started with the Queens Public Library in 2016, I came to see just how big a part a Friends group plays in a public library’s success. In Pomonok’s case, in addition to generally advocating for the library, our Friends group is good at getting a number of great programs into the branch.

These programs, especially the musical concerts, usually bring a lot of people into our library. In some cases, these people are new patrons and after coming to a show here they are more likely to come back. This is no doubt a good thing for the library.

We can only hope that once the Pomonok Library reopens after the pandemic, people will come back to the library and in a big way. No doubt the Pomonok Friends have been a big part of helping us out in the past and I look forward to having them do the same in the future.

Andrew C. Gibson, Manager, Pomonok Library

Happy National Friends of Libraries Week! It’s the annual celebration of library Friends groups and everything they do for their neighborhood libraries.

In honor of Friends of Libraries Week, we asked the staff at our branches to talk about the special relationship they have with their Friends groups, and how their Friends have supported them and their communities, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Visit our blog all week to read their stories!

Hear from our elected officials about the importance of our Friends groups!

Click here if you would like to join an existing Friends group, or send an email to friends@queenslibrary.org to start your own chapter for your neighborhood library.

Thank you again to all the Friends of Queens Public Library!

Hollis Friends

Just some of the Friends of Hollis Library’s activities before the pandemic:

• Hollis Library Friends Group Book Fair: The Friends sponsored the first Book Fair at Hollis Library in over 25 years this past December, encouraging the community's love of reading by offering inexpensive books in English and other languages for children and adults. The goal of the Book Fair was twofold: to raise funds that will supplement the library’s programming budget and to promote the joy of reading within the community.
• Caribbean Arts Festival: The Friends of Hollis Library sponsored and served on the planning committee for Migration of Colors, QPL’s celebration of Caribbean art and culture from November 2019 through January 2020 at nine QPL branches. The Friends group also sponsored two Festival-related programs at Hollis Library: a Caribbean Cooking Workshop with local chef and author Catherine C. Moore and a West Indian Labor Day Parade Mask Creation Workshop with artist Diane Ifill.

The Friends of Hollis Library’s activities during these difficult times:

• During the Library’s closure, Friends group members have actively supported and participated in the library’s virtual programs, including our Book Club, Poetry Workshops, and Knitting & Crochet Group. Friends member Judi Raines has been particularly generous to the Knitting & Crochet group by donating several bags of yarn to group members unable to shop for their own supplies.
• Our Friends group is very concerned with the hardships brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. Members are arranging to meet virtually to discuss the ways they can offer help and support to the Hollis community.

Abdullah Zahid, Manager, Hollis Library

Hunters Point Friends

After waiting for years to have an open library, the Hunters Point Friends group worked hard to support their library through recruiting new Friends members and providing sponsorship for our programs. While this active support was short-lived because of the COVID-19 closure, our Friends group has continued to be supportive of Hunters Point during this pandemic.

As a manager who does not live in the immediate neighborhood of her library, I’ve been fortunate to have a proactive Friends president, Mark Christie, who has been keeping a watchful eye on our library. Whether it’s helping us ensure that the lawn is kept neat and that overflowing garbage is disposed of, or alerting us to a broken light fixture, Mark has been keeping me and QPL staff apprised of the state of our building and grounds. These tireless efforts show how vested our Friends are in our libraries and have given me a renewed sense of appreciation and admiration for the Hunters Point Friends. And I eagerly await the day when we can all greet each other in person.

Euni (Eun Young) Chang, Manager, Hunters Point Library

Kew Gardens Hills Friends

COVID-19 has been the most challenging and difficult time we have ever faced as a country. But despite our distressing times, the Kew Gardens Hills Friends group still remains active and resilient. I feel a tremendous gratitude for still keeping in touch with active members. Ethyl Haber, Trudy Garfunkel, Barbara Noel, Jennifer Martin, Zina Zimmerman, Barbara Richter, Phyllis Gellman, and all others have taken the time and dedication to come up with program ideas and stay connected.

What I love about the Kew Gardens Hills Friends is their care and support of one another. Every member I've met is so patient, kind, and sweet. President Ethyl Haber had done tremendous work coming up with engaging programs for the community at Kew Gardens Hills even before the pandemic hit, and she is working endlessly to come up with new virtual program ideas this year. We are hoping to launch a new program on memoir writing during these unprecedented times we are facing. Ethyl and her members have maintained a positive attitude on how we will get through this one day at a time.

