Public library service is a critical service that must be preserved. Despite a current (FY08) budget cut of $5 million and the threat of reductions of nearly $20 million more in the next budget, the Queens Library has maintained massive and excellent programs of service and incredibly high levels of use by a public that lines up at every one of its 62 sites, every day, and occupies every space until it closes. The service includes some 23,000 free educational, cultural, and entertainment programs each year and a circulation approaching 20 million items. The Queens Library serves a population of 2.27 million, 55 percent of whom speak a language at home other than English. This article discusses what made Queens Library win the Library of the Year Award. It is the ability of the managers and staff to provide an incredibly diverse set of services and continue the constant modernization of the 62 libraries. Their sustained commitment to library service that truly improves the lives of everyone in the borough is what makes the Queens Library so strong.