Essential Community Services—A Profile on the Queens Public Library

Host Ron J Stefanski is excited to bring another episode of this special DistruptED

Public Library Edition series to listeners and viewers. In this second installment,

Stefanski looks at Queens Public Library and the public library innovations that created

an even more essential service for the New York City Borough for over 125 years,

during the pandemic and beyond.

The ship’s captain, so to speak, of Queens Public Library is Nick Buron. Buron, Chief

Librarian at Queens Public Library is a nearly-25-year veteran of the library. In this first

of a two-part conversation, Buron talked about the integral role Queens Library played

in the community during the pandemic.

“You know, New York City; we were hit pretty hard [by the pandemic] starting in March

of 2020,” Buron said, “…We lost a staff member (to COVID) within a couple of weeks of

shutting down. Our IT department jumped into gear to get us all onto Zoom.”

Stefanski and Buron discuss:

● Buron’s long-time career with Queens Public Library

● The shift to library services for 1.5 million people online during the pandemic and

beyond

● Creating programs for one of the most diverse regions on the planet

● The reinvention of central services through innovative library programs

“Now we’re doing 70 programs in multiple languages at this point,” Buron said, “And we

were even working with content providers so we could be more than just what we’re

able to offer…Here’s the thing: schools are important; healthcare is important. The

library is not school, but still provides education, information, culture, and recreation.”

Nick Buron has devoted his entire professional career to New York libraries, including

the past 6+ years as Chief Librarian for Queens Public Library. As Chief Librarian,

Buron oversees public library service at each of the library’s 66 locations. He leads a

700-person team responsible for the library’s collections, programming, outreach, and

customer experience. Buron, a Queens, NY native, earned his Master of Library

Science from the State University of New York at Buffalo.