I can only wish for better days where I can see them physically and share ideas in our monthly Friends board meeting, but we still maintain virtual communication each month. I am so proud to have this group of women in my life and I feel very fortunate to have their support and care.

Susan Paredes, Manager, Kew Gardens Hills Library

Happy National Friends of Libraries Week! It’s the annual celebration of library Friends groups and everything they do for their neighborhood libraries.

In honor of Friends of Libraries Week, we asked the staff at our branches to talk about the special relationship they have with their Friends groups, and how their Friends have supported them and their communities, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Visit our blog all week to read their stories!

Hear from our elected officials about the importance of our Friends groups!

Click here if you would like to join an existing Friends group, or send an email to friends@queenslibrary.org to start your own chapter for your neighborhood library.

Thank you again to all the Friends of Queens Public Library!

Flushing ALC Friends

The Friends of the Flushing Adult Learning Center is a very tight-knit group of students and professionals who are dedicated to helping our Adult Learner population achieve their goals. Before the pandemic, our Friends group continued fundraising activities that included our annual holiday card and craft sale. In addition, the Friends sponsored special educational field trip projects and provided funding for materials for events like our Family Literacy workshops. Up to February 2020, our Friends were very active in the community. They participated in annual Friends conferences, Library Day in Albany, and National Night Out. Also, two of our board members participated in an ongoing community forum designed to assist low-income residents of Flushing.

Nevertheless, since we've gone virtual, our Friends group continues to be a bridge that connects our staff to students and patrons. The Friends of Flushing ALC have assisted with virtual Census outreach and helped students improve their technology and English skills in our virtual ESOL classes. Furthermore, they were integral in virtually recruiting students to our online classes. Finally, they have represented our student populations at various virtual presentations for our library and community partners. We are very thankful to continue our collaboration in this virtual world.

Gary J. Beharry, Flushing Library Literacy Center Manager

Flushing Friends

Since the library closed in March, we have had several virtual Friends meetings. In each meeting, we usually checked in on each other, including the members who were not able to attend the meeting, and I would give an update on library programs, services, and any specific issues near the Flushing Library building or in the community.

The Friends expressed their support and how much they care about the library. For example, they want to make sure that someone has been taking care of and watering the plants in the library. On several occasions, our Friends contacted us to make sure that we knew about problems with our book return on Kissena Blvd., to ask about donating books, and to offer their opinions about how to keep our library building safe and secure during the pandemic closure.

Our Friends discussed the possibility of fundraising for the library, even though many of them are seniors and some of them have their own health problems. They are truly the eyes and ears of the library in our community. I feel that, although we are not meeting each other in person, we are closer and communicate more frequently than ever before. Friends strengthen the library with their support, their care, and their advocacy. We greatly appreciate the support from the members of our Friends group.

Yang Zeng, Director, Flushing Library

Fresh Meadows Friends

The Friends of the Fresh Meadows Library group, although newly chartered, has been in the works for about two years. We’ve been fortunate enough to gather a wonderful Board comprised of business people and community leaders who keep us informed and engaged with the neighborhood.

Pre-pandemic, our members were eager to be of service to their community and to work with the manager and assistant manager to supply programs and services to Fresh Meadows. Now, the Board has set out to plan online events and hopefully in-person programs when we are all able to resume our “normal” lives. Also during this time, the FM Friends were able to sponsor a New York author reading her children’s book on QPL’s Facebook page!

The Board is also aiming to have a general membership meeting online soon and hope to increase our number of members using an online platform. We had the unusual honor of being the first Friends Group to be chartered in an online event. It featured the Board members—Jim Gallagher Jr. (President), Alan Ong (Vice President), Adrian Peters (Treasurer), Michele Bowles (Secretary), and Norman Cohn (Member-At-Large)—as well as Councilman Barry Grodenchik, Assembly Member Nily Rozic, and QPL President and CEO Dennis M. Walcott and took place on August 12. We see a bright and hopeful future for our Friends group! Hope as well as many other wonderful things lives at our local libraries!

