New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

Public History

Bernard Margolis Appointed NY State Librarian

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The Board of Regents has announced the appointment of Bernard A. Margolis as the New York State Librarian. He will assume his new responsibilities in January 2009.

State Education Commissioner Richard Mills said, “We live in an age of information, and libraries play a critical role in providing us with access to that information. They are vital to our economy and our communities. They promote literacy and lifelong learning. And in these trying economic times, they are vital to people seeking information about jobs. I am thrilled that the Regents have appointed a dynamic and innovative person like Mr. Margolis to serve in the critically important position of State Librarian.”

The New York State Library provides information and library services through its Research Library and the Division of Library Development. Mr. Margolis will have oversight responsibility for a $13.4 million operating budget, 180 employees, over 20 million collection items and nearly $100 million in State and federal aid to libraries.

One of the largest research libraries in North America, the New York State Research Library is the only state library which is a member of the Association of Research Libraries. The Library’s holdings include a significant manuscript and rare book collection, as well as holdings in a wide variety of formats, including paper, microform, digital and electronic records. It is also a Federal Depository and Patent Library; has the responsibility for the acquisition, distribution and maintenance of New York State documents; and is a regional library for the blind and visually impaired in New York’s 55 upstate counties.

The Division of Library Development provides leadership and technical assistance to New York’s 73 library systems through a comprehensive program of State aid for public, school, academic and special library services. Staff experts work with librarians, trustees, school administrators, public officials and local leaders to solve problems and find new ways of making library services and resources available to their community. Library Development administers more than $100 million in State and federal aid to New York’s libraries and helps them to take full advantage of federal and private funding programs like E-rate telecommunications discounts and Gates Library Foundation grants.

Mr. Margolis served as the President of Boston Public Library (BPL), Boston, Massachusetts, from 1997 to 2008. BPL is the oldest municipal public library in the country, with 27 neighborhood branches. The Library’s collections of over 34 million items include the library of President John Adams, Shakespeare’s first folio, Gutenberg’s Catholicon, and many other unique and rare materials. BPL is a member of the Association of Research Libraries.

Mr. Margolis’s achievements as BPL president include expansion of branch library hours; appointment of a children’s librarian in every branch; creation of a nationally recognized Homework Assistance Program and online tutoring program; implementation of Reading Readiness to prepare preschoolers for school success; creation of local history centers in eight branch libraries; creation of the award-winning Norman B. Leventhal Map Center; development of a collection conservation program; and growth of the BPL’s trust funds from $37 million to $55 million. Under Mr. Margolis’s leadership, BPL secured $7 million of direct grants and $18 million in federal funds for technology improvements and many foundation grants, designated gift funds, and major bequests.

Mr. Margolis led the effort to restore and renovate the historic central library building, securing funding from a number of sources. He worked with the City of Boston to establish a critical repair fund, allowing BPL to address building and equipment repairs in a timely manner. BPL collaborated with other cultural institutions and more than 4,500 different community groups and organizations.

Mr. Margolis holds a BA in Political Science and an MA in Librarianship, both from the University of Denver. His library experience includes management and executive positions in libraries and library systems in Colorado and Michigan. Prior to moving to Boston, he served as Director/CEO of the Pikes Peak Library District in Colorado Springs (from 1988 to 1997).

Mr. Margolis’s service includes a number of elected positions within the American Library Association, leadership in the Association of Research Libraries, service as a professional delegate to the White House Conference on Libraries, and service on the boards of library organizations in Massachusetts, Colorado, and Michigan. He has served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Library Administration and Bottom Line: The Magazine of Library Financial Management. He has contributed to several books and has published articles in American Libraries, Pub­lic Libraries, and Library Journal.

New Portal to NYS Digital Collections Announced

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The New York 3Rs Association has launched a new digital heritage web site, www.newyorkheritage.org.

NewYorkHeritage.org is a research portal for students, educators, historians, genealogists, and others who are interested in learning more about the people, places and institutions of historical New York State. The site provides immediate free access to more than 160 distinct digital collections that reflect New York State’s long history. These collections represent a broad range of historical, scholarly, and cultural materials held in libraries, museums, and archives throughout the state. Collection items include photographs, letters, diaries, directories, maps, newspapers, books, and more.

