Identities for the Riemann zeta function

We obtain several expansions for $\zeta(s)$ involving a sequence of polynomials in $s$, denoted in this paper by $\alpha_k(s)$. These polynomials can be regarded as a generalization of Stirling numbers of the first kind and our identities extend some series expansions for the zeta function that are known for integer values of $s$. The expansions also give a different approach to the analytic continuation of the Riemann zeta function.