Nancy Weiss, Assistant Manager, Fresh Meadows Library

Happy National Friends of Libraries Week! It’s the annual celebration of library Friends groups and everything they do for their neighborhood libraries.

In honor of Friends of Libraries Week, we asked the staff at our branches to talk about the special relationship they have with their Friends groups, and how their Friends have supported them and their communities, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Visit our blog all week to read their stories!

Hear from our elected officials about the importance of our Friends groups!

Click here if you would like to join an existing Friends group, or send an email to friends@queenslibrary.org to start your own chapter for your neighborhood library.

Thank you again to all the Friends of Queens Public Library!

Corona Friends

The Corona Friends are normally a vibrant, active part of our Corona community, but they have outdone themselves during the COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine.

Our Vice President, Gianina Enriquez, has been an active part of QPL’s Facebook Live programs, performing her incredible, interactive Spanish storytimes, and she's been going into the community to bring diapers and groceries to homebound families. Our Corona Friends came together to organize #CoronaCuenta, an online celebration of Corona that also emphasized to our viewers the importance of filling out the 2020 Census, particularly for neighborhoods like Corona.

The Corona Friends group is at the heart of our Corona community.

Rosemary Kiladitis, Assistant Manager, Corona Library

Douglaston/Little Neck Friends

The Friends of Douglaston/Little Neck Library organized the following programs and participated in many activities in the past year prior to the COVID-19 closure:

• AARP Fraud Watch workshop last November
• They gave the branch $100 for our Arts and Crafts programs
• They hosted a program on bees and beekeeping
• On a regular basis, the Friends donated various arts and crafts supplies that we requested: crayons, wine glasses and mason jars, pinecones, beads, ribbons, etc.
• They participated in QPL's system-wide Caribbean Arts Festival, Migration of Colors, and were very active representing Douglaston Library
• They are very involved in the renovations plans for Douglaston Library and invited QPL management to their monthly meetings to update them.

The Friends of Douglaston/Little Neck are an active and helping group and we hope we will see them soon once QPL re-opens fully.

Milena Nenova, Manager, Douglaston/Little Neck Library

Cambria Heights Friends

As a library manager, I love being able to offer programs and events to the community. Programs offer common experiences that bring people together—often resulting in interesting dialogues, an exchange of ideas, and even friendships! And to put it simply, they are fun!

The Cambria Heights Library Friends group has been really excellent during the pandemic, going above and beyond—every day! They have stepped up their game to offer innovative and amazing online programs ever since we closed our doors. Even though Cambria Heights Library is open to the public now, we still have limited services, so we will continue to offer online programs for the time being—thanks to our Friends, led by President Angela Sinclair!

So what have they done so far? To start off, in the spring, Aletta Seales, our Friends Secretary, , organized two amazing Poetry Open Mics that got great attendance! They were wonderful events that brought people together online, after we were stuck at home for so long being quarantined. I was so happy to see my friends and colleagues from the library once again—except this time from my computer at home in Brooklyn. The poetry was so beautiful, and I loved seeing and listening to everyone!

Then our Friends Vice-President Wanda Best organized some amazing online events as well! She was a presenter at an "Elder Abuse Information Session," “Self-Care During COVID-19," and “Healthy Interpersonal Relationships.” These were informative sessions, and Ms. Best is always such a warm person and she reminds us how important self-care and self-love are, now and always!

Ms. Best also recruited speakers to talk about an important event that weighed heavily on all of us—the murder of George Floyd. She was the moderator of a Police Accountability Discussion, which brought in a lot of people online. She also helped facilitate “Our Stories, Our Voices: Black Men Speak Their Truth,” another amazing online program, for Father’s Day!

And our Cambria Heights Friends group is not resting at all! They are working hard to continue to offer online events! October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and on October 31st, Wanda Best will be hosting a Healthy Relationships vs. Unhealthy Relationships program. In November, the Cambria Heights Friends will host a program on Relationship Fraud with speaker Adan Welligton. And in December, author Ama Karikari Yawson will do an storytime featuring her book Sunne's Gift.

Cambria Heights Library is so lucky to have such a wonderful group of Friends! Now that we do events online, our community has expanded to the whole world because everyone is welcome to attend, no matter where they are! If you are interested in attending our future events, or if you’d like to communicate with our Friends group, or make a donation to help them continue their work, please feel free to e-mail me and I’ll put you in touch! Be safe, wear your masks! See you online!!!

