New Support for QHSS Students Found at Queens Central Library

What resources will the library offer at the new QHSS building next year? What is accessible to the QHSS students for next year is the Queens Borough Central Library located in Jamaica, just a block away from the new building. This Queens Central Library is one of five central libraries in Queens with a Teens Center, with another popular location being the Queens Library on Main Street, Flushing. Students can easily arrive at the Queens Central Library in Jamaica by walking 5 minutes, and they’ll have access to explore the entire library. The Teens Center is located at the back of the library, on the right corner when you enter and walk past the security desk.

Within the library located in York College, a lot of those books are college-level textbooks specifically for the college students studying for classes at the college. There is limited access for QHSS students, with some going there to use the school computer or mainly finding a quiet place to study. On the other hand, the Queens Central Library is open to the public. There is more diverse information available, with curated books & resources sections for each age group. There is a section specifically for teens within the library, and librarians are available for students to ask questions regarding resources for high school students.

One of the library staff in charge of the Teens section is Ms. Ashley, the site-coordinator of the Teens (also called YA, young adult) Center. The following is from a short interview about the Teens Center: “The Teens Center services all young people between the ages of 13 to 19 years old,” Ms. Ashley explains, “We [also] have a College Readiness center here which services…young adults that are college age from 19 up until the age of 24.” To access the center in the afternoon, “they need to have either a library card, a school ID, or a regular state ID” for proof of teen age. For college students, “they need their college ID…that’ll allow [them] to enter the space after 19 years old.”

This College & Career Readiness program is available with “…everything from resume help to career building or looking for jobs. It’s looking into college…help with getting the information together to fill out your FAFSA. We have scholarship programs and…onsite college visits from different colleges and universities. Sometimes they do in-person meetings or virtual meetings…”

In addition to that, “We have Civics Engagement here at the library for teens and young adults…who are interested in community service, volunteering partnerships, getting service hours that they need…for school that is available to [students]. We have regular general programmings like games, like manga, mancala,… we have all the books. We have study aids, … SAT books, … SHSAT books, anything that anybody needs from the age of 13 to 19…”

For any research purposes for school, “We have different databases, so you can do your research and check your resources and have academic resources available to you on the computer with your library card. We also can do that as a part of class visits.” This program’s resources are not limited to students only. “We also can do that as a part of class visits…if the school and the teacher contacts us, they can schedule class visits for the class to come from the school to the library, to explore the space and have a research class…here at the library to go along with the curriculum to go along with the school.”

If students are bored after school and want something to do, “We also have different things for the holidays…bulletin boards and programs and grab-and-go items for those holidays specifically.” Additionally, the library itself also “have months that we celebrate different things.” For example, “March is actually Manga Madness, so we’ve been doing a lot of art programs…we have little special things to help in that nature.”

Since QHSS is mainly STEM centered, the library is a perfect place for those resources. “We also have a lot of STEM…We have 3-D printing…computers, laptops, iPads…digital arts and illustration on the Wacom tablets, all kinds of different things.” In summary, “it’s a lot of different stuff that we offer here at the library.”

With the current school year coming to an end soon, QHSS students can visit the York College library one final time to say goodbye, to reminisce about the quiet study time or the computer access provided by the college. When the new school is available, say goodbye to York College library and hello to Queens Central Library!