A look at the Queens Library

I recently had the pleasure of going to the Queens Library for the first time and I've quickly been converted from the New York Public Library.  I was surprised to learn upon moving to Astoria that the Queens Library system is independent of the New York Public Library system.  Apparently the latter only covers Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island (Brooklyn has its own library system).  The reasoning behind this I've learned is that the Queens and Brooklyn libraries existed prior to the consolidation of the five boroughs and chose to remain autonomous after the conversion.  The Queens Library (which has 62 locations in the borough) is the second largest library system in the country (first place, not surprisingly, going to the New York Public Library system) and holds a whopping 6.6 million items.

I was very impressed when I walked into the Broadway Branch the other day to pick up a book for my next book club ("Summer without Men" by Siri Hustvedt).  The library was of course packed with people of all different ages, races and nationalities -- to be expected in Astoria -- but what was startling was the modernity of the library.  Queens Library, it turns out, is one of a few libraries in the country that uses a check-out system that includes Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and is the world's first library system to have a truly full-service self-checkout kiosk.

RFID is an amazing technology whereby micro-thin radio transmitters are placed into every library item and when a user places their books (yes, plural, up to 16 books at once) on the check-out pad, the system automatically picks up the transmitters and checks the books out to the user.  It's a pretty crazy concept when you see your books pop up on the screen after placing them on what seems like a regular mouse pad and I was quite impressed.

In addition, the Queens Library has all of the benefits of online accounts that the New York Public Library has (putting books on hold, getting notifications, etc.) so, all in all, I think the Queens Library may have the New York Public Library beat!