Kacper Jarecki, Manager, Cambria Heights Library

   Every Thursday at 4pm, as part of its series Literary Thursdays, the library hosts an author to discuss their book. On Thursday, October 8, Connor Town O’Neill spoke about the process of writing Down Along with That Devil’s Bones: A Reckoning with Monuments, Memory, and the Legacy of White Supremacy. The book, which traces the struggle in four cities with four monuments to notorious but revered Civil War general and Ku Klux Klan leader Nathan Bedford Forrest, began in a cemetery in Selma in 2015, where the Friends of Forrest were preparing to install a statue to the war criminal and slave trader. It was the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday in Selma and, among the magnolias and Spanish moss, O’Neill wondered what this juxtaposition said about the country. 

    O’Neill began following campaigns to take down statues to Nathan Bedford Forrest, believing such statues are “double-jointed,” reflecting the times they go up in as much as the history they represent. The activists lobbying for the statues’ removal were taking on systems of power and people that turned on questions of whiteness and for O’Neill this began a process of personal reckoning as he scrutinized the role of race in the United States. 

    The statue in Selma first went up in 2000, when Selma’s first black mayor, Reverend James Perkins, Jr., was in office. Perkins told O’Neill it was a “pronouncement of war.” The 400-pound bust was stolen in 2012. O’Neill believes that what happens in Selma is a harbinger of what is to come in the rest of the nation – it is “revealing and prophetic,” he says. For example, in the 1990s Selma went through an intense battle over school desegregation that later played out around the country. 

    Another campaign O’Neill followed addressed the Forrest building on Middle Tennessee State University’s campus, which housed its ROTC program. Students staged a burial of an effigy of Nathan Bedford Forrest in 2015, later leaving his body on the stoop of his hall. One-third of MTSU’s student body is black. Student activists alleged that the Forrest name represents white supremacy, given Forrest’s history as a slave trader and his prominent role in the KKK, while others asserted that Forrest was the savior of the town by driving out the Union in 1862. “His spirit has always been close at hand,” was said when the building was dedicated mid-twentieth century. Memories, says O’Neill, are polarized. 

    We remember, he says, by forgetting, which allows white southerners to rally behind the phrase “heritage not hate.” White Americans, O’Neill believes, have a selective history about a war that was waged based on the notion of blacks’ inferiority. 

    O’Neill also related the story of Memphis, where the city government came up with a clever plan to remove the Nathan Bedford Forrest monument – by selling the statue to a non-profit, which wasn’t prohibited from taking it down. One of the longtime protesters remembered crossing the street to the park the night the statue was taken down and how the street seemed wider than an ocean. 

     O’Neill shared that victors in wars often have an interest in removing symbols of the losing side. The fact that so many monuments to Confederate leaders from the Civil War exist suggests to O’Neill that “they didn’t lose as much as we thought,” as their ideology is still alive. The author asked if it is possible to create an equal society if we haven’t reckoned with the consequences of the Civil War. He explained the role that race has played in his own life, from housing laws that favored his white family to his family’s ability to use that collateral to take loans for his education. “The main driver of American wealth is driven by race,” he says, referring to home ownership. 

    We need, says O’Neill, to get over the notion that the past matters to remind us how great we are. And, he spoke against the notion that racism is somehow a problem only for black people, indicating that it impacts us all. 

    Confederate statues, he says, gesture to the present in an electric way. If you think such a statue is repugnant, ask yourself why and what implications that might have for your life and society at large. While O’Neill believes that campaigns against symbols of white supremacy will continue, he hopes such efforts will draw us into changing policies and into deeper conversations that are waiting for us.

     Check out the eBook here. 
    

This October, Queens Public Library is teaming up with Local Voices Network (LVN) to offer you the chance to be heard in advance of the 2020 election. The Queens Memory Project is partnering with the Local Voices Network (LVN) to record neighborhood conversations on important local topics. You can participate whether or not you'll be voting. We have opportunities for teens, young professionals, and Spanish speakers. LVN NYC collaborates with organizations throughout New York City to record meaningful conversations with under-heard communities. They've co-hosted dialogues on public health, employment, and community gardening (to name just a few examples).

