Queens Borough Public Library – Central Library

They have really improved the library these years. First there was the museum with several annual exhibits. Unfortunately, they got rid of that. But a better computer room replaced it. Now they have extended children and teen rooms, television screens, checkout machines and a café. Their Web site has advanced too, making it easy to log in and order books. The librarians are educated and helpful, except for a few instances where I have encountered rudeness. Next, they should improve the bathrooms.

I have been coming here for the past year ever since they had made the updates. It is a beautiful library. They even have a quiet study area in the back which helped me a lot when I was studying for Finals. I love that they have extend their hours so I can drop by after work. Now since I download the app I do not need to search through the entire library for a book, I just request it and then when it is ready for pick up I go to the reserve section. Perfect. I visit this library at least once or twice a week since I am able to request graphic novels.

The library itself is wonderful. The children’s section is huge. The picture books section is easily several times larger than the one in Flushing. It’s clean and everything looks new.
The location of the library is horrible. In the morning, it’s fine. But I wouldn’t want to come here at night.

— Very helpful staff! The librarians & costumer service are wonderful! The size of the library and the variety of books is outstanding.

Clean well organize work place

I’ve always loved coming to the Central Library since I first moved to Queens back in 2000 and my love for this location as only grown ever since the renovation. They have a fantastic Children’s Center that I’m looking forward to bring my toddler here pretty soon. They’ve also completely redone the Teen Room and it encompasses the whole right side that used to be the old children and teen rooms. I’m jealous thinking about it because I wish the room was like this when I was a teen. The media center is new as is the cyber center. I do miss the old museum room that used to be there but it’s so much better now. I live close to the Ozone Park and Lefferts branches but I prefer to come here. It’s a great place with lots of resources and plenty of people and staff. They even have a quiet room for those who need absolute silence while the cell phone room has been relaxed (seemingly). It’s definitely worth spending an afternoon here.
Tip: If you wish to use the computers, come early. The earlier the better. As it gets later in the day, it gets harder to acquire a computer.

Nice staff & great services. Worth visiting and having membership.

I camped out here while I was job searching and had no internet. Thank God for their quiet room! I got so much done!
If you don’t have a computer, you can sign up to use one of theirs, but I noticed a lot of people waiting and I think there’s a time limit.
The staff was extremely helpful in signing me up for a card and it looked like they offer a lot of classes. I was really pleased with my experience.

This branch is definitely NOT the place if you want to study. There’s not a shortage of people behaving like animals. They will be talking on their cell phones as if they are in their own living room. A lot of these folks are having a loud discussion about low life stuff like who got arrested or who went to jail and so fort. It’s depressing to come here.

nice facility some of the librarians are kind of rude, the people are ghetto, but it is fully equipped

This library is beautiful. The educated staff such as the «Librarians» are awesome However; the collaboration with IDNYC sucks. The absence of communication about what’s needed for Identification is poposterous. You are given the Royal Shack Down for nothing…“Please after hours have a meeting”, in addition inform the staff of proper mannerisms… just a bit of customer service goes a long way.

I love the library. Anyone who knows me, knows I love books. I come to this library often to get books to read for my train ride to & from work. I have a long ride.
This library always has many, many books on the specific genre that I like to read.
They have been renovating for quite some time & it seems like they’re almost done.
They have a quiet room, a media center, children’s area, copy machines, etc, helpful staff & the self check out & is quick & easy.
They’re also open really late on a few days of the week and they’re open 7 days a week.
You can also come here to get that new NYC ID. But the line is usually very long for that service.

scheduled my municipal id appt for myself & daughter at this location since it was closer then lic, never been here before & figured since i needed to get my teenager a book to read asap for summer reading id kill 2 birds with one stone. it is beautiful & brand new. a place i plan on coming to often with the girls to just sit and read. so clean so fresh just loved it all and loved the seperate areas for children and teens.
staff was very nice & accomodating! will be back soon!

It’s right across the street from the bus terminal it’s well kept and has pretty friendly staff. Nice and quiet with decent lounging. The bathrooms were in good shape and smelled alright. They also hold events for kids hear from time to time.

