Young story-lovers eagerly follow along as a librarian, Chief of Story Telling Miss Hassler, tells what must have been a fascinating story at the Astoria branch of the Queens Library in this 1919 photo from the archives. Photo courtesy of the Queens Library.
The Archives at the Queens Library celebrated its 100th birthday at an event held
at the central branch in Jamaica on April 25.
Since it started in 1912, the Archives has taken on the task of preserving documents, books, photos and maps from the history and environment of Queens, along with Brooklyn and Nassau and Suffolk Counties on Long Island.
According to the Queens Library website, the Archives collection includes about 36,000 books, 2,500 cubic feet of manuscripts, which date back to the 17th century, 4,500 maps and broadslides and 105,000 photographs. Among the photos it has are depictions of the blizzard of 1888 and tornadoes of 2010. It also has subscriptions to 49 journals and 28 newspapers.
Thomas Galante, president and CEO of Queens Library, said that the Archives are working to make it even easier for researchers to look through their archives for information.
“Preserving the past is most valuable if you are looking toward the future. The Archives is on the road toward digitizing much of their collection
to make it more accessible to researchers online,” Galante said. “As new technology becomes available, with faster scanners and browsers, it will only get better and better.”