Here’s how it works:

        Step one: You’ll join a small group recorded conversation, facilitated by QPL staff. You’ll share real concerns, stories, and ideas connected to your experience living in NYC.
        Step two: Our recorded conversation will then be transcribed, keyworded, and posted on a website to be shared with media outlets, local decision-makers, and other neighborhood stakeholders with the goal of offering a new window into issues that are important to our community.

Together, we’ll create a platform where everyone is invited to be heard. 

Election 2020: A Community Conversation for Teens

Whether you will be voting in this year’s election or not, you can engage in public conversation about civic engagement and the issues you believe most important to your community. As critical decisions are being made about resources, health care, and public safety, it is more important than ever for journalists and policymakers hear personal stories from our lived experiences. Let’s build connections to improve our communities and understanding of one another, while keeping physical distance to protect public health.
We all have a voice. 

Please note that if you are between the ages of 14 and 18, you must have your guardian’s consent to participate in this program. Children aged 13 or younger may not participate in this program.

Register here with our partner organization: Tuesday, October 20, 4pm

Election 2020: A QPL @ Night Community Conversation

Before you vote in this year’s elections, you are invited to participate in public conversation about civic engagement and the issues you believe most important to your community. As critical decisions are being made about resources, health care, and public safety, it is more important than ever for media, elected officials, and other decision-makers to hear personal stories from our lived experiences.

Register here for Wednesday, October 14, 7pm

Register here for Wednesday, October 21, 7pm 

Election 2020: Community Conversation (in Spanish) / Elecciones 2020: Una conversación con la comunidad

We all have a voice. Whether you will be voting in this year’s election or not, you can engage in public conversation about civic engagement and the issues you believe are most important to your community. You'll join a small group recorded conversation, facilitated by QPL staff. You will register with our partner, Local Voices Network. 

Si usted piensa votar en estas elecciones o no piensa hacerlo, usted puede participar en conversaciones públicas acerca de la participación cívica y otros temas que usted cree que son importantes en su comunidad. Decisiones criticas van a ser tomadas sobre recursos, cuidado de salud y seguridad pública. Esto es mas importante que nunca para periodistas y políticos poder escuchar estas historias personales de nuestras experiencias. Vamos a construir conexiones para mejorar nuestras comunidades y entendernos los unos a los otros mientras mantenemos distanciamiento social y física para proteger la salud publica.

¿Esta buscando usted una empresa y conexiones que van mas allá de Twitter -o -historias de Instagram?  ¿Quiere compartir sus esperanzas, preocupaciones y reflexiones con otros? ¡Únase a Si usted piensa votar en estas elecciones o no piensa hacerlo, usted puede participar en conversaciones públicas acerca de la participación cívica y otros temas que usted cree que son importantes en su comunidad. Decisiones criticas van a ser tomadas sobre recursos, cuidado de salud y seguridad pública. Esto es mas importante que nunca para periodistas y políticos poder escuchar estas historias personales de nuestras experiencias. Vamos a construir conexiones para mejorar nuestras comunidades y entendernos los unos a los otros mientras mantenemos distanciamiento social y física para proteger la salud publica.

Así es como trabaja:

Primer paso: Usted se juntara con un grupo  de conversación grabada, facilitada por los empleados de la Biblioteca de Queens. Usted compartirá sus preocupaciones, historias –e- ideas conectadas a sus experiencias de su vida en New York. 
Segundo paso: Nuestras conversaciones grabadas van ser  transcritas, palabras claves, y publicadas en un sitio web que va ser compartido con los medios de comunicación, políticos locales, y otros representantes de los vecindarios con el propósito de ofrecer nuevas soluciones hacia problemas que son importantes en nuestra comunidad.

Thursday, October 22/ jueves, 22 de octubre, 6pm:  Registrarse aqui. 

Thursday, October 29/jueves, 29 de octubre, 6pm:  Registrarse aqui. 

    This week, on Tuesday, October 6 as part of Mental Illness Awareness Week, Queens Public Library hosted a panel discussion on schizophrenia featuring someone in remission from the illness, a psychologist, and a psychiatrist. Each brought their unique perspective on the illness to the discussion. Together, they explained the illness and discussed reasons to have hope for those who suffer from it. 

