The Friends of the Queens College Library is a volunteer organization with a twofold purpose: sponsoring cultural events for the QC community; and raising funds to donate to the Queens College Library to provide services, books, and equipment the library would otherwise be unable to afford. In past years the Friends have sponsored celebrations in honor of the anniversaries of Yeats, Mozart, Whitman, Rogers and Hammerstein, and Bessie Smith. The Friends have also sponsored a trio of programs celebrating the anniversaries of Oscar Wilde, Tennessee Williams, and Henry Purcell; In 1996, the 100th anniversary of the birth of F. Scott Fitzgerald was the focus of National Library week programs. In 1997 Franz Schubertand Johannes Brahms were commemorated with concerts and lectures, and the 100th anniversary of the birth of William Faulkner was recognized by a faculty lecture. This year we celebrate the centennial of George Balanchine in collaboration with the Music School.
Over the years the Friends have provided two endowments to the Library and funded a variety of special needs, including the preservation of the Ford Theatre playbill for the night that President Lincoln was assassinated, restored the Hallum will of 1759, and donated funds to the Reserve Library to purchase textbooks for students financially unable to buy texts for their courses. In the last several years the Friends' donations have supported acquisition of a Macintosh microcomputer and CD player and other equipment for the Educational Curriculum Center, books on multicultural topics and English as a Second Language, and most recently, two microcomputers for public access to the Internet in the library reference area.
Membership is open to all at several different levels:Sponsor and Patron Members ($50/$100) level receive library privileges for the year of the membership. Life members receive continuing borrowing privileges. Membership blanks are available at the Rosenthal Library Circulation Desk.
The Friends maintain an office in Rosenthal Library. Material may be left for the Friends at theRosenthal Reference Department Work Room, or mailed to the Friends of the Queens College Library c/o Reference Workroom, Rosenthal Library, Queens College, Flushing NY 11367. Telephone messages may be left at 718-997-3732 Rm.317.