I used to hang out here all of the time when I was in high school (1999 – 2003). Back then, this place was a dump. It was more of a de facto community center than an actual library. I witnessed two fights break out here. When I started college (and discovered that the Flushing Library is A LOT better than this branch), I stopped coming to the Central Library. A decade later, I see that they completed renovated the Central Library.
They have made many changes since the last time I’ve been here. The Central Library has a sleeker look, they increased the amount of computers in the Cyber Center, and there is a mini-​science museum for kids. There are also programs for job training (I will definitely need that in the next few months). There are a myriad of books for the specialized high school exam, SAT, and the Regents.
Unfortunately, there are a few people who still act ghetto. I was in the Cyber Center researching something important and this teeny bopper had this Nicki Minaj song on full blast, though I must point out that there is a special quiet section in the library. I still think that the Flushing branch is the better of the two branches, but the Central library has definitely narrowed the gap.

Busy and clean. Censored, unusable Internet access.
I came here late on a Saturday afternoon.
There are many tables and reading chairs with and without power sockets, for long sessions of reading or using your own computer. The tables with power sockets were crowded but not full, and I had no trouble finding a place to sit down and work.
The Wifi Internet access provided by the library is bogus. After you authenticate with your library card and PIN, you can only access resources over HTTP and HTTPS; if you’re a developer, network admin or other computer professional, you can’t get any work done. Connecting to the Tor network works for a few seconds, but then you get booted from the Wifi network by some local sentinel process, and are forced to authenticate again using your library credentials. If you don’t use Tor, you will eventually get dropped from the Wifi network for some other reason after 5 to 10 minutes and have to authenticate again.
Tor is effectively blocked, and any outbound connections over anything but port 443 and 80 are blocked. If you require privacy or full Internet access, you must bring your own cellular Internet service. (Don’t forget an extension cord so you can power your phone and computer from one socket on a crowded table!)
I have tried Tor at two other small Queens Library locations and it works just fine from those locations.

The staff at the Queens Library are ok but don’t seem to know how to handle all materials. For example, I tried to return an audio-​recorder twice, but the first time the staff refused to take it back. The second time I tried to return it, it took forever, but I was able to persuade them that it was indeed the property of the Queens Library. They tried to give me a bill for $ 30 because I couldn’t return it the first time and it was now late. After I protested, they reduced the fine to $ 15. Still a rip off.

As a Long Island native, I greatly underestimated Queens Public Library. This is the best library experience ever. Conveniently located in the heart of Jamaica, this spot is a gem! Competent staff, advanced kiosks to ensure accurate and speedy check outs, minus lines. A new and up to date Media collection. Modern designed and stylish facility. I love coming here and my daughter loves the Children’s Discovery Center.

This review is strictly for the CHILDREN’S section of this library.
They always have great programs for the children on the weekends. For example, this past weekend they hosted a petting zoo for the children. The program lasted an hour and there was education, dancing, and petting involved. They even found a way to tie the program into their «Dig Into Reading» summer event.
The facility is also VERY bright and interactive, the chairs are comfy and the staff are young and approachable. It’s really unlike any library I ever had as a kid. The atmosphere makes children (and myself) want to be here and read or get work done – even in the summertime!
Highly recommend this library to anyone with tots, children and teens! =]

The first floor looks clean enough & I personally have been able to find what I needed when I needed it but if I had my choice, I’d just go to Manhattan’s main library branch instead.
I HATE the location of this place. It’s a pain to get to from the subway, not to mention being off a subway line I despise more than life itself. Why can they not have music songbooks available at other branches or bother sending those to other branches in a timely fashion? The last time I went, I had to deal with a panhandler harassing me as I was waiting for the crosswalk light to change.
It’s a huge library & the service I got both in person and on the phone was friendly enough but trying to call the main number and get someone on the phone is ridiculous. I’m not traveling all the way to northern Queens from southern Queens on MY dime if you can’t even tell me in a timely fashion if you have a book I’m looking for! They should have separate direct numbers for the library floor & the management floor so you’re not sitting through an endless stream of automated prompts.
I’d also like to know why in God’s name this place has security while my neighborhood branch does not. I take significant issue with the management of this place considering it seems THEY get to have a security guard where they work but no one else should. Why are the residents of Jamaica more special than any other Queens residents? Why the special privilege of security when others don’t have it? It doesn’t tell me good things about this library system & I feel management should be reminded of who’s paying for this branch along with their salaries.
If you actually live near this branch & it’s not a pain for you to get here, you might be okay with going here. The selection and service of the actual staff (not management) will make you happy.