The site collections come from around the state, contributed by libraries, archives, museums and other cultural institutions, and builds on existing digital repository services administered by each of the nine reference and research library resources councils.

NewYorkHeritage.org uses OCLC’s CONTENTdm Multisite Server to bring these collections together, allowing the public to search across all items simultaneously. This project provides free, online access to images of cultural and historical significance in New York State.

A variety of materials can be found among the New York Heritage Digital Collections, including photographs, postcards, correspondence, manuscripts, oral histories, yearbooks and newspapers. Many kinds of institutions from New York State have partnered to make this project possible, including public, academic and school libraries, museums, archives and historical societies. The power of collaboration is what makes this new service possible.

Participants to New York Heritage Digital Collections are committed to enhancing the site by adding both content and contributing institutions on a regular basis. The goal of the project is to eventually connect one thousand collections and one million items from throughout New York State. All institutions interested in participating in the project are encouraged to contact the 3Rs organization that serves their region.

The New York 3Rs Association is a partnership among New York’s nine reference and research resource systems. The New York 3Rs was incorporated in 2003 to further the ability of those systems to provide statewide services. The members of the New York 3Rs Association are: the Capital District Library Council, Central New York Library Resources Council, Long Island Library Resources Council, Metropolitan New York Library Council, Northern New York Library Network, Rochester Regional Library Council, Southeastern New York Library Resources Council, South Central Regional Library Council, and Western New York Library Resources Council.

NY Council for the Humanities 400th Programs

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The New York Council for the Humanities has announced a host of special programs and initiatives in conjunction with the upcoming Hudson-Fulton-Champlain Quadricentennial including:

Mini Grants of up to $2500 for the planning and execution of public programs related to the 400th.

Reading Between the Lines reading and discussion series focused on 400th-related themes.

Speakers in the Humanities 400th lectures available to New York State groups for a nominal fee.

Speakers in the Schools 400th lectures available free of charge to any New York State high school.

To learn more about the 400th and the Council’s key role in its celebration visit the 400th website.

8 Killer Digitial Libraries and Archives

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The Online Education Database has posted a nice list of 250+ Killer Digital Libraries and Archives – I’ve pulled out those from New York here:

Digital Metro New York: A collaborative effort to support digitization projects involving significant collections held by METRO member libraries in New York City and Westchester County. Scroll down the page to find the list of collections, which range from Brooklyn Democratic Party and WWII scrapbooks to fashion design history databases and more.

Hamilton College Digital Collections: This site provides access to thousands of pages of unique and rare materials held by the Hamilton College Library. Choose from the Civil War collection, the Shaker collection, or the illustrations gallery, which displays a selection of images and illustrations found on documents in the previous two collections.

Hudson River Valley Heritage: This site contains collections from New York’s state libraries, colleges, historical societies and more. You’ll discover images, texts, maps and other documents that chronicle New York’s Hudson River Valley’s history.

New York State Documents: For many recent State documents, the catalog record contains a link to an electronic version of the document. Many of these online publications are scanned documents, which were created by the library and made available online as PDF (portable document format) files.

Rediscovering New York History and Culture: RNYH&C is a program of the New York State Archives provides a single point of entry to a vast array of resources. You can discover digital collections such as the “Franklin Automobile Photograph Collection,” and online exhibits such as the “Women& Social Movements in the United States, 1830 – 1930.”

State University History Archives: The Department of History at the University at Albany is one of the pioneers in wedding historical scholarship and teaching with digital technologies. Current projects are listed in the left column, with information about the collections shown on this page as you scroll down.

Syracuse University Digital Library: The Syracuse University Library Digital Collections site provides digital collections from Syracuse University Library (SUL), including the Special Collections Research Center and others that have participated in collaborative projects with SUL.

USMA Digital Collections: At the United States Military Academy Library’s Digital Collections you can gain access to Alexander Hamilton’s papers, to Civil War maps, to class yearbooks, and more from this West Point academy.

