Queens Library wins prestigious award

With dozens of locations throughout the borough, one Queens Library branch has managed to stand out for its achievements. Queens Library for Teens won the Joseph F. Shubert Library Excellence Award, an annual award given to libraries across New York State on October 22.
Located in Far Rockaway, the Queens Library for Teens has been open since 2008 to assist the education of teenagers throughout Queens. The 3,500 square-foot building offers an environment for students to study, do research, and complete homework in a facility equipped with all the resources they may need to succeed.
“Queens Library for Teens is only one illustration of how, in every community in Queens, Queens Library is enriching young people,” said Joanne King, associate director of communications for Queens Library. “By engaging young people in the library, they have the benefits of an educationally rich environment with positive direction from adults.”
With 40 computers, all accessible to high-speed internet, Queens Library for Teens focuses on using technology to draw teens in. The newest additions to the library’s resources include a vocal booth with a recording computer and three computerized editing stations, funded by Assemblymembers Michele Titus and Audrey Pheffer.
According to King, one of the most popular programs at the Queens Library for Teens is BOOST – Best Out Of School Time. Through the Boost Program, the youth of Queens are exposed to art, math, and science while receiving help with homework and learning interactive computer skills.
At the library in Far Rockaway, King said that teens have their own space, designed to help them get engaged in their work and their surroundings, including several monthly events that the library holds.
In addition to its technological advantages, the library offers dedicated youth counselors who provide referrals and librarians at the full-service branch help with references and in-depth research skills.
“The library’s youth program is a prime example of why it is so important to keep library doors open as many as hours as possible,” said King. “No online information source will ever be able to provide the sense of community that a physical library will.”
The library in Far Rockaway is one of Queens’ most heavily-used facilities, with more than 120 teens coming to the center each day. In 2013, the Queens Library for Teens will be doubling in size in a brand new building. The $19.3 million facility is being funded by Borough President Helen Marshall.
For more information on Queens Library for Teens or to find a Queens Library location near you, visit their web site at www.queenslibrary.org.