Quantcast
Channel: NYPL Blogs
Viewing all 5325 articles
Browse latest View live

Job and Employment Links for the Week of February 19

0
0

ACS Career Training Institute offers training skills in bookkeeping, accounting, medical office, medical administration and office administration.  Internship and job placement assistance included.  Please call 718-661-9771 ext. 102.

The NYCHA Resident Training Academy (NRTA) offers Janitorial  and Construction training tracks.  Recruitment is now open for Construction Training and Janitorial Training. Please call 718-289-8100.

The Chinese-American Planning Council Workforce Development Division offers education, training, placement, and post placement support services to job seekers.  Job training programs include BuildingWorks Pre-ApprenticeshipTraining, Hospitality Careers and LVMH Fundamentals in Luxury Retail Training.

The Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum is hiring. This is your opportunity to work at Long Island's premier entertainment destination in Uniondale.  Positions with Levy Restaurants  include cooks, bartenders, culinary supervisors and more.

Dutch Express will present a recruitment on Tuesday, February 21, 2017, 10  am - 2 pm for Delivery Associate  - Driver (5 openings), Delivery Associate - Box Truck Driver (5 openings), at NYC Workforce 1 Career Center, 215 West 125th Street, 6th Floor.  Dutch express LLC is a courier service - Work location all 5 boroughs. 

SAGEWorks Workshop:  Barriers Faced By Job Seekers 40+ & How To Overcome Them on Tuesday, February 21, 2017, 6:00 pm at SAGE Center Midtown, 305 7th Avenue, 15th Floor Classroom, New York, NY 10011.  SAGEWorks assists people 40 years and older in learning relevant, cutting-edge job search skills in a LGBT - friendly environment.  

Aramark will present  a recruitment on Wednesday, February 22, 2017, 10 am - 12 pm for Concession Crew Members - Citi Field (100 P/T Seasonal openings) that include Concession Stand Cook, Food Service Helper, Counterworker, Supervisor and Porter at NYC Workforce 1 Career Center, 215 West 125th Street, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10027.  Must be available to work all New York Mets home games for the 2017 season.  Please contact Ms. Diaz at 718-613-3693.

Basic Resume Writing  workshop on Wednesday, February 22, 2017, 1:30 - 3 pm at Brooklyn Workforce 1 Career Center, 250 Schermerhorn  Street,  Brooklyn, NY 11201.  Participants will learn the purpose of a resume, chronological and combination resumes and select the appropriate type for their specific needs.

Aramark will present  a recruitment on Thursday, February 23, 2017, 10 am - 2 pm for Concession Crew Members - Citi Field (100 P/T Seasonal openings) that include Concession Stand Cook, Food Service Helper, Counterworker, Supervisor and Porter, at Flushing Workforce 1 Career Center, 138-60 Barclay Avenue, 2nd Floor, Flushing, NY 11355.   Must be available to work all New York Mets home games for the 2017 season.  Please contact Ms. Berman at 718-321-6364.

SP Plus will present a recruitment on Thursday, February  23, 2017, 10 am - 1 pm for Valet Attendant (50  openings),  Assistant Manager (1 opening), at  Brooklyn Workforce  1 Career Center, 215 West  125th Street, 6th floor, New York, NY 10027.  Please contact Ms. Diaz at 718-613-3696.  Union position with full benefits:  Health, Dental, Vacation, Sick Leave, Retirement/Pension Plan.

Spanish Speaking Resume Writing  workshop on Thursday, February 23, 2017, 12:30 - 2:30 pm. at Flushing Workforce 1 Career Center, 138-60 Barclay Avenue, 2nd Floor, Flushing, NY 11355.  All interested jobseekers will learn to organize, revise and update resumes.      

Job Postings at New York City Workforce 1.  Job Search Central

Apprenticeship Opportunities in New York City.

Brooklyn Community  Board 14: Available jobs

The New York City Employment and Training Coalition (NYCE&TC) is an association of 200 community-based organizations, educational institutions, and labor unions that annually provide job training and employment services to over 750,000 New Yorkers, including welfare recipients, unemployed workers, low-wage workers, at-risk youth, the formerly incarcerated, immigrants and the mentally and physically disabled. View NYCE&TC Job Listings.

Digital NYC is the official online hub of the New York City startup and technology ecosystem, bringing together every company, startup, investor, event, job, class, blog, video, workplace, accelerator, incubator, resource, and organization in the five boroughs. Search jobs by category on this site.

