For Immediate Release Contact: Joanne King, 718-990-0704 jking@queenslibrary.org  18 CHILDREN GRADUATE FROM QUEENS LIBRARY’S INAUGURAL PRE-K CLASS; Elected Officials Turn Out to Congratulate Them WOODHAVEN, NY, June 25, 2015—Eighteen school-ready children took the next big step toward academic success as they “graduated” from Queens Library’s Pre-Kindergarten. Queens Library’s pre-K is the first library-run pre-K in the U.S. NY City Council Member Elizabeth Crowley and Borough President Melinda Katz were there to congratulate them. Rep. Nydia Velasquez sent a representative with Congressional certificates and Council Member Crowley gave each child a citation from the City Council. Very proud families smiled, applauded, took photos and cried. Queens Library is the first in the nation to provide formal early childhood education at its libraries, using dedicated, licensed early childhood educators hired by the library for the program. Queens Library received approval from NYC Department of Education last year. It has announced plans to open a second pre-K at Queens Library at Ravenswood in the coming school year, thanks to support from Borough President Katz and the Shoolman Foundation. "Queens Library's pre-kindergarten is a natural extension of our mission to provide impactful, lifelong learning resources. We are looking forward to expanding Queens Library's pre-kindergarten to Ravenswood for the next school year. Education and libraries go together." Bridget Quinn-Carey, Interim President and CEO, Queens Library. Queens Library is an independent, not-for-profit corporation and is not affiliated with any other library. Queens Library serves a population of 2.3 million in one of the most ethnically diverse counties in the U.S. and has among the highest circulations of any public library system in the world.