Hudson-Fulton-Champlain Grants Announced

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More than 250 schools, grassroots organizations and local governments in the Hudson and Champlain valleys have been awarded “mini grants” to help bring supplemental funds to their preparation and planning for celebrating the 400th anniversary of the historic voyages of Henry Hudson and Samuel de Champlain, according to the the New York State Hudson-Fulton-Champlain Quadricentennial Office (HFCQ).

The announcement coincides with last week’s launch of the new Quadricentennial website. The new site focuses on a listing of the dozens of events being planned by all of the communities in the Hudson and Champlain Valleys and New York City. Also included is a wealth of statewide images, historical information, countless project plans, and opportunities for partnership with the state wide preparations for New York’s 400th.

Over the last ten months, HFCQ has been rallying all communities in the two valleys to become “Quad communities” (including schools, libraries and colleges) and valley businesses and corporations to become “Quad ambassadors,” cultivating organizations, clubs, and cultural institutions to become “Quad partners” and assisting them in initiating Quad events and programs for their memberships, and promoting New York State’s legacy projects in the Champlain Valley, the Hudson Valley and the New York Harbor.

These efforts will help local governments in their preparations for the commemorative year; provide funding for 400th anniversary projects, exhibits and events, and help fund state “signature” events. These include the Walkway over the Hudson project in the Hudson Valley, events on Governor’s Island in the New York Harbor, and the Crown Point lighthouse project on Lake Champlain (co-sponsored with the State Parks Department).

Stretching from Staten Island to the Town of Champlain on the Canadian border, the grant winners represent a wide variety of initiatives, from theatrical productions to research and writing projects to local festivals. Each award is approximately $1,000, funded through a combination of state funds and a generous donation from the Dyson Foundation.

Some examples of the more than 250 projects funded include:

Adirondack Rowers & Scullers (Albany County) for the Albany Rowing Center to build five park benches, outdoor display case and new boat rack at riverside for Quadricentennial events in Albany.

The Field Library (Westchester County) for author Tom Boyle of World’s End to participate in the library’s literacy project, a community wide ‘read’ of the book with Q&A and a film as well as part of the Quadricentennial.

Saugerties Pro Musica 975 (Ulster County) to contract with a musician to present a concert of HR/HV folksongs commemorating the New York 400th.

American Museum of Natural History (New York County) to present a public program series that will include the Quadricentennial theme, “Explore 400 Years of Progress in the Environment” which will focus on the impact of climate change on the HR Valley.

Cornell Cooperative Extension (of Warren County) to create a Quadricentennial display for the countywide events.

A full list of the more than 250 projects funded is available [PDF].

Upstate History Alliance Online Courses

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The Upstate History Alliance has announced a spring series of Collections Care & Preservation online courses:

Conservation and Preservation of Photographs and Albums (with Gary Albright)
October 27, 2008- November 21, 2008
This course will first provide an overview of factors effecting the preservation and care of photographs. The various photographic processes will be reviewed and techniques for identifying each photographic process will be supplied. Appropriate handling and storage materials, as well as sources for supplies will be covered. The course will also address the issue of when the original format or album format can be maintained or when re-housing should be considered.

Basic Preservation, Care & Handling of Paper Based Materials (with Michele Phillips)
November 24, 2008-December 19, 2008
This course will provide an introduction to the factors effecting the preservation and care of paper-based materials. Participants will then learn about appropriate techniques for handling and storing collection materials and recomment sources for supplies. Instruction in basic conservation techniques for surface cleaning and mending paper-based materials will be provided

Climate Control for Small Institutions (with Michele Phillips)
January 5, 2009-January 30, 2009
This course will allow participants to explore the issues that need to be considered when planning for climate controls including monitoring, testing, environmental analysis assessments, long-range planning, systems design, construction support, and operations training. Low cost-low tech solutions will be offered and discussed, providing participants with the background knowledge to assist them in making informed decisions that can be implemented at their own institutions

Introduction to Reformatting (with Toya Dubin)
February 2, 2009-February 27, 2009
This course will provide participants with current, essential information for those who are responsible for the management of paper-based, photographic, audio, and video collections that are seeking to create, manage, and preserve digital assets. Participants completing this course will be better equipped to make informed choices regarding management of their digital projects/programs.

