November/December 2016 | Volume 2, Issue No
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QUEENS LIBRARY MAGAZINE November/December 2016 | Volume 2, Issue No. 6 Where can High School Equivalency take you? p.4 Building Meet the Summer Poetry Contest winners p.6 Queens Librarians share the future of their favorite holiday recipes! p.9 The Digital Archives Queens Library p.11 collection is now live p.19 QueensLibrary.org 1 QUEENS LIBRARY MAGAZINE A Message from the President and CEO Last summer, I had the pleasure of meeting Elizabeth Felicella, an architectural photographer who was taking pictures of the main floor of the Central Library. Elizabeth has shot the interiors and exteriors of every library building in New York City, including the 62 libraries in the Queens Library system. She pointed out that our buildings are unique in terms of style and size and tell a fascinating story about the Library’s history, the neighborhoods they serve and how they’ve been used over time. This narrative is still being written as we continue to strive to offer our customers and staff spaces that are energy efficient, technologically advanced, inspiring and safe, with enough room for meetings, classes and special events. Our buildings are being used more than ever since we began offering six-day service at every community library starting November 2015 and we’ve served more than 11 million customers, all of whom have a wide range of space and service needs. Thanks to the strong support of our elected officials and partners in city and state government, we’ve improved or renovated many of our community libraries in the past year, and have plans to upgrade more of them in the Sincerely, coming years. If you’d like to know more about our capital projects, please take a look at our new “Capital Projects Tracker,” available on our website at www.queenslibrary.org/capital Dennis M. Walcott We’re also looking forward to two great milestones: the opening of Elmhurst President and CEO Library in December and the completion of the Hunters Point Library in 2017. Produced by Layout and Design Please contact the Editor Queens Library Jay Eom with any questions or Marketing and Mingzhen Li concerns. Queens Library Magazine Communications A Queens Library Publication Marketing E-mail 89-11 Merrick Boulevard Editors Amanda Beekharry [email protected] Jamaica, NY 11432 Yves H. Etheart Tabitha Laffernis Production Phone QueensLibrary.org Vincent Sgaglione 718-990-0859 Admission is free to all programs. Some Sign-language interpretation is available programs require preregistration. Please by request for most library programs. Follow us preregister with the library where the event Call Special Services at least two weeks in is taking place, or sign up at queenslibrary. advance at 718-990-0853; TTY 718-990- facebook.com/queenslibrarynyc org/events if online registration is offered. 0809. Please note that Queens Library will try to accommodate your sign-language twitter.com/queenslibrary Programs are subject to change without interpretation needs; however, this service notice, and some may not appear in this may not be available for all programs. magazine. For the most up-to-date listings, instagram.com/queenslibrary call the library where an event is taking All Queens Library locations, with the place, or go to queenslibrary.org/events. exception of Astoria, Glendale, and plus.google.com/+queenslibrary Queens Village, are fully or partially Get our Biweekly Newsletter, with highlights accessible to the handicapped. For more of upcoming programs and events, and details on handicapped accessibility, visit queenslibrary.tumblr.com links to full listings, in your email inbox. Go to queenslibrary.org or inquire at your local queenslibrary.org and click on Signup for library. Updates at the top right side of the page. pinterest.com/queenslibrary Contents 4 6 High School Meet the Equivalency Summer Poetry Makes Dreams Contest Come True Winners! 11 16 Building Lincoln Center the Future at Local Brings Hunters Point the Big City to Queens Magazine Events 3 A Day of Discovery and Science Fun at Central! 24 All Ages 9 Holiday Recipes from Our Librarians! 30 Adults 14 My (Underground) American Dream: A Conversation 45 Mail-a-Book with Julissa Arce 46 Job & Business Academy (JBA) 15 Coming Full Circle: Queens Library’s Chief Librarian 50 Other Languages • • 18 Fun at Glen Oaks on Older Adults Day! • • по русски • 國語 • Español 19 Learn More About Queens History with the New 55 Teens Digital Archives 59 Children 20 Gracie Book Club Comes to Queens 21 The Children’s Library Discovery Center Turns Five! 22 ProjectART Gets Kids Creative After School 5627-10/16 What’s Happening Now? Get Out the Vote! The 2016 presidential election will be one of the most memorable and important ones in the history of our country. Queens Library is proud that several of our community libraries will serve as polling sites for the election. On Tuesday, November 8, Queens residents will cast their votes at the Central, Briarwood, Forest Hills, Lefferts, North Forest Park, Richmond Hill, Seaside, St. Albans, and Woodside libraries. Don’t forget to visit the NYC Board of Elections website at vote.nyc. Chantal Antoine’s Keyi Ble (The Wheat Pickers) is one of the paintings that will be featured ny.us or call 866-VOTE-NYC (866-868- in Queens Library’s Festival an Koulè (Festival of Colors). 