LONG ISLAND CITY — A new neighborhood group is looking to raise money to buy books and advocate for services at the Court Square Library — currently the only Queens Library branch in the rapidly growing neighborhood.
The group received its charter two weeks ago, according to member and Hunters Point resident Meghan Cirrito who said their main goal is to get the neighborhood more involved with the local library.
"Just help do outreach so the community knows what's available," said the mother of two, a former librarian who once worked at the branch herself. "Basically get them excited about the public library again."
The Court Square branch serves many residents in the neighborhood as well as those who live along the Long Island City waterfront, where another long-awaited library branch has been in the works for several years.
Located on the first floor of the Citigroup Building, the Court Square branch opened before the area was the booming residential hub it is today.
It has since outgrown its small space and the library is getting a 1,700-square-foot expansion — to include a kid's and community space — that's expected to open in the coming weeks.
"Now there's of course a huge demand for library services, especially for children's library services," said Cirrito, who added they want to help raise money for books and programming at the library.
"The manager there, she's very creative and trying all different ways to provide services for the neighborhood but with limited space and very limited resources," she said. "We developed this Friends group to kind of help plug the hole for her."
The group is encouraging the public to take part in a "Buy-a-Book" campaign, where they can specifically earmark their donation to go to the Court Square branch.
They're also collecting feedback from the community about what kind of events and programs they'd like to most see at the library.
The branch is also getting a new children's librarian next week who will immediately begin organizing programs for kids, with more expected to launch once the library's expansion opens, Queens Library spokeswoman Joanne King said.
Anyone interested in joining the Friends of Court Square Library can contact the branch directly at (718) 937-2790 and ask for Ms. McKenna, or call Camille Barrett, the library’s Friends coordinator, at (718) 990-8583.