St. Nicks Alliance Workforce Development provides Free Job Training and Educational Programs in Environmental Response and Remediation Tec (ERRT). Commercial Driver's License, Pest Control Technician Training (PCT), Employment Search and Prep Training and Job Placement, Earn Benefits and Career Path Center. For information and assistance, please visit St. Nicks Alliance Workforce Development or call 718-302-2057 ext. 202.

Brooklyn Workforce Innovations helps jobless and working poor New Yorkers establish careers in sectors that offer good wages and opportunities for advancement. Currently, BWI offers free job training programs in four industries: commercial driving, telecommunications cable installation, TV and film production, and skilled woodworking.

CMP (formerly Chinatown Manpower Project) in lower Manhattan is now recruiting for a free training in Quickbooks, Basic Accounting, and Excel. This training is open to anyone who is receiving food stamps but no cash assistance. Class runs for eight weeks, followed by one-on-one meetings with a job developer. CMP also provides Free Home Health Aide Training for bilingual English/Cantonese speakers who are receiving food stamps but no cash assistance. Training runs Mondays through Fridays for six weeks and includes test prep and taking the HHA certification exam. Students learn about direct care techniques such as taking vital signs and assisting with personal hygiene and nutrition. For more information for the above two training programs, email: info@cmpny.org, call 212-571-1690, or visit. CMP also provides tuition-based healthcare and business trainings free to students who are entitled to ACCESS funding.

Nontraditional Employment for Women (NEW) trains women and places them in careers in the skilled construction, utility, and maintenance trades. It helps women achieve economic independence and a secure future. For information call 212-627-6252 or register online.

Grace Institute provides tuition-free, practical job training in a supportive learning community for underserved New York area women of all ages and from many different backgrounds. For information call 212-832-7605.

Please note this page will be revised when more recruitment events for the week of February 19 become available.

 

 

 

 


Social Media Madness at SIBL

0
0

Social mediaSocial media has radically changed our lives in ways that we would have never imagined. Now more than ever it is important to have social media profiles for personal and professional use in various platforms; and businesses must also have a social media strategy for their marketing efforts and to provide customer service. Social media has transformed the landscape so much that in the past 10 years the demand for ‘social media expert’ jobs has exploded!

But with so many options and so much information out there, how can you keep up with all of this?

During the month of March and beyond, the Science, Industry & Business Library (SIBL) has assembled several social media programs to help individuals and small business owners. Come to one or come to all, you will surely gain much knowledge on how to have the best social media strategy to help propel your career and/or your business forward!

Programs for Individuals: Job Search and Career Development

Programs for Business: Marketing and Customer Acquisition

Catch the tail end of the six-part Business Boost: Social Media Marketing Series:

Catch the beginning of the six part Online Customer Acquisition Series:

 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Jobs:

Come to the Library to dig into the resources at the “Vault”: Vault Guide to Social Media Jobs

This is a digital resource available at SIBL that you can use at no cost, and it has a plethora of resources for job seekers: from samples of resumes and cover letters, to the current blogs on job search trends, best practices, and a large library of downloadable ebooks. 

Apply for social media jobs at this sites: SEMPO, Dice, High-End Careers, WOMMA, and Jobs in Social Media.

 

Business:

Come to the Library to do research and find data on nearly every digital topic with our e-Marketer digital resource. E-marketer provides information and insights, for which companies pay thousands of dollars, and the Library makes it available to you at no cost. Come take advantage of this incredible resource for your business!

NYPL Events: What's Happening 2/20-3/6

0
0

 Welcome to our biweekly update on events happening during the next two weeks at The New York Public Library. With 92 locations across New York City, a lot is happening at the Library. We're highlighting some of our events here—including author talks, free classes, community art shows, performances, concerts, and exhibitions—and you can always find more at nypl.org/events. If you want our round-up in your inbox, sign up here. We look forward to seeing you at the Library.

Stephen A. Schwarzman Building

LIVE from the NYPL

3/3: Yiyun Li and Mary GaitskillYiyun Li, the author of the acclaimed short story collection A Thousand Years of Good Prayers, comes to the Library to discuss her new memoir about her two-year battle with suicidal depression and her journey of recovery through books. Together with novelist Mary Gaitskill (The Mare,  Secretary), Li will explore the central questions of her book: why we write, read, and live. Celeste Auditorium, 7 PM.

Free Events at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building

2/28: Cravings: Judy Collins: Singer-songwriter Judy Collins has inspired audiences for half a century with sublime vocals, beautiful songs, and a firm commitment to social activism since the 1960's. Now, she has published Cravings, a no-holds-barred account of her struggle with compulsive overeating and of the journey that led her to heal. Celeste Auditorium, 6:30 PM.

