New Display: New York City

New York certainly has had a few difficult weeks with Super Storm Sandy and her aftermath. Things in many areas still are not back to normal. But we know New York will come back!

The third floor reference area has a book display celebrating New York and its resilience.

The city has a lot to offer. There is so much to see and do from the amusements of Coney Island as discussed in John Kasson’s Amusing the Million : Coney Island at the Turn of the Century  to  Calvin Tomkins’ Merchants and Masterpieces: The Story of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. There are gardens for strolling, maybe walk the relatively new High Line (Annik Farge’s On the High Line) or the magnificent Central Park ( Sara Cedar Miller’s  Central Park, an American Masterpiece ). Consider the city’s engineering wonders as described  in Robert Jackson’s Highway Under the Hudson: A History of the Holland Tunnel and Judith St. George’s The Brooklyn Bridge : They Said It Couldn’t Be Built.  Ken Bloom’s Broadway: An Encyclopedic Guide to the History, People and Places of Times Square pays tribute to the glittering lights and talent of the area.
If shopping and dining appeal to you, New York is the place to be! From the  high style along Fifth Avenue by Theodore James to  Sharyne Wolfe’s contemporary guide, The Fashionista’s Shopping Guide to the Galaxy of Discount New  York Fashion, there are fashion finds for everyone. With so many restaurants you really need a guide such as Mike Colameco’s Food Lover’s Guide to NYC : An Insider’s Guide to New York City’s Gastronomic Delights.

The city has always been a beacon of hope as seen in Barbara Benton’s
Ellis Island : a Pictorial History and  Sabina Khan Yasmin’s Enlightening the World :  The Creation of the Statue of Liberty.

But we all know it is the people who really make New York what it is. Diaries of Old Manhattan  edited by Louis Auchincloss and You Must Remember This by Jeff Kisseloff for a fond, nostalgic appreciation of The City.

.As the song says “I want to be a part of it, New York, New York!”

- posted by Brenda, Reference Services

Veterans History Project teens and families – listen up, spread the word

As promised earlier this month, we present a post from one of the other Syosset Public Library blogs, “Teen Space”:

“We had the teen volunteer orientation for the Syosset Library’s participation in the Veterans History Project of the Library of Congress this week.

If you haven’t heard of this fascinating endeavor, check out the link here:

http://www.loc.gov/vets/

We need mature and responsible teens in grades 10-12 to participate as interviewers for this project, and if you are interested but weren’t able to attend the orientation, there is still time to get the materials and help out with the Veterans History Project Kick Off reception we are having at the library on Saturday, May 19 from 11-1 PM.  In fact, feel free to stop by on May 19 to pick up the materials and learn about the project then if you can’t make it before.

We are hoping to get a number of interested veterans – from any of the U.S. wars or conflicts – to share their stories with us.

We need help form the community to do so.  If you have family, grandparents, neighbors, older siblings, etc., please mention the Veterans History Project to them and invite them to the library on May 19.  May 19 is Armed Forces Day, and we couldn’t think of a better way to help honor and celebrate our veterans than by letting them share their stories so that all can remember.”

- posted by Sharon, Teen Services

Share Your Memories

Syosset Public Library will mark 50 years of service in 2011.

Please join us by sharing your memories of the library.

We invite you to come to the library on any of the following days and

we will videotape your reminiscences and experiences with our library:

Thursday, May 5 from 5 – 9 PM

Interviews will take place in the Local History room.

No reservations required: just come in and reminisce!

For more information contact Barney Levantino or Brenda Cherry in the Reference Department,921-7161 ext. 238.

- posted by Barney, Reference Services

Local History Center goes online!

Check out our new Local History Center, a wiki devoted to the Syosset Public Library Local History collection. Learn about upcoming local history events and programs and view photos (such as old Van Sise farm above) and other materials from our collection.

 You can also access the Local History Collection Finding Aid, your guide to the contents of the collection.  For access to these and other features, please go to the Library home page and click on “Local History Center.”

 For access to the Local History Collection or for information about the Syosset Local History Club please contact Barney Levantino in Reference Services.

 

 - posted by Barney, Reference Services

Remembering Syosset

An Interactive Discussion about Syosset from the 1950s to today.

Tuesday, June 29, 2:00 PM.

 

Please join the Syosset Public Library Local History Club for a discussion about the many changes in our community over the last 50 years.

Free. Refreshments will be served.  All are welcome.

- posted by Barney, Reference Services

Local History Program Next Week

Oyster Bay:  Early Settlement Through 1920

A presentation by John Hammond.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010. 2:00 PM, Meeting Room B/C.

The Syosset Library Local History Club proudly hosts John Hammond, Official Historian of the Town of Oyster Bay.  Mr. Hammond is a renowned historian and noted author, whose ancestors arrived on the Mayflower and whose family has lived in Oyster Bay since 1653.  Join us as Mr. Hammond shares his extensive knowledge of the rich history of Oyster Bay Town.

Free. Refreshments will be served.

- posted by Barney, Reference Services

“Greetings from Old Syosset”

Please stop down in the lower level of the library and take a look at our new Local History exhibit “Greetings from Old Syosset”.  This exhibit features digital reproductions of rare original postcards contained in the Syosset Public Library Local History Collection. These cards, many of which date from the early 1900s, give a unique glimpse of rural Syosset. As you read the variety of messages on the cards, you get a real sense of the slower pace of life back in that simpler time.

- posted by Barney, Reference Services

History happened HERE, too!

Did you know there were British Army encampments in Syosset during the Revolutionary War? Did you know Teddy Roosevelt had many Syosset connections?

Join longtime Syosset resident and author Tom Montalbano for an informative discussion examining these and other well known historical events and their impact on Syosset and the surrounding communities. Free. Refreshments will be served.

Monday,  September 21. 2:00 PM.

- posted by Barney, Reference Services