Queens Public Library is fighting off a ransomware attack that has knocked its website, public Wi-Fi, mobile app, on-site computers, and checkout and return machines offline, leaving patrons across the borough unable to renew books or access digital media. The library confirmed the breach Wednesday evening, telling patrons directly and posting updates on social media as IT staff scrambled to contain the damage.
The disruption hit nearly every digital touchpoint patrons rely on, according to The Register, which reported the attack downed QPL’s website, on-site computers, check-out and return machines, its Wi-Fi, mobile app, and its digital media services all at once. Renewals became unavailable system-wide, though the outlet noted library users are not being charged fines for returning materials late during the outage — notable since Queens Public Library, along with Brooklyn Public Library and the New York Public Library, permanently ended daily late fines on books and circulating materials back in 2021.
Library Warns Full Recovery Will Take Time
QPL said certain virtual and in-person programs may also be impacted and advised visitors to check program availability with their local branch by phone, per the same Register report. The library also told patrons to monitor its social media for official updates and said its IT department was working to resolve the issue, while cautioning that restoring its network and systems will take some time. QPL apologized for the inconvenience and thanked patrons for their patience.
There is a discrepancy in how many physical locations stayed open during the outage. The Register’s report states that each of the library system’s 66 locations remained open, including the central library in the Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, while a separate seed record referenced in reporting on the incident puts the figure at three branches. That conflict has not been resolved as of this report.
No Group Has Claimed the Attack
No established ransomware group had claimed responsibility for the disruption at the time of the Register’s report. Attacks on publicly funded institutions like libraries rarely lead to lucrative payouts for criminals, a dynamic that has not stopped them from becoming frequent targets — American Libraries Magazine has reported more than 15 million cyberattacks occur worldwide annually since 2020, a figure covering cyberattacks broadly rather than libraries specifically.
How Other Library Systems Have Recovered
Other library systems offer a mixed picture of what QPL might face in the weeks ahead. The British Library suffered a ransomware attack by the group Rhysida in 2023 and refused to pay the criminals’ 20 Bitcoin ransom demand, instead spending millions on an IT rebuild; its 2025/26 annual report found that recovery remained incomplete, with restoration of customers’ ability to purchase electronic resources and access electronic legal deposit content expected by the end of 2026, per the same Register account.
Recoveries elsewhere moved faster. American Libraries Magazine’s reporting notes that Orion Township Public Library staff stopped an October 2023 ransomware attack by disconnecting servers, and recoverable copies in deleted folders let the library restore systems within days. Seattle Public Library detected signs of an intrusion on May 25, 2024, and had activated an incident command structure by 9 a.m. that same day. Toronto Public Library kept all 100 of its branches open throughout its own October 2023 attack despite losing access to several digital services, and after restoring services in February 2024, staff worked through 1.4 million returns that had piled up in 15 semi-trailers, followed by renewals.
Three library systems cited in that same American Libraries Magazine report responded to their breaches by strengthening security with stronger firewalls, multifactor authentication, phishing simulations, and more robust intrusion detection. Whether Queens Public Library adopts similar measures once its own systems come back online remains to be seen.
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