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Queens Public Library to Reopen Seven Additional Branches Sept. 28 With Limited Service

Fresh Meadows Library (QPL)

Sept. 24, 2020 By Christian Murray

The Queens Public Library announced today that seven additional branches are slated to reopen for “to-go” service Monday.

The library system currently has 15 branches open for to-got service and after Monday it will have 22 up and running. The latest branches to be added include the Arverne Library, Auburndale Library, the Fresh Meadows Library and Hillcrest Library, among others.

Under the “to-go” model, residents can request items online, through the QPL app or by phone and pick them up in a designated area of each branch building. They can return materials in the exterior return machines.

Branch staff will set aside and quarantine all returned items for 96 hours before they are put back into circulation. Each library branch will undergo extensive cleaning as well.

Library visitors are not permitted to browse shelves or use public computers inside branch buildings. Public programming and events remain cancelled amid the pandemic.

The Queens Library reopened its first seven branches for “to-go” service on July 13 with a second batch of eight branches on Aug. 10.

The 22 branches will all operate to-go service six days a week with a mask requirement in place for both visitors and staff.

They will be open during the following hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday (with a one-hour closure from 1 to 2 p.m. for cleaning); 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday; and 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday (with a one-hour closure from 3 to 4 p.m. for cleaning).

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

QPL plans to reopen more branches on a gradual basis.

The seven branches slated to open Monday are:

Arverne Library; Auburndale Library; Forest Hills Library; Fresh Meadows Library; Hillcrest Library; Langston Hughes Library and the Sunnyside Library.

They will join the following branches that are currently open for “to-go” service:

Astoria Library; Bayside Library; Bellerose Library; Cambria Heights Library; East Elmhurst Library; Jackson Heights Library; Kew Gardens Hills Library; Laurelton Library; Long Island City Library; Peninsula Library; Queensboro Hill Library; Rego Park Library; Ridgewood Library; South Ozone Park Library and Whitestone Library.