QUEENS — Queens booklovers rejoice!
All 62 branches of the Queens Borough Public Library will soon be open at least six days a week, thanks to increased city funding, the library announced Tuesday.
"Six day library service is back in Queens!" said Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer, chairman of the Council's Cultural Affairs and Libraries Committee, in a statement.
The last time all library branches in the borough were open six days a week was more than a decade ago, the library said.
Currently, most branches are open Monday through Friday. Only 20 are also open on Saturdays, including two — the Central Library in Jamaica and the Flushing Library — that also operate on Sundays.
Those two branches will also expand their hours on Tuesdays. Instead of opening at 1 p.m., they will now open at 9 a.m., like on other weekdays.
Beginning Nov. 15, most branches will also be open on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Only the Kew Gardens Hills branch will be closed on Saturdays, but it will be open on Sundays instead, from noon to 5 p.m.
The Court Square branch will remain closed on weekends, as will the entire building in which the library is located. But library patrons will be able to go to a nearby mobile branch, which will be parked every Saturday at Gantry Plaza in Hunters Point from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The library was able to expand its schedule after the latest city budget included an additional $43 million in operating expenses for libraries citywide, of which $12 million was granted to the Queens library system, the library said.
The money will also be used to hire 100 new employees and to increase the library’s budget to purchase books, e-books, videos and other materials by 30 percent.
A portion of the funds was also allocated to boost early literacy and after school programs, the library said.
"The expansion of Queens Library hours into the weekend has long been awaited by families of every neighborhood throughout the borough," said Queens Borough President Melinda Katz in a statement, adding that the library "serves as an anchor for so many of our communities.”
Brooklyn Public Library and the New York Public Library were also able to expand their hours thanks to additional funding.
