PANDEMIC PROVES LIBRARIES ARE MORE THAN BUILDINGS

BY SHANE MILLER

On March 19, 1896, a library in Long Island City opened its doors, and with two other libraries in Astoria, the trio formed the Long Island City Public Library. When Queens consolidated with New York City in 1901, a new charter proposed joining all of the libraries in Queens under one umbrella.

In 1907, the Queens Public Library was officially incorporated. Just over 125 years later, Dennis Walcott now serves as president and CEO of Queens Public Library (QPL), steering it through arguably one of the most trying years in its century-and-a-quarter history, as one of the most public of institutions joined the rest of the city in closing its doors.

But one of the largest and busiest public library systems in the most ethnically and culturally diverse area in the country didn’t abandon its mission to serve the people of Queens by “building strong communities,” as its mission statement declares. If anything, the pandemic proved how integral the library system is to the people and neighborhoods of the World’s Borough.

“It did for a host of different reasons,” Walcott told This Is Queensborough about what COVID-19 taught him about the importance the library plays in people’s lives. “One, the library plays a very key role in that it is our responsibility to have information available to the public.

“But on the negative side, we really miss having the public in our buildings and miss having the public access information directly,” he added. “We miss the informal network and the safe haven we play for the public, and I know the public misses that tremendously.”

Queens Public Library (QPL) closed its doors on March 16 of last year, but by March 30 was up and running with a variety of virtual programming, offering everything from children’s story hour to ESL classes to resume development workshops. Currently, QPL offers about 75 virtual sessions per week.

“It’s not as a result of me, it’s a result of the really smart and dedicated group of people who work here,” said Walcott. “They turned on a dime and started ramping up around the virtual world. Everybody was just fantastic and built it up rather quickly, expanded it and diversified the offerings.”

The library addressed serious issues, as well. Last summer, when the discussion about race relations in this country began to heat up, the library hosted a session with Attorney General Letitia James on the subject. QPL also hosted an interactive discussion with Dr. Lisa Cooper of Johns Hopkins University about vaccine hesitancy.

“Several people with vaccine hesitancy told some of our team members that after seeing Dr. Lisa Cooper, they decided to go get a vaccine,” Walcott said. “She was able to provide information that addressed some of their concerns.”

As part of Black History Month in February, the library important to the African-American community, especially as they relate to the pandemic and mental health. People from across the nation and even the world joined in the discussion.

“The crazy guy I am, I get up early to do my workout, so I woke up extra early to watch the insomnia session at 3 o’clock in the morning,” said Walcott.

QPL is also playing an integral role in fighting the pandemic. Last month, the Flushing Library halted service and was converted into a vaccination site. When Walcott spoke with This Is Queensborough, he was actually on his way to the Ozone Park Library to check in on that branch’s conversion into a second vaccination site.

“We always wanted to play a role if we could be helpful,” said Walcott. “So we worked with the city to turn the Flushing Library into a vaccination site. We’ve always wanted to serve the city in whatever way we could around the pandemic”

That includes opening COVID-19 testing sites at several branches. To date, over 60,000 people have been tested at the Lefferts, Ozone Park, Windsor Park or Kew Gardens Hills branches. In July, the library began offering “to-go service” at seven branches, which has since expanded to over 35 branches.

And despite the ongoing pandemic, QPL was able to keep several capital improvement projects on track, including new doors and ramps at the Sunnsyide Library, renovations to the Steinway branch, and improvements at the Glendale Library. A new library in Far Rockaway is under construction, and the Astoria Library, which dates back to 1904 and is the oldest library in the QPL system, will soon be the focus of some much-needed upgrades.

“Once the city said we are going to move forward, our folks started meeting with them” Walcott said. “That feels great, because it’s our goal to constantly look at how we improve the infrastructure and address the needs of the community through a library that meets today’s needs and not one built for the 20th Century.”

Walcott assumed the role of president and CEO in 2016, a very tumultuous time for QPL. His predecessor was fired after it was discovered that he had charged hundreds of thousands of dollars of personal expenses to his library corporate card, as well as spent lavishly decorating his office at the Central Library. The scandal also resulted in a drastic reshuffling of QPL Board of Trustees, but Walcott said it’s not in his personality to dwell on the negative.

“The library had a very challenging period, but my goal and the goal of the board was just to move forward, and we just keep focused and positive,” he said. “People were doing great things before I got here, and we’ll continue to do that. I only know how to operate in a very positive way.”

Walcott served as School Chancellor under former mayor Michael Bloomberg. In that role, he took his responsibility to the public seriously and worked to always be accessible.

“When we had the old Panels for Education Policy, I would never come on stage from the back, I always walked from the back of the auditorium where people would see me and interact,” he said. “They would yell at me or be angry or whatever mood they needed to convey. I don’t have any problems with that.”

It’s a focus he has brought to his role as head of QPL. He routinely greets patrons at the Central Library when the doors open at 9 a.m., and can often be seen roaming the floor.

“It’s different than when I was chancellor, because here at the library you’re really open to the pubic,” Walcott said. “As chancellor you’re in an office building, so the public isn’t flowing in and out past you.”

Walcott shared the story of a man who would come to the library everyday and read approximately ten books a week. He struck up a conversation with the man and learned that he was homeless and under the impression he was not allowed to have a library card because of his housing situation. Walcott said team members quickly made him a card-carrying member of QPL. Another man would come to the library everyday at 9 a.m. and sit at a table until 2:30 p.m., but was rarely seen reading or interacting with anyone. Walcott eventually decided to ask him why.

“He said, ‘The library is my oasis from the craziness outside,’” he said. “Being on the floor with the desire to have people interacting, there wasn’t a barrier. If I was in an office away form the mix, I wouldn’t have heard those stories.”

Despite the new vaccines and the city, hopefully, returning to some semblance of normal, now is still not the time to be planning large-scale celebrations. That said, QPL isn’t going to let it’s 125th anniversary go by unnoticed. For starters, a virtual gala is planned for June.

“Normally with galas you celebrate individuals, but our goal this year is to celebrate 125 years of service,” Walcott said. “I can’t say enough positive things about our creative and dedicated team members here. QPL also wants the public to help them mark the historic milestone. At qpl125.org, people can upload photos or share their own library story, take an interactive quiz, enter a poetry contest, or write their own “Love Letter to Queens.”

QPL will soon release a bucket list of 125 library experiences not to be missed, and the 125 employees with the most seniority will be honored, including one woman who is just shy of her 50th anniversary with QPL.

Walcott was born and raised in Queens, and still lives there with his wife Denise, with whom he has four children and eight grandchildren. He grew up a five-minute walk from the St. Alban’s branch, and in high school Walcott changed buses across the street from the Central Library, where he would do research, but by his own admission, also a lot of “just hanging out.”

“Some of those librarians are probably thinking, ‘I can’t believe this guy is the head of the Queens Public Library,’” he said.