3/1: Rorschach's Inkblots: Damion Searls and Mark Krotov: Conversations from the Cullman presents Damion Searls (Cullman Fellow 2013-14) on his latest book, The Inkblots, which explores the history of the Rorschach test and the life of its creator, Hermann Rorschach. Searls will be joined by n+1 publisher Mark Krotov. Berger Forum, 7 PM.

The Schomburg Center

2/23: Between the Lines: Adrian MillerAdrian Miller discusses his book,The President’s Kitchen Cabinet: The Story of the African Americans Who Have Fed Our First Families from the Washingtons to the Obamas, a fascinating and entertaining work uncovering anecdotes, recipes, and little-known insights about the lives of black presidential chefs and the presidents they served. 6:30 PM.

2/23: Lapidus Talks: Afro-Iberians as Black European Sailors, Soldiers, and TradersFrom 1471 to 1700, enslaved and free Africa- and Europe-born African people made up nearly 20% of southern Iberia’s urban populations. Leo Garofalo reveals the little know history of these sailors, soldiers, traders, artisans, and servants, who helped shape Iberian, Ibero-American, and Philippine societies in an era of Spanish colonial expansion.12 PM.

Mondays in March, beginning 3/6: Ella, Ella: A Centennial Celebration of Mama Jazz: The Schomburg's annual Women's Jazz Festival honors the centennial birthday of Ella Fitzgerald, featuring concerts every Monday night in March dedicated to her influence on jazz music. Various times.

Raj Bhimani
Pianist Raj Bhimani.

Library for the Performing Arts

2/25: Mixed Doubles: Pianist Raj Bhimani in Recital: Acclaimed concert pianist Raj Bhimani presents a recital featuring, Mixed Doubles, a new work written collaboratively by two contemporary French composers, plus beloved master works by Brahms and Ravel. Bruno Walter Auditorium, 2:30 PM.

3/4: Rule, Britannia!: During the 18th-century, Britain experienced a rapid expansion in their influence around the globe. In this concert, Broadwood Junction, the imaginative period instrument piano trio, will explore how composers of this era commemorated the exploits of a rising British superpower. Bruno Walter Auditorium, 2:30 PM.

Mid-Manhattan Library

2/21: Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of ConsciousnessPeter Godfrey-Smith, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at the CUNY Graduate Center, combines science and philosophy in this illustrated lecture exploring of the evolution of consciousness in octopi. 6:30 PM.

2/22: Wild by Design: Strategies for Creating Life-Enhancing Landscapes: Award-winning designer Margie Ruddick discusses how landscape design can better incorporate natural processes and organic growth to make cities more livable, beautiful, and sustainable. The Corner Room, 6:30 PM.

3/1: Coffee & Connections: An expert comes to the library to answer any and all questions about New York's resources and services for homeless people, and provide useful tips and information. Room 101, 9 AM.

Science, Industry, and Business Library

2/22: Finding the Right Investment Advisor: Peter J. Creedon CFP® discusses what you should know before you hire a financial professional: credentials, compensation, and standards of customer care. Learn how to evaluate different services provided so that you can find the appropriate professional for your needs. Conference Room 018, 3 PM.

2/23: Tax Tips for Freelancers: Representatives from the IRS are here to guide startups, established freelancers, entrepreneurs, and independent contractors about their tax requirements and recordkeeping responsibilities. Attendees will learn about deductible business expenses, self-employment tax and more advanced tax topics.  Conference Room 018, 3 PM.

3/1: Caterpillar to Butterfly: How to Discover and Move on to Your Next Career: Looking for a career change? Career coach Win Sheffield helps you discover how you can bring value to a new industry or new field, and how to leverage your unique background as a competitive edge in a changing marketplace. Conference Room 018, 6 PM.

NYC Neighborhood Library Awards
Nominate your favorite branch for an NYC Neighborhood Library Award.

NYC Neighborhood Library Awards

Nominations accepted through March 13, 2017The 4th annual NYC Neighborhood Library Awards recognize and reward public libraries for being the unsung heroes of New York—nominate your local library today and it could win $20,000! This year, six NYC libraries will be awarded $20,000 each. Celebrate your amazing neighborhood libraries and share your stories by nominating an NYPL branch

Get Event Updates by Email 

Want NYPL Now in your inbox? Sign up for our biweekly e-newsletter and get even more updates on what's happening at the Library. Plus, you can follow NYPL Events on Facebook or Twitter.