    Christina Bruni is a librarian who had a breakdown in 1987. Within three years, she had achieved a job and her own apartment. She is the author of Left of the Dial: A Memoir of Schizophrenia, Recovery, and Hope and is working on the forthcoming Working Assets: A Career Guide for Peers, a career guide. Bruni’s mother drove her to the hospital, and she believes that act has made all the difference in her recovery, as she explains that early intervention is key after the first onset of symptoms. Bruni says that her symptoms were gone after three weeks and that she has been symptom-free for 28 years. She credits three factors: adherence to treatment, using the creative process, and having family support.  It is by expressing your identity that you will thrive in recovery, the author explained. “Find what gives you joy,” she says, “Recovery is as individual as a thumbprint.” Bruni explains that many people don’t think it is possible to recover from schizophrenia because “individuals who do well often don’t disclose.” However, she believes that “no one should be shamed for having an illness” and that “recovery comes in different guises.” For more about Christina’s work, visit her website. 

    The next speaker on the panel, psychologist Jennifer McKelvey, PhD, Program Director, Adult Outpatient Psychiatry Department & Crisis Center, Zucker Hillside Hospital, sought to dispel commonly spread myths about schizophrenia that are especially seen in the media. It is not a split or multiple personality and most of those with the illness are not violent; they are more likely to be victims of violent crime. Schizophrenia affects 1% of the population and develops earlier in males than females. It is often preceded by what is known as a prodromal phase when the individual may see shadows or think they have special abilities. Anxiety and depression can also be present, as well as sleep disruption. About 70% of those diagnosed with schizophrenia have experienced a prodromal period, but not everyone with a prodromal period develops the illness. 

    Schizophrenia can cause challenges in work, relationships, and self-care, and these symptoms last more than six months. The individual often has difficulty being aware of what has changed. Two types of symptoms characterize schizophrenia, known as negative and positive. Positive symptoms are those that are in addition to what one would normally experience, such as hallucinations, delusions, disorganization of speech and thought, and paranoia. Negative symptoms include cognitive difficulties such as problems with memory and attention, loss of speech, flat affect, lack of pleasure or interest, lack of initiative and spontaneity, and social withdrawal.

    Dr. Anna Costakis, MD, Adult Ambulatory Psychiatry Director, Department of Psychiatry, Zucker Hillside Hospital, spoke about how medication is the first-line treatment for this illness and how we are at a frontier in developing new and more effective medications. Medication helps reduce the intensity and frequency of symptoms and in some patients can eliminate symptoms. Nowadays, there are many options for medication, including pills and long-acting injections. 

    While vulnerability to developing schizophrenia can be genetic, genetics is not the entire picture of its development. Research is ongoing into how it develops. 

    The panelists spoke about the importance of listening to someone you know who may be developing a mental illness and offering support by trying to guide them to treatment. The longer an individual experiences symptoms without treatment, the more difficult it is to treat them; this was described as the kindling effect: The longer a fire builds, the longer it takes it put it out. 

    Some resources for those experiencing mental illnesses and their support networks include the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI), NYC Well, Fountain House, Venture House, and the walk-in clinic Crisis Center at Zucker Hillside Hospital, which is now open from 9-3pm Monday-Friday.  

This Saturday, September 26, we hope that you will join us for QPL Comics, a day-long online celebration of all things comics!

You will (virtually) meet graphic novel creators, learn how to draw comics, watch a roundtable with the comic book expert librarians from our staff, plus you can enjoy an interactive storytelling game, comics trivia, and more!

Get all the details below, get your drawing pencil and tablets ready, and don't miss all the superheroics—same QPL time, same QPL channels!

Superhero Storytime
Saturday, September 26, 10:00am
Join our children's librarians as they kick off QPL Comics with a storytime designed specifically for our young superheroes in training! Watch live on our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/jYSNUA-OiuA

Librarians Love Comics!
Saturday, September 26, 11:00am
You love comics and so do our librarians. Join our discussion as several of our most comic-savvy librarians talk about their favorites, hidden gems that you have to know, and virtual QPL services that can help you find the next comic book issue! Watch live on our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/OESO23Vpgqo

"And So The Day Was Saved"—A Storytelling Game
Saturday, September 26, 11:30am
Join QPL's Teen Virtual Gaming Committee in an interactive storytelling game, where you will work with (and against!) the other players to tell an epic comic-book-worthy story full of twists, turns, and onomatopoeias--KAPOW! This game will be ongoing, all day, with multiple sessions, so feel free to drop in between panels. Visit https://queenslib.org/2FHUCRe to participate.

