Sharanya Ramakrishnan testifies on Corona Collection

Good afternoon to the Honorable Committee.

I'm Sharanya Ramakrishnan, Director of Community Engagement at the Louis Armstrong House Museum.

I'm also the Director of the Corona Collection and Oral History Project that documents the lives and stories of neighbors who personally knew Louis and Lucille Armstrong.

This important project helps preserve our collective memory while creating an intergenerational legacy of the community and the neighborhood.

Central to this project is the in-depth research of the archives and collections preserved by libraries, especially those of the Black Heritage Reference Center at the Langston Hughes Community Library and Cultural Center

and the digital archives at the Central Branch of Queens Public Library.

Our work also extends beyond preservation.

Through our partnership with the Queen's Library Jail and Prison Outreach Program, we bring live jazz performances and the legacy of Louis Armstrong to the Queensborough Correctional Facility.

We also collaborated with the Langston Hughes Community Library and the Library Action Committee and other community organizations to organize a walking tour,

Roots and Rhythm, supported by the council member Chanel Thomas-Henry's office that uplifts the history, the deep history of Corona and East Elmhurst neighborhoods.

These efforts reflect that libraries are not

not simply repositories of knowledge.

They are living institutions.

They are part of the ecosystem of consciousness, of the social and cultural lives of communities and neighborhoods.

Libraries are also a space for people to access essential services, participate in public programs and build skills,

Therefore, investment in libraries is an investment in the cultural and civic life of New York City, and strengthening libraries and cultural institutions is essential in building an equitable pathway for the future.

Thank you, Deputy Speaker Dr.

Williams and the entire committee for this opportunity to testify.

Thank you.