Queens babies given special library card to boost literary love
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A group of newborns at Elmhurst Hospital are now the youngest library card holders in the city. Photo courtesy of Queens Public Library
By Rachel Vick
Queens Public Library partnered with NYC Health + Hospitals Elmhurst to launch a library card meant to instill a love of learning in the borough’s youngest residents as early as possible and without barriers to access.
On Thursday, three newborns — and their parents — received the first “QPL Baby Card” in their own names, printed with a fairy tale illustration of a bear reading to a cub surrounded by the forest.
“NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst is thrilled to collaborate with the Queens Public Library to
give our new moms and their babies access to library cards and encourage early literacy,” said
CEO Helen Arteaga-Landaverde, MPH. “Many of our patients are immigrants or first-generation Americans, so getting easy access to books and other educational materials will greatly benefit them and put their children firmly on the path to academic achievement and success.”
For a limited time, applications for the baby cards, a sample card, a map of all QPL locations and a QPL bib and bookmark will be included in diaper bags the hospital gives to new parents when they are discharged.
QPL is also launching a new website dedicated to literacy, health and parenting programs, such as a “Baby Basics” workshop, and with materials for children from birth to five years old to enjoy.
“The goal of ‘QPL Baby Card’ is to introduce literacy and a love of learning at birth, and to engage parents and their babies in this process,” said QPL President Dennis Walcott. “The program also reinforces and deepens the Library’s relationship with Elmhurst Hospital — once the epicenter of the pandemic in New York City and now a symbol of hope and resilience.”
Applications are available for the cards at every library branch. The only information that is required to get a card are the child’s name and a New York State address.
