Queens Memory Project to Host Community History Events

Erika Banga on the swing set at the Frank D. O’Connor Playground in Elmhurst (2003).

Donated by Kamaljit Kaur/Queens Memory Project

Erika Banga on the swing set at the Frank D. O’Connor Playground in Elmhurst (2003).

Laurie Greenwald poses in her Parkway Village home (1962).

Donated by Laurie Greenwald / Queens Memory Project

Laurie Greenwald poses in her Parkway Village home (1962).

Many items that can help add to the history of Queens are sitting in closets and basements all over our borough. Over the past three years, the Queens Memory Project (a collaboration of Queens Library and Queens College) has encouraged members of our community to dig out these items and bring them to the library. And now we’re expanding that work to even more neighborhoods in Queens.

Queens Memory, in collaboration with the Brooklyn Public Library and the Metropolitan New York Library Council, will spend the next year hosting community history events at ten libraries across Queens. This cross-institutional collaboration, the recent winner of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation’s Knight News Challenge, has a simple objective: democratizing the cultural heritage of New York City.

Gladys and John Weaver on Mother's Day in Jamaica (1950).

Donated Gladys Weaver / Queens Memory Project

Gladys and John Weaver on Mother's Day in Jamaica (1950).

With the support of our partners and the Knight Foundation, Queens Memory will continue to provide community members with the tools and technology to share their Queens memorabilia and cultural heritage with the world. We're looking for materials like photographs, fliers and documents from families, businesses, block associations or community organizations.

We have a mobile digitization lab (including a scanner, laptop and camera) which we bring to our community history events. Library patrons can bring in their family photos, documents and other memorabilia, and we digitize the materials on-site. All scanning is handled by Queens Memory staff and volunteers, and we don’t keep the original materials, just the digital copies. We return the originals on the same day, and also provide customers with a free flash drive containing the digital copies of their materials. We include the scanned images on our website and also share them with the Digital Public Library of America.

Janette James examines her father’s map of the world at the St Albans Community Library in May 2014.

Queens Memory Project

Janette James examines her father’s map of the world at the St Albans Community Library in May 2014.

Queens Memory isn't just about digital preservation. We want community members to be active participants in shaping Queens history. By contributing and sharing materials, they are choosing how their neighborhood will be represented and remembered, playing an important role in the democratization of culture heritage. This is a great opportunity to meet neighbors, share stories and engage with local history in a unique way.

This September, we’ll be hosting events at the Woodhaven and St. Albans Libraries; October will bring us to Flushing, Woodside and Forest Hills Please join us to share your stories, photos and memorabilia! Check out queensmemory.org to see what others have contributed.

Queens Memory staff Grace DeSagun and Dacia Metes assist library patron Patricia Rosendale at the Broad Channel Community Library in April 2013.

Queens Memory Project

Queens Memory staff Grace DeSagun and Dacia Metes assist library patron Patricia Rosendale at the Broad Channel Community Library in April 2013.

Woodhaven Library
Monday Sept 14th, 4-6pm
Thursday Sept 17th, 6-8pm

St. Albans Library
Monday Sept 21st, 6-8pm
Thursday Sept 24th, 6-8pm

Flushing Library
Wednesday, Oct 14th, 6-8pm
Sunday, Oct 18th, 12-4pm
*Organized in collaboration with Asian Americans for Equality

Woodside Library
Thursday, Oct 22nd, 12-2pm
*Organized in collaboration with My Baryo, My Borough

Forest Hills Library
Monday, Oct 26th, 5:30-7:30pm
Saturday, Oct 31st, 2-5pm
*Organized in collaboration with My Baryo, My Borough

Maggie Schreiner is the Outreach Coordinator for the Queens Memory Project at Queens Library.

Erika Banga on the swing set at the Frank D. O’Connor Playground in Elmhurst (2003).

Donated by Kamaljit Kaur / Queens Memory Project

Erika Banga on the swing set at the Frank D. O’Connor Playground in Elmhurst (2003).

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