The cost to participate in a 4-week online course is $45 for UHA members, $60 for non-members. Or you can sign up to participate in a series of all four, beginning with Conservation & Preservation of Photographs on October 27, 2008 and ending with Introduction to Reformatting which begins on Feburary 2, 2009. The cost to participate in the complete series is $150 for UHA members, $200 for non-members.

NY Historian Discusses Climate Change

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Steven Leibo, Ph.D., Professor of International History and Politics at the Sage Colleges in Albany offered an interesting piece last week on his experience with Al Gore’s climate change initiative at the History News Network. “Historians & the Climate Crisis” considers how and why historians should interact with the issue of climate change:

In my own case, once I had become comfortable with the science of contemporary climate change, I began to reflect not just on humanity’s future as climate change becomes more and more obvious but on how it has played out in the past. And even more importantly in what specific ways we professional historians can contribute to this newest and historically profound challenge that faces humanity.

The core question of course is what our current climate challenge has to do with the profession of historian. Human-made climate change is after all a problem more of the present and future rather than the historical material we so often focus on. But from the perspective of at least this historian such an attitude could not be more incorrect. Historians have an enormous role to play in this great challenge.

I am of course, one of those historians who thinks that a good knowledge of the past does an excellent job in helping one understand the present and even to make reasonably educated guesses about the future. But that is not the core issue. Our relationship with the natural environment has been one of the most important factors in human history. True, for a time professional historians rejected the sort of environmental determinism which once so intrigued scholars. But to suggest climate is not profoundly important is to misrepresent much of the historical record.

Check out the full piece here.

NYS Military Museum Abandons Oral History Project

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The Albany Times Union is reporting that the New York State Veterans Oral History Project is being abandoned by the leaders of the New York State Military History Museum and Veterans Research Center (which is run by the NYS Division of Military and Naval Affairs).

The man who had been running the oral history program from the basement of the Military Museum in Saratoga Springs, Michael Russert (cousin of the late broadcaster Tim Russert), retired at the end of June after having recorded nearly 1,500 interviews over the past eight years. His equipment was sold at a loss on eBay and the program’s space has been cleared out:

The state let it go for $1,200 without consulting staff after buying it for $14,000, Russert said.

“I was really crushed when I found the studio was going on eBay,” said Russert, a retired teacher who lives in Cambridge. “They looked at it as a waste of space, and that always bothered me because it was a very valuable program for the museum.”

The collection now contains 1,595 interviews, including talks with three World War I vets and three Medal of Honor recipients. The project aims to capture firsthand stories of veterans and make them accessible to historians and to the public.

The state Office of General Services sold the studio for the museum because it occupied prime exhibit space, museum Director Michael Aikey said. He wouldn’t say how much it was sold for, and an inquiry to OGS went unanswered…

The state is not rehiring for Russert’s position, said Lt. Col. Richard Goldenberg, a spokesman for the state Division of Military and Naval Affairs.

Wayne Clark, the program’s videographer, has taken on an expanded role that includes identifying vets, coordinating meetings, doing interviews and publicizing the program…

The lack of manpower is slowing the archiving of stories from the state’s veterans at a time when many World War II vets die every day and New York service members are returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, Russert says.

The Military Museum is located on the web here, and the Veteran’s Oral History Program is located here. Neither sites have been updated recently (some stuff there dates from 2006, and there are currently no events scheduled for the museum). The museum has been closed for the past month while the heavy wooden doors on the building’s front entrance were replaced with new glass doors.

