Passport Services Coming Soon to Brooklyn Library
The list of reasons to never travel to Manhattan seems to keep growing and growing for Brooklyn residents. Now, even getting a U.S. passport is about to get easier.
Beginning Tuesday, May 31, The Brooklyn Public Library, in conjunction with the U.S. Department of State, will launch a passport services center at its Central Library location at Grand Army Plaza.
The new center will qualify as an officially designated passport application acceptance facility — the first library in the city to offer such a service.
The new service will be available seven days a week and its hours of operation will be extended past the hours of all area post offices, as well as the Kings County Clerks office, where most passports are issued.
Linda Johnson, interim executive director of the Brooklyn Public Library, said that although the Central Library will be the first in the five boroughs to offer this service, it is not the first in the country.
“We heard about it being offered at other libraries in other cities, so we reached out to the State Department to see how we could get one set up for our library,” said Johnson.
Brooklyn Public Library felt it would be a valuable asset, not only for Brooklyn residents, but also for the enormous immigrant population it serves.
“Brooklyn has one of the most diverse populations of any borough,” Johnson said. “We already offer a number of language services, reading groups and GED programs to meet the needs of our immigrant population. But we realized we didn’t have anything available for them to be able to travel to their home country.
“We know the passport facility is not a traditional library service, but we thought it would be a nice continuance of the services we do offer.”
According to Johnson, you do not have to be a member of the library to use the service, and it’s available to all New York City residents.
The cost is the same as at any other designated center, $110 for a U.S. passport and $30 for a passport card, as well as $25 processing fee made payable to the library. Applications can be downloaded online and then mailed into the library, or they can be filled out on site.
All applications must include proof of citizenship, proof of identity and one passport photo. Regular processing is four to six weeks; expedited processing is three weeks.
According to Johnson, even if the facility proves busy and successful, she cannot say whether libraries in Manhattan and in other boroughs will begin offering the service as well:
“Brooklyn Public Library reached out to the State Department, because it seemed to be a natural fit for us,” Johnson said. “But it might not be a fit for other public libraries.”
Passport Service Center Hours of Operation:
Monday 11:00am – 7:00pm
Tuesday 11:00am – 7:00pm
Wednesday 11:00am – 7:00pm
Thursday 11:00am – 7:00pm
Friday 10:00am – 6:00pm
Saturday 10:00am – 6:00pm
Sunday 1:00pm – 5:00pm
