On the January 2023 Crossroads, host Clare Sheridan welcomed James Cassetta of the Pearl River Public Library in Orangetown, Rockland County, to the program. In honor of its 60th anniversary, the library is inviting the public to share personal recollections in videotaped interviews. Memories including moving to Pearl River and living and raising families there will be compiled and edited to create a film for posterity. We learned about the library’s history and this interesting oral history project. [Read more…] about Rockland History: Pearl River Public Library
Libraries
State Education Dept Announces $34M For Public Library Construction Projects
The New York State Education Department has awarded $34 million to 223 public libraries and systems statewide to support construction and renovation projects.
These funds are expected to help libraries construct new buildings, create additions, update electrical wiring and computer technology, improve broadband infrastructure, meet energy-efficiency standards, and renovate facilities to provide full accessibility to library users with disabilities and create meeting spaces to accommodate community needs. [Read more…] about State Education Dept Announces $34M For Public Library Construction Projects
Hudson Area Library Acquires Urban Renewal Papers
The Hudson Area Library has announced that the Koweek family has donated the Arthur Koweek Urban Renewal Papers to the library’s History Room. Arthur Koweek chaired the Hudson City Planning Commission during the urban renewal project of 1971-1973.
With Hudson again in a debate about housing and business development, much can be learned from the Koweek Papers about the history of urban renewal in the city. The collection is an invaluable resource for Hudson and its residents as they seek to create a city that meets the needs of all the diverse people who live and work in its environs. [Read more…] about Hudson Area Library Acquires Urban Renewal Papers
John Brown Lives! Launches Freedom Story Project
John Brown Lives! (JBL!) launched its “Freedom Story Project” website during the first-ever Adirondack Family Book Festival at the John Brown Farm State Historic Site. [Read more…] about John Brown Lives! Launches Freedom Story Project
America’s 250th & The Institute of Museum and Library Services
The Institute of Museum and Library Services has announced “IMLS 250: All Stories. All People. All Places,” a new initiative to engage the nation’s libraries, museums, and archives as they commemorate the 250th anniversary of America’s founding. [Read more…] about America’s 250th & The Institute of Museum and Library Services
Heritage Spotlight: FDR Presidential Library and Museum, Dutchess County
The Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum is administered by the National Archives and Records Administration and is located near FDR’s home in Hyde Park, Dutchess County, NY.
The first presidential library — and the only one used by its namesake while in office — was planned and designed by Roosevelt in the Dutch Colonial style and houses his official papers, books, and other memorabilia, as well as the papers of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. [Read more…] about Heritage Spotlight: FDR Presidential Library and Museum, Dutchess County
NYC-Long Island Conservation Treatment Grants Available
The New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) and Greater Hudson Heritage Network (GHHN) have announced the Conservation Treatment Grant Program is now open. [Read more…] about NYC-Long Island Conservation Treatment Grants Available
The Volunteers Behind the Adirondack Research Library
Many organizations introduce their work with the words “were it not for the volunteers, we could not…” That can be justifiably said of the Adirondack Research Library (ARL), formerly part of the Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks (AfPA). [Read more…] about The Volunteers Behind the Adirondack Research Library
SUNY Broome Culinary Center Wins Historic Preservation Award
SUNY Broome’s Culinary & Event Center has won a 2021 Excellence in Historic Preservation Award from the Preservation League of NYS.
The Beaux Arts-style Carnegie Library opened in downtown Binghamton in 1904 and was home to the city’s library for 96 years. The building remained vacant from 2000-2016, falling into a state of disrepair. [Read more…] about SUNY Broome Culinary Center Wins Historic Preservation Award
Ballston Community Library: A Short History
On September 23rd, 1952, the Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake Rotary and the Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake Women’s Club met at a combined meeting to establish the Library Association which would spearhead fund raisers and begin the process of building a library from the bottom up.
Among other fundraising, the Library Association went door to door soliciting people to come to their homes for breakfast on a particular day — and the invited guests would then be charged for their breakfast. [Read more…] about Ballston Community Library: A Short History