More Events

Note: Visit nypl.org/events or call ahead for the latest information, as programs and hours are subject to change or cancellation.

 

Preparing for Online College

0
0

Preparing for online college, and feeling overwhelmed? Check out this list of tips and Library resources to help you prepare:

What You Will Need

You will need to have a computer with fast and reliable internet access. Or, at least regular, reliable and frequent access to one. Be sure it is working and that it is up-to-date. Each school has its own technical requirements; check the school’s website before enrolling. You need to have the right computer equipment and software for whatever classes that you plan to take. Special software may be required, which you maybe be able to download for free on the school’s website.

You will also need to be able to:

  • Set up an e-mail account
  • Find, log into and logout of your e-mail account
  • Compose, save and send e-mail messages
  • Know how to find and open programs on your computer
  • Create, save, and open Microsoft Word documents
  • Copy and paste text into a document
  • Attach a document to an e-mail and open an attachment that is e-mailed to you
  • Do simple internet searches
  • Download software from your school’s website or the internet and install it on your computer
  • Save your documents or files onto a USB flash drive or in Google docs or Dropbox                                             

If you don’t know what any of these things are, brush up on your computer skills before enrolling. The Library offers free computer classes and open labs in most locations in Manhattan, Staten Island, and the Bronx.

Getting Ready

If you are thinking of enrolling in a SUNY online degree program, you may want to take their online Readiness Assessment test. Different colleges may have their own online learning readiness assessment programs. You may want to check them out before investing time and money in a course. You will also need some time to study, read and concentrate so you can complete your assignments and fulfill the deadlines. You need to have the ability and desire to learn computer skills specific to your course.

There are also some specific skills you might have to learn once you begin your course work. For example, some courses may require you to use Microsoft Office software other than Microsoft Word. You may also have to learn to use Microsoft Excel, Powerpoint or Access. You can go to the GCFlearn.org website to watch videos which provide quick overviews of these programs and how they are used. If you would like more detailed information on these and many other computer programs, you may use Lynda.com. Keep in mind, some of these may vary in quality; use your judgement.

Updating Your Computer

Your computer will be your main vehicle on your online learning journey. Make sure you have the following basics:

  • An up-to-date operating system
  • A reliable internet service at home. If your internet service doesn’t work at home or if you just want a change of scenery, all branches of The New York Public Library have free Wi-Fi service.
  • Enough available memory (RAM) on your computer to store software programs and files
  • A word processing program such as Microsoft Word or other Microsoft Office software. You may also use Google docs
  • An adequate sized monitor (computer screen) to view all your coursework. If your monitor is too small, you may not be able to properly view images or spreadsheets.
  • Make sure the sound works on your computer.You will probably be required to listen to lectures or watch videos for your class.You may also need a pair of headphones. They are a good way to aid concentration and to help block out noise in a distracting environment. They are also good for not disturbing others if you are in a public place.
  • A printer, if you want to print out your course materials and research at home. An inkjet printer or a laser printer can print pictures clearly. For more information about printers, check out the Consumer Report’s Best Printer Buying Guide.

If you don’t have a printer at home, you can come to the library to use computers and printers

Protecting Your Computer

Since your computer is your main vehicle in getting your education, you may want to protect it. It is important to protect your computer from viruses, spyware and malware. They can wreck havoc on your computer system by causing it to malfunction. Some may even steal your information. You can protect your computer with antivirus, anti-spyware and anti-malware programs. Learn more about protecting your computer.

Gaining “Frustration Tolerance

Even if you have a reliable computer with good internet access, have an adequate amount of computer skills, or participate and do your coursework on time, things may still go wrong. You may develop computer problems or your internet may go down. Or, you may not know how to do something that you are being asked to do by your professor. Having the ability to be able to tolerate and cope with things not working from time to time as well as having the patience and presence of mind to go to the appropriate sources to ask for help will pay off in spades. 

Before you enroll and study at your college, it may be a good idea to make sure that they have a help desk and have their contact information handy in case you run into a computer software problem. Just in case your computer crashes or stops working, it is good to have access to other computers as a backup. Use any computers at The New York Public Library as long as you have a library card.

Books and E-books

Staff Posts: Information About Online Learning


Check out our Adult Education page for information on free classes and events for adults at our branches throughout Staten Island, Manhattan and the Bronx.