Expanded Brooklyn Children’s Museum Reopens

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The Brooklyn Children’s Museum reopened Saturday after a year-long closure for an expansion and redesign. According to the New York Times:

The museum doubled the size of its city-owned building — with $48 million in city money and $32 million raised by the museum — to 102,000 square feet. As Robin Pogrebin reported in The Times in February, the project struggled through financial hardships. The museum itself lacked a strong physical identity, because most of its space has been underground since a 1977 design by Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates created two lower levels. The greatly enlarged museum now hopes to improve its annual visitor total to 400,000 by 2010, from about 250,000 before the museum closed last September for the final stage of the renovation.

A pioneer in education, the Brooklyn Children’s Museum was the first museum created expressly for children when it was founded in 1899. Its success has sparked the creation of 300 children’s museums around the world. It is the only children’s museum in New York City, and one of few in the country, to be accredited by the American Association of Museums. The Museum encourages children to develop an understanding of and respect for themselves, others and the world around them by exploring cultures, the arts, science, and the environment.

The just-completed expansion features eco-friendly design in hopes of attaining LEED certification – it’s said to be the first “green” museum in New York City. In keeping with the Museum’s commitment to preserve and protect the world’s natural resources, it uses environmentally advanced, sustainable, renewable and/or recyclable materials and systems in the building’s design and construction.

Brooklyn Children’s Museum is one of the few children’s museums in the world with a permanent collection, including nearly 30,000 cultural objects and natural-history specimens. The cultural collection contains both ancient and present-day objects, including musical instruments, sculpture, masks, body adornments, and dolls, as well as everyday household and personal items. The natural-history collection contains rocks, minerals, and fossils, as well as mounted birds, mammals, insects, and skeletons (highlights include the complete skeleton of an Asian elephant, dinosaur footprints, and a whale rib).

For years, much of the collection has been inaccessible to the public simply because of space limitations. Now, an expanded collection study area allows the Museum to display more of the collection and to offer more hands-on activities—so children learn by touching as well as by looking.

Fort Ticonderoga Appeals to Public for Help

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Although it is apparently, no longer up, two local newspapers have reported (1, 2), that Fort Ticonderoga is asking the public to keep the fort from shutting down. According to Fred Herbst of Denton Publications:

You have probably seen the headlines. Fort Ticonderoga is in a very difficult financial situation. We don’t want to sell assets. We don’t want to lay off staff. We don’t want to curtail our education programs. We don’t want to close. Without the help of our friends and supporters, however, we may be faced with having to take one or more of these measures.

Fort Ticonderoga’s financial troubles began when benefactors Deborah and Forrest Mars Jr. withdrew their support – it’s been covered at length here.

The original statement continues:

Fort Ticonderoga needs its army of defenders now more than ever. The new Mars Education Center is 95 percent paid for. We have raised and borrowed more than $22 million, but we still need $700,000 to settle the outstanding bills and an additional $3.5 million to repay the loans and replenish our endowment fund.

Herbst revealed more about the details of Forrest Mars conflict with Executive Director Nick Westbrook.

“The ride is over,” he wrote in an Email to Westbrook that was provided to the Times of Ti.

The Email said Westbrook would not listen to new ideas and had stopped communicating with Mrs. Mars, when she was president of the fort board of trustees.

“We will not be writing any further checks,” Mr. Mars wrote. “Your performance as a manager is lacking. As a historian and archivist, etc., you excel. You have not given proper supervision and leadership to the staff.”

Mr. Mars said he and his wife paid for most of the Mars Education Center.

“As far as the new center, I would think that besides not communicating with your president (Mrs. Mars) regarding the opening of it, the exhibits to be in it, the budget for operating it and a program for the future use, you might have been nice enough and polite enough to communicate with the major donor (Mr. Mars),” the Email reads. “Not a word from you to either of us. We do not even know if you can fund it.”

The Email also said Mr. Mars had paid for one of Westbrook’s sons to attend a private school and had paid for vacations for Westbrook and his wife.

The Fort is under threat to close next year or sell off some it collections; Westbrook will be resigning. The fort closes for the season October 20th.

“The fort is running through its available endowment funds to pay the Mars Education Center bills, and, in the absence of a major infusion of funds, the fort will be essentially broke by the end of 2008,” Paine said in the memo.