Interview with Dennis Walcott, Queens Library President and CEO

From City & State New York:

Jeff Coltin: Does the library take on extra importance in Queens, this borough of immigrants?

Dennis Walcott: No question. The intersection of both airports, LaGuardia and Kennedy being in Queens and the magnet of the airports in attracting people of different countries and backgrounds here. We have a responsibility to be even more assertive as far as our position of being open to everyone and being respectful to everyone.

We always like to say that every Queens resident lives within a mile and a half of a Queens library. You don’t want to say a mile and then someone says, ‘Well, I live like a mile and a half away.’ (Laughs.) We view them as neighborhood libraries that reflect the uniqueness of that particular community as well. We take that role very seriously and try to produce programs and services to respond to that need.

Direct to Complete Interview

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