Podcast #152: Casanova: Seduction and Genius in Venice

0
0

Subscribe on iTunes.

casanovaToday the name Giacomo Casanova has become synonymous with the skilled lover. The Venetian claimed to have seduced countless women over his lifetime. Laurence Bergreen's new biography Casanova: the World of a Seductive Genius  recounts the life of Casanova from an impoverished youth to infamous writer to librarian. For this week's episode of the New York Public Library Podcast, we're proud to present Laurence Bergreen in conversation with psychosexual therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer on the life of the notorious Casanova.

 

 

casanova

Ep. 65 "This Is My Contribution" | Library Stories

0
0

When Manhattan resident Jennifer Maston realized that her family's stories were at risk of dying out, she decided to make a family tree. But her initial inquiry into researching ancestors quickly took her to a new level. Now she's turning up information that solves family mysteries, reveals stories she'd never heard, and makes her want to dig into the hardest-to-reach levels of her own family's past.

Library Stories is a video series from The New York Public Library that shows what the Library means to our users, staff, donors, and communities through moving personal interviews.

Like, share, and watch more Library Stories on Facebook or YouTube.

 

Jennifer Maston, genealogy researcher, at Schwarzman Building

Booktalking "Courageous Women Rebels" by Joy Crysdale

0
0
women

Sojourner Truth spoke out for women's rights and an end to slavery.

Gloria Steinem was a playboy bunny, then she wrote an exposé about how the club degrades women.

Joan Baez was a folk singer and an anti-war activist.

Leilani Muir opposed the caste system and child marriage in India.

Temple Grandin is an author and activist for the rights of animals and autistic people.

Shannen Koostachin championed the rights of Aboriginal Canadian people.

The stories of these women and more fill the pages of this book: stories of strong women who fought for what they believed in, despite the prevailing views of the day. They saw mistreatment and injustice, which they sought to correct. Not all of their goals were achieved in their lifetimes, but they still made steps in the right direction. 

Courageous Women Rebels by Joy Crysdale, 2013

This book contains a plethora of knowledge about activism, human rights, and history in a thin volume.

Books about activists

Moving Pictures: West Side Story

0
0
Promotional photograph by Friedman-Abeles
Promotional photograph by Friedman-Abeles

 

Last fall, the Google Cultural Institute supported the digitization of over 1300 photographs of the original 1957 production of West Side Story from our Martha Swope, Friedman-Abeles, Florenece Vandamm, Kenn Duncan, and Avery Willard photography collections. It is always exciting to be able to provide wider access to our collections, but this project is especially thrilling  because we are seeing, in many cases for the first time in decades, images that the photographer never developed beyond the original negatives. There are hundreds of images of dance and music rehearsals taken (mostly) by Martha Swope. There is the famous Friedman-Abeles shot (used on the original Playbill cover) of Larry Kert (Tony) and Carol Lawrence (Maria) running down a street in the Upper West Side, but there are also the shots just before and just after the moment captured in that iconic image which were not used.

As I examined the wealth of digital photographs we now have, I began to wonder whether it would be possible to join the sequential images from a single negative strip to create a very short movie.  Using the "Animation Assistant" tool in Google Photos, I stitched together a few of these sequences, and I found the results to be a little breathtaking.  There was a rehearsal for "Dance at the Gym" with Jerome Robbins watching and joining in on the snaps! There was Bernstein conducting a music rehearsal while Sondheim played on the piano! Seeing Carol Lawrence and Larry Kert freed from their frozen moment on the Playbill image and actually running down the street felt a little like stepping out of a time machine into 1957.

I am confident there are many, many more such treasures in our photograph collections. The Theatre Division preserves well over a million photographic negatives documenting the last century and a half of theatre, and like these West Side Story photographs, many have never before been seen.  If you are interested in supporting the work of bringing this history into the light of the open web, please drop me a note at dougreside@nypl.org.

For now, those, enjoy these tiny, magical, moments from 1957:

Promotional photograph by Friedman-Abeles
Promotional photograph by Friedman-Abeles
Promotional photograph by Friedman-Abeles
Promotional photograph by Friedman-Abeles
Promotional photograph by Friedman-Abeles
Promotional photograph by Friedman-Abeles
Promotional photograph by Friedman-Abeles
Promotional photograph by Friedman-Abeles
Dance Rehearsal. Photos by Martha Swope.
Dance Rehearsal. Photos by Martha Swope.
Fight rehearsal.  Photos by Martha Swope.
Fight rehearsal.  Photos by Martha Swope.
Bernstein conducts music rehearsal while Sondheim accompanies on the piano. Photo by Martha Swope.
Bernstein conducts music rehearsal while Sondheim accompanies on the piano. Photo by Martha Swope.
Bernstein conducts music rehearsal while Sondheim accompanies on the piano. Photo by Martha Swope.
Bernstein conducts music rehearsal while Sondheim accompanies on the piano. Photos by Martha Swope.
 
