CURRENT POSITION Information Coordinator and Program Manager, Queens Public Library, NY DEGREE MLIS, Queens College, City University of New York, 2020; JD, School of Law, Creighton University, NE, 2011 FAST FACT Anderson works mainly remotely for QPL with occasional trips to New York. She also works as a part-time Library Specialist at Omaha Public Library, NE. FOLLOW queenslibrary.org/about-us/news-media/blog/2153 Photo by Tony Bonacci

Roadblock Remover

Queens Public Library’s (QPL) Immediate Access: Technology Reentry program helps new parolees overcome the many barriers to restarting their lives outside of prison. Program Manager Jill Anderson is an expert in removing roadblocks. This includes listening to program participants and community partners about what they need or can offer, and to funders about what opportunities are available.

“We stay flexible, so we can assist participants with what their life goals are at the moment, whether that be stable housing or a higher-paying job,” she says. 

To create Immediate Access, Anderson collaborated with the Queens Defenders, a nonprofit that provides lawyers and social workers for justice-involved people. Technology Navigators work with up to 25 people in a cohort for five months, connecting participants with basics like housing, public transportation, clothing, and technology like smartphones. Participants are directed to library and community resources to help them develop job skills, find jobs, prepare for college, and more. Program alumni mentor current participants.

Between January 2021 and March of this year, 73 adults participated. Participants receive up to $250 in debit card incentives. To pay for the program, Anderson helped write a $330,506 IMLS (Institute of Museum and Library Services) CARES Act Grant for Museums and Libraries, and continues to seek other funding. She hopes the program will expand to in-prison instruction and other states. 

Anderson has published and presented on the program, including at the Public Library Association Conference. 

“Even if something seems near impossible to achieve, she will still make every effort to make it happen if it will help the project or the people she is involved with,” says nominator Nili Ness, a QPL correctional services librarian.