Drawing with Kristen Gudsnuk, Author of Henchgirl and Making Friends
Saturday, September 26, 12:30pm
Join Kristen Gudsnuk with a pencil and paper as she shows you how to start creating your own comics, step-by-step! She will also talk about her personal experience in the comic book industry, and tips on how to get started! Gudsnuk's works include Henchgirl, Modern Fantasy, and Making Friends. Watch live on our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/nTQW8qu9wUs

Graphic Novelist & Creator and Writer of La Borinqueña: Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez
Saturday, September 26, 2:00pm
Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez discusses his life as a graphic novelist and how he came to write and create his critically acclaimed and bestselling superhero series La Borinqueña. Watch live on our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/s5f9KMb2HMU

Drawing with Tim Probert, Creator of Lightfall and Illustrator of Pickle!
Saturday, September 26, 3:30pm
Get your drawing pencils ready, as Tim Probert guides you in a workshop on how to draw characters and chats about how to get started in the illustrating world of graphic novels! Probert is the illustrator of many children’s books, including Pickle by Kim Baker, and recently released his debut graphic novel Lightfall. He is also a director at the animation studio Aardman Nathan Love. Watch live on our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/Qkk-u9VXgHo

Trivia: Do You Know Comics?
Saturday, September 26, 4:00pm
How well do you know your comics? Join us for a trivia battle, as you compete against friends to see who knows their comics best! Join here: https://queenslib.org/3mvo6C6

Comics Revolution with Ivan Velez
Saturday, September 26, 5:00pm
Comics Revolution is a brief history of stories and characters in comics that have actually helped change American Culture for the better (fighting racism, sexism, and classism), and how-to demos on how to use cartooning to educate, illuminate, deconstruct, and discuss social issues and really fight the power. Watch live on our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/Gmz6V69rAvg

Queens Memory Marks Its 10th Anniversary With Special Programming Celebrating Its Achievements

Queens Memory Has Also Unveiled Its New Logo and Website

Queens, NY (September 21, 2020)—Queens Memory, an ongoing community archiving program supported by Queens Public Library and the Queens College Library, celebrates its 10-year anniversary with special programming and rebranding that includes the launch of a new logo and new user-friendly website.

To underline its numerous achievements, on Wednesday, Sept. 30 at 7 pm, during “A Decade of Stories: The Queens Memory Project Celebrates 10 Years” event, Queens Memory Project Director Natalie Milbrodt will share highlights from the collections and welcome some special guests who have contributed their talents to Queens Memory over the years making it the successful program it is today.

In the past decade, the Queens Memory team has involved hundreds of volunteers in the work of enriching the historic record of Queens, collecting over 600 oral history interviews with Queens residents from over 30 countries of origin. In addition, it has partnered with dozens of community organizations, educators and cultural institutions, creating exhibitions and special documentation projects and hosting over 300 events at various locations across the borough as well as virtually on its Facebook page.

In April, Queens Memory launched the COVID-19 Project, which has been documenting first-person accounts from the communities affected in the most acute ways this past spring, when New York City was the center of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States. Stories collected as part of this initiative are featured in a new 10-episode season of the Queens Memory Podcast, “The Borough We Became: Queens Residents on Life During COVID-19,” with installments released weekly on the Queens Memory Aviary platform and available anywhere you listen to podcasts. Each episode covers different aspects of life in Queens during the pandemic, including stories from healthcare workers battling the coronavirus, essential workers on the front lines, people who contracted the virus, and the new challenges facing teachers and students.

“We are so proud to be a trusted keeper of Queens stories,” said Natalie Milbrodt, Queens Memory Project Director. “We can only do it with the help of Queens residents, who are incredible partners in this work, recording interviews with neighbors, family members and friends for the collections. We are grateful to them for making history with us.”

As part of its mission, Queens Memory offers training and materials for anyone wishing to contribute interviews, photographs, or other records of their neighborhoods, families and communities, providing residents from diverse backgrounds with tools to document the personal histories that together tell a more complete story of life in the borough.

Contact: Queens Public Library—Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska

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