Dance rehearsal.  Photos by Martha Swope.
Dance rehearsals. Photos by Martha Swope.
Dance rehearsals. Photos by Martha Swope.
Dance rehearsals. Photos by Martha Swope.
Dance rehearsals.  Photos by Martha Swope.
Jerome Robbins prepares for rehearsal.  Photos by Martha Swope.
Jerome Robbins prepares for dance rehearsal. Photos by Martha Swope.
Jerome Robbins prepares for dance rehearsal. Photos by Martha Swope.
Dance rehearsal. (Photo by Martha Swope)
Dance rehearsal. Photos by Martha Swope.
Dance rehearsal for West Side Story (Photos by Martha Swope)
Jerome Robbins directs Larry Kert and Carol Lawrence in the death scene. Photos by Martha Swope.
Rehearsal for Dance at the Gym. Photo by Martha Swope.
Robbins directs West Side Story rehearsal.  Photos by Martha Swope.
Publicity shot of performers receiving a vacination. Photo by Friedman-Abeles
Publicity shot of performers receiving a vacination. Photo by Friedman-Abeles 

Best Nonfiction of the Year: Announcing The 30th Annual Helen Bernstein Book Award Finalists

0
0

Bernstein finalists

We're thrilled to present our five nonfiction finalists in the Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year!

The Bernstein Award honors working journalists whose books bring clarity and public attention to important issues, events, or policies. This year's finalists' works cover Syria, plutocrats, refugee crises, the spread of contagious disease, and gun violence in America.

The books, all published in 2016, were selected by a seven-member Library Review Committee, which received and read 99 nominations from publishers. 

This year's finalists and their works are:

The Morning They Came for Us by Janine di Giovanni (WW Norton/Liveright)

Drawing from years of experience covering Syria for Vanity Fair, Newsweek, and the front pages of the New York Times, di Giovanni delivers war reportage as told through the perspective of ordinary people. What emerges is an extraordinary picture of the devastating human consequences of armed conflict, one that charts an apocalyptic but  tender story of Syrians' lives in a war zone.

 

 

 

 

Dark Money by Jane Mayer (Doubleday)

Mayer illuminates the history of an elite cadre of plutocrats who have bankrolled a systematic plan to fundamentally alter the American political system. Drawing from hundreds of exclusive interviews and extensive scrutiny of public records, private papers, and court proceedings, Mayer provides portraits of the secretive figures behind the new American oligarchy and a look at the carefully concealed agendas steering the nation.

 

 

 

 

 

Cast Away by Charlotte McDonald-Gibson (New Press)

In 2015, more than one million migrants and refugees, most fleeing war-torn countries in Africa and the Middle East, attempted to make the perilous journey into Europe. Around 3,000 people lost their lives as they crossed the Mediterranean and Aegean in rickety boats provided by unscrupulous traffickers, including over 700 men, women, and children in a single day in April 2015. Cast Away describes the agonizing stories and the impossible decisions that migrants have to make as they head toward what they hope will be a better life.

 

 

 

 

Pandemic by Sonia Shah (Sarah Crichton Books/Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

A deep dive into the convoluted science, strange politics, and checkered history of cholera, Shah's book tracks each stage of the disease's dramatic journey from harmless microbe to world-changing pandemic. She also broadens her scope to report on other pathogens, from the MRSA bacterium that besieges her own family to the never-before-seen killers emerging from China's wet markets, the surgical wards of New Delhi, the slums of Port-au-Prince, and the suburban backyards of the East Coast.


 

 

 

another day

Another Day in the Death of America, by Gary Younge (Nation Books)

Younge's work tells the stories of the gun-related deaths of 10 children during a single day in the United States in 2013. Black, white, and Latino, aged nine to 19, they died at sleepovers, on street corners, in stairwells, and on their own doorsteps. The narrative crisscrosses the country over a period of 24 hours to reveal the full human stories behind the statistics and the brief mentions in local papers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stay tuned for in-depth posts on each book from the Library Review Committee.

A seven-member Bernstein Selection Committee, chaired by veteran journalist and editor Jim Hoge, will choose a winner; their decision will be announced at an awards ceremