Francis Lewis High School Library
From left to right: Mrs. Saltzman, Ms. Vittiglio, Mr. Pagano, and Mrs. Mercado
Student Computer Login
To find out your account information, see Mrs. Rogers in the lobby from 8-2:00pm.
For Teachers
Please use the links on this page to place your reservations, moving forward.
If you need further assistance, ask a librarian!
May is Jewish American Heritage Month!
May is Jewish American Jewish American Heritage Month! This month serves as a time to celebrate the contributions and experiences of Jewish Americans throughout our nation’s history. It was first federally recognized in 2006, thanks to the advocacy efforts of Jewish American leaders.
Today, approximately 7.6 million Jewish Americans make up roughly 2.4% of the U.S. population, with roughly a quarter of that number estimated to be living in the New York City metropolitan area. In fact, New York City has the second largest Jewish population of any city in the world, behind only Tel Aviv, Israel.
With such a large population comes a long history, dating all the way back to when the first known Jewish immigrant, Jacob Barsimson, arrived to our city in 1654. The largest wave of Jewish immigration came at the turn of the 20th century, when the population went from about 80,000 Jewish Americans in 1880 to 1.5 million in 1920.
The city’s large Jewish population has produced trailblazers in nearly every field imaginable: whether it’s Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, composer Irving Berlin,or baseball star Hank Greenberg, there are countless Jewish New Yorkers whose contributions to our society and culture we commemorate this month, and all year long. We encourage you to join us throughout May in recognizing their accomplishments, as well as honoring the struggles faced by Jewish Americans throughout history.
May is AAPI heritage Month!
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month! This month serves as a time to celebrate the culture, history, and achievements of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in New York City and across the country. AAPI heritage was first recognized on a federal level in 1978, when President Jimmy Carter signed a proclamation—first introduced to Congress by Representative Frank Horton of Rochester, New York—which established Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week to take place in early May. The week-long celebration was extended to last for the entire month of May in 1990. Later, in 1992, Congress passed a law that officially designated an annual celebration of Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month in May.
Horton credited Jeanie Jew with the original idea for the resolution, as she had approached him after being disappointed that AAPI communities had been largely ignored during the nation’s bicentennial celebrations in 1976. She was also inspired by the memory of her grandfather, who was one of the laborers working on the transcontinental railroad before he was tragically killed in an act of anti-Chinese violence.
In fact, the reason the month of May was chosen was to mark the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869, in recognition of the Chinese immigrants who made up a majority of laborers completing the work on the project. In addition, it commemorates the arrival of the first Japanese immigrant to the United States on May 7, 1843.
The communities celebrated during AAPI Heritage Month have origins in the many countries that the Asia-Pacific region encompasses, which includes the entirety of the Asian continent, as well as the countries and territories that make up the Pacific Islands of Melanesia, Micronesia,(Open external link) and Polynesia. Coming from such a wide geographical area, the Asian American and Pacific Islander community has a rich and varied history and culture to learn more about all month long.
Throughout May, and all year long, we hope you will join us in uplifting AAPI individuals and communities, in addition to taking the time to acknowledge the challenges and prejudices that they have faced throughout U.S. history, as well as in the present day. Learning this history is an important step on the journey to ending racial discrimination and creating a more accepting future. We encourage you to celebrate with us this month using the resources below—including exhibitions, lesson plans, recommended reading, and more—that are great ways to learn more both in and out of the classroom.
Want to:
- Find research materials?
- Develop your brainpower?
Use this search engine to search our catalogue of digital and print materials, as well as any associated databases.
Library Requests & Reservations
What I'm Reading
To promote student interest in reading, the FLHS librarians have created an initiative called "What I'm Reading" to be displayed on the library bulletin. Many students enjoy hearing what their teachers and peers are reading, and even more so, eventually read those books!
To be included, please fill out the Google form to the right. Students do not need to add their pictures, but adults are encouraged! Thank you!
Queens Public Library Teen Class Schedule
QPL College Readiness
QPL is offering comprehensive services to prepare students and families—from creating a college wish list, to writing a personal essay, and beyond. Join us and kickoff the college process with ease!
News
Francis Lewis High School Library Mission
The Francis Lewis High School Library seeks to create a 21st century environment that promotes learning for all students by providing equitable access to information, teaching information literacy skills, and encouraging lifelong learning. The library media center strives to be a center of collaborative learning that produces creative students who have an appreciation of literature, critical thinking skills, and a respect for others and self. The mission of the library is to provide students with the opportunity to become not only lifelong users of information, but also creators of information. The library will support the curriculum by collaborating with teachers, developing a collection that is representative of the community, and implementing literacy instruction for students.