My local Queensborough Public Library is closed for renovation for a few months, so I went to the Central Library the other day. I had not been there for many years, and was pleasantly surprised when I went. Of course, the Central Library is larger than the local branches and has many more books and activities. Since the last time I had been there, they have opened a gift shop which has some nice and reasonably-priced gifts which help the library get needed funds.
I arrived at 3:30 or so, and was happy to find the place full of people—not only kids using the library after school, but lots of adults too. There were a lot of computers, so there were quite a few that were not occupied. In some of the branches, it is hard to get to use a computer in the afternoons. There seemed to be enough employees to answer whatever questions a user might have.
One thing which I liked is the numerous stands near the entrance which held popular categories of books—they have them in all the Queens libraries, but there were many more of them in Jamaica. There were several with all kinds of sheet music, some with books about quilting, others with clip art, both printed and for computers. This is just to mention very few, but there were many.
In short, this is an interesting, vibrant place. Try it out. You can now borrow 50 items with a free library card. What are you waiting for?
more