AT THE HEART OF THE COMMUNITY

Transcription

1 AT THE HEART OF THE COMMUNITY

2 WHO ARE WE? Central Library, Jamaica, Queens, 1935 Private, independent non-profit. Operating public libraries in the borough of Queens. Over 100 years of service to the community. Governed by 19-member Board of Trustees. MISSION STATEMENT: The mission of the Queens Library is to provide quality services, resources, and lifelong learning opportunities through books and a variety of other formats to meet the informational, educational, cultural, and recreational needs and interests of its diverse and changing population.

3 WHO WE SERVE? ` 2.2 million Queens residents: 900,000 Active Queens Library card holders 47% of Queens residents are foreign born Every Day at Queens Library: 40,000 Visitors 8,000 People use one of our 1,800 plus computers 10,000 Students visit during the afterschool hours 70,000 Items are loaned for free

4 WHERE WE SERVE? Central Library: Jamaica 62 Community Libraries 7 Adult Learning Centers 2 Literacy Centers Children s Library Discovery Center 99% Queens residents live within one mile of their library. NEW libraries planned for NEW communities

5 Strategic Direction POWERFUL PEOPLE: 1,000+ full time staff; including front line librarians; content experts; teen tutors and more deliver high quality customer service. POWERFUL PROGRAMS: Queens Library is known nationally as a leader in innovative programing from technology to early learning. POWERFUL PARTNERS: Queens Library cultivates relationships with all stakeholders to increase awareness; build support and leverage the talent of all community partners. POWERFUL PLACES: A robust capital campaign helping the library build for the future and expand access points. Far from becoming obsolete, the city s three public library systems Brooklyn, Queens and New York, which encompasses the branches in Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island have experienced a 40 percent spike in the number of people attending programs and a 59 percent increase in circulation over the past decade. During that time, 48 different branches citywide have at least doubled annual attendance at programs, ranging from computer literacy classes to workshops on entrepreneurship, while 18 have more than doubled their circulation. - Center for an Urban Future, Branches of Opportunity

6 Decades of research on preschool, including foundational studies of several programs dating back to the 1960s, show impressive and long-lasting benefits for low-income students, including increased high-school graduation and employment and decreased incarceration. Preschool programs produce long-term academic gains.

7 WHY WE SUPPORT UPK? The Queens Library Universal Pre-K Program will provide access to a strong academic foundation for every child.

8 Challenges Our UPK classrooms will provide purposeful, child-centered activities and age-appropriate instruction to ensure children s active learning. * Limited Outdoor Recreational Space at some locations * Flexibility of Space for UPK Programming Designated classroom space may change for other program usage. However, the pro's far exceed the con's for our ability to offer UPK. We are actively evaluating methods to remedy those concerns.

9 Opportunities The Queens Library offers literacy rich environments 'and already has great synergies with families and caretaers alike. Research shows that pre-k programs can reduce the rate of later learning problems. Children who enter school behind their peers often stay behind. For example, children who do not recognize the letters of the alphabet when they enter kindergarten demonstrate significantly lower reading skills at the end of first grade. Eighty-eight percent of children who are poor readers in first grade will still be poor readers by fourth grade. Seventy-four percent of children who are poor readers in third grade remain poor readers when they start high school. -The Pew Charitable Trust

10 Community Data The figures for Ravenswood have been provided as a census tract instead of just the public housing project in which the Library is currently located. Thus it captures some of the surrounding population that don t live in Ravenswood which reflects a large percentage of individuals with a large "less than high school education" percentage, but also a relatively large "graduate degree" percentage ACS.

11 Identified Locations Quick Facts 3,200 sf Space Single-story masonry building Located within NYCHA housing community Currently used as family learning/early learning and education center Ravenswood Community Library

12 Identified Locations Quick Facts Jackson Heights Community Library 17,100 sq. ft. building opened in 1954d in 1954 Two-story building with finished lower level Population Served 111,752 Queens Library Card Holders 37,058 Collection Holdings 212,885 Circulation (2013 loans) 663,919

13 Future Additional Locations Queens Village Community Library Quick Facts 12,300 sq. ft. building opened in 1954 One-story masonry building with lower level Population Served 37,633 Queens Library Card Holders 11,961 Collection Holdings 124,260 Circulation (2013 loans) 169,527

14 Future Additional Locations Circulation (2013 loans) 234,197 Ridgewood Community Library Quick Facts 14,000 sq. ft. building opened in 1928 One -story with mezzanine and lower level Population Served 89,203 Queens Library Card Holders 21,126 Collection Holdings 110,648 Circulation (2013 loans) 234,197

15 Bridget Quinn-Carey, Executive VP and Chief Operating Officer Queens Library Merrick Blvd Jamaica NY Thank You.