Queens Libraries Are King
The [Queens library] system is the [best](http://www.nysun.com/article/60462)in the country. Yesterday the Public Library Association [(PLA)](http://www.pla.org/) released a report that ranked Queens #1. Brooklyn ranked fifth and New York (which services Manhattan), came in seventh. The Bronx and Staten Island public libraries are not PLA members. The PLA is a division of the [American Library Association](http://www.ala.org/) and has 11,000 member libraries.
Items in circulationin the Queens libraries increased between the 2006 and 2007 fiscal years from 20.2 to 21 million. Its [63 branches] see 55,000 visitors daily. More than just a place to borrow books from, the libraries have become community centers in the citys [most diverse ](http://www.queenstribune.com/archives/featurearchive/feature2002/0606/feature_story.html)borough. Other impressive figures include the [22,000 programs](http://www.queenslibrary.org/index.aspx?page_nm=CommunityDB+-+Browse) offered and the 30 languages that popular titles are available in.
Photo courtesy of [Pro-Zak on Flickr]