Passport Facility to Debut at Brooklyn Public Library

Now getting a U.S. passport is about to get easier.

Beginning on May 31, the Brooklyn Public Library 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 all of New York City to offer such a service.

Not only will the new service be available seven days a week, but its hours of operation are 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 New York City with such a facility, 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 Central Brooklyn’s residents, but also for the enormous immigrant population it serves.

“Brooklyn has one of the most diverse populations of any borough,” said Johnson. “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.