3692) to see if your community library is the correct place for you to vote in who live in NYC households that do in Flushing and Far Rockaway are your neighborhood. not have home access to high-speed recruiting teens in grades 7-12 to Internet services. For more information serve on their Youth Councils. Learn We’re Improving Our Website on how to sign up for the program, leadership skills, work on issues that Queens Library is redesigning our visit queenslib.org/QNSHotspot. matter to you, and make a difference website to make it easier to use for in your neighborhood. Interested our customers. We’re improving the Celebrate the Art and teens can pick up an application at the website’s navigation and performance, Culture of Queens’s Haitian Flushing Library or Queens Library for and the new site will be optimized Community Teens in Far Rockaway, and orientation for use with your desktops, laptops, Queens Library is proud to present meetings will take place on Thursday, smartphones, and other portable “Festival an Koulè (Festival of Colors),” November 3 (Flushing) and Monday, electronic devices. We should be ready a six-week exhibit of artists who November 14 (Far Rockaway). For to launch the new site by the middle of represent Haitian culture in their art. more information, go to queenslib.org/ 2017; stay tuned for details! Over 20 local and wider-known artists TeenYouthCouncil. will display their works at Cambria Free Wi-Fi Hotspots for Heights, Rochdale Village, St. Albans, Saturday Service at Court Students and Their Families and South Hollis—the four libraries Square! New York City public school students that serve the large and vibrant Court Square Community Library at can now get FREE Wi-Fi at home Haitian community of Southeast 25-01 Jackson Avenue in Long Island through the ConnectED Library Queens. The exhibit will kick off on City is now open for on-site Saturday Hotspot Program, a collaboration Saturday, November 19 with special service from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The between Queens Library, the New York programs and artist talks. For more mobile library at 48th Avenue and Public Library, Brooklyn Public Library, information about Festival an Koule, Center Boulevard in Hunters Point and the Department of Education. please contact the participating will still operate on Saturdays, but Library customers who are at least 18 libraries or visit the Queens Library customers in Long Island City can years old and have a child in a New website. now enjoy programs and events on York City public school can borrow Saturdays and full six-day service at mobile hotspots from several Queens Join the Teen Youth Leadership Court Square. For more information Library locations for the rest of the Council about events at Court Square Library, school year. This program is designed Are you a teen who is looking to call 718-937-2790 or visit queenslibrary. to help the thousands of K-12 students make a difference? The Teen Libraries org/branch/Court-Square. ■ 2 QUEENS LIBRARY MAGAZINE A Day of Discovery and Science Fun at Central! Queens Library hosted a great day of science activities and family fun at the 5th annual Discovery Day Street Fair on September 10 at Central Library in Jamaica. Nearly 1,500 kids, parents, and for Kids, Liberty Science Center, City community members visited the of Science, Vinny Voltage, BubbleDad, Children’s Library Discovery Center at WNET13, and more to teach children Central Library that Saturday, as well and their parents about subjects as the amazing science booths set up like biology, physics, and electricity, outside on 90th Avenue. The Fair also making them fun and exciting in a served as a celebration of the CLDC’s festival-style setting. Even Queens fifth anniversary. Library President and CEO Dennis Walcott took part in the festivities and The CLDC welcomed learning partners enjoyed the educational exhibits. like The New York Hall of Science, Arch “The wonderful thing about this event is that it shows young people that science is something that happens in their everyday lives, and that it can be enjoyable and accessible,” said Mr. Walcott. “Inspiring that type of interest is something our CLDC staff does every day, and I can’t think of a better way to celebrate them and their hard work than today’s Discovery Fair.” Thank you again to all our partners and guests! ■ November/December 2016 3 High School Equivalency Makes Dreams Come True It’s never too late to go back to school, and Amna Khan and Faye Pinto are perfect examples.