You are reading

Queens Public Library Reopens Some Branches for First Time in Nearly Four Months

Bellerose Branch Queens (via QPL)

July 13, 2020 By Michael Dorgan

The Queens Public Library (QPL) has opened some of its local branches for the first time in nearly four months.

Seven locations opened to the public for pickups and returns today while nine additional sites are now accepting returns.

The library system shut all of its 66 branches on March 16 to stop the spread of COVID-19.

The first libraries open for the “to-go” services are Bayside Library, Bellerose Library, East Elmhurst Library, Kew Gardens Hills Library, Laurelton Library, Long Island City Library, and Peninsula Library.

The move represents the first phase of libraries reopening across the city. The “to go” services are being offered at 22 libraries across all five boroughs– starting today.

Each branch in Queens will have a designated area for customers to pick up and return orders placed online or via phone. The QPL app is live and can also be used to make requests.

Customers and staff are required to wear masks and social distancing guidelines are being enforced.

Opening hours at each of the Queens locations are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. On these days, the branches are shut from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. for cleaning.

The sites are open on Tuesdays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and on Thursdays from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. They are closed on Thursdays from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. for cleaning.

The nine QPL libraries that are now accepting returns are Astoria Library, Cambria Heights Library, Central Library, Flushing Library, Jackson Heights Library, Queensboro Hill Library, Rego Park Library, Ridgewood Library, and South Ozone Park Library.

Returns are accepted at external return machines but the libraries will remain closed to the public.

Checked out materials will not accrue fines until Oct, 1, 2020 at the earliest, and current library card blocks for late returns are being temporarily lifted.

Applications for new library cards are only being accepted online and can be picked up at any “to-go” service branch.

All QPL libraries in use during this initial stage will undergo extensive cleaning to limit the spread of COVID-19.

email the author: news@queenspost.com
No comments yet

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Halletts Point esplanade in Astoria opens, reconnecting community to East River waterfront

Aug. 22, 2025 By Bill Parry

When The Durst Organization broke ground on its massive Halletts Point project in Astoria on a cold winter day in January 2016, the speeches were delivered inside a massive brick warehouse that had cut off public access to a stretch of East River waterfront for generations. That warehouse is long gone, demolished and then replaced by two high-rise residential towers, 20 and 30 Halletts Point, which launched leasing earlier this year, and a 58,000-square-foot waterfront esplanade that opened to the public this month.

Queens Together launches ‘Unofficial US Open Dining Guide’ encouraging fans to sample restaurants along the 7 line

Aug. 20, 2025 By Shane O’Brien

The US Open returns to Flushing Meadows Corona Park this Sunday, with more than 1 million attendees anticipated to take mass transit to the iconic annual tennis event. With hundreds of thousands of fans set to take the 7 out to the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, there is a world of delicious local eateries lying beneath the elevated train tracks should any fan wish to stop en-route to the US Open.

Can Queens’ food scene thrive with both trucks and restaurants?

Aug. 19, 2025 By Jessica Militello

In Jackson Heights at 4 p.m. on a Thursday afternoon, Roosevelt Avenue is buzzing with energy as commuters file in and out of subway cars and onto the street and cars and trucks grapple to get down the busy road. The street is filled with rows of shops and restaurants, along with food carts, street vendors and food trucks along the avenue. The almost-but-not-quite the weekend lag leaves hungry commuters faced with another choice to make throughout their day and the array of food truck options in busy areas like Jackson Heights offers customers convenience and delicious food without breaking the bank, two features that can feel vital, particularly with rising costs of living and pressure from inflation.

Suspect wanted for flashing woman multiple times while riding R train in Astoria: NYPD

Police from the 114th Precinct in Astoria and Transit District 20 are looking for a flasher who exposed himself repeatedly to a woman on board a northbound R train in Astoria on Sunday, Aug. 17.

The suspect sat across from the 34-year-old victim at around 12:50 p.m. as the subway was in the vicinity of Steinway Street and 34th Avenue and showed her his genitals multiple times, police said. The suspect zipped up and got off the train at the station and ran off on foot in an unknown direction. The woman was not injured during the encounter.