When Central Library opens its doors each morning, our staff are always there to greet people as they enter. This simple but important gesture sets a tone of warmth and welcome that lie at the heart of our mission to transform lives and build strong communities. We know our customers count on the library for learning, belonging, opportunity, and so much more, and this daily ritual - a hallmark of the leadership of Central Library Director Nelson Yusheng Lu - reminds us of our role in serving them.
In Everyone Is Welcome: Queens Public Library, Then and Now, Nelson has taken on the ambitious task of compiling the stories of our 63 libraries to commemorate QPL's 130th anniversary. His effort is as much a tribute to our diverse communities and the generations who have put their trust in us as it is a labor of love borne out of a deep respect for our history and enduring role in the lives of millions. On behalf of Queens Public Library, I want to congratulate Nelson on his accomplishment.
Dennis M. Walcott, President and CEO
Queens Public Library
For the past 130 years, Queens Public Library has been a cornerstone of community life across the borough of Queens in New York City. During this time, the library's programs and services have continually evolved to meet the growing and changing needs of the public.
During his 30 years at the Library, Nelson has been at the heart of this effort. His dedication to the library's mission shine across the pages of this book, which beautifully captures the remarkable evolution of one of the largest libraries in the United States.
Today, Queens Public Library is stronger than ever. Our commitment to the public and to ensuring "Everyone Is Welcome," as the title of this book so perfectly states, remains as steadfast now as it was 130 years ago.
Nick Buron, Chief Librarian
Queens Public Library
We said farewell not only to our families and friends but to the familiar air, the language of childhood, and the soil that had carried our first steps. Ahead of us lay another world-America, unknown yet full of promise. The farewell and the encounter met in the same moment: leaving what we loved, and beginning to find what we would come to love.
This book, a brief history of Queens Public Library, represents years of devotion by Nelson Lu-a librarian, historian, and friend. The collection of more than 1,200 photographs combines images from the Library's archives and photographs taken by the author himself during his visits to every community library in Queens. The result is not merely a chronicle, but a living portrait of a library that has evolved with its people. Through wars, economic hardship, waves of immigration, and the digital age, the Queens Public Library has remained steadfast-a place of welcome, knowledge, and renewal.
As I write these lines, another autumn approaches. The air carries the same tenderness as September, the season of parting and beginning. Memory and gratitude intertwine. What began as a farewell long ago has become a lasting companionship-between friends, between immigrants and their new home, between history and hope.
This Foreword, then, is both a greeting and a thank-you-to a friend, to a library, and to the city that allowed us to become who we are.
Paul Xinye Qiu
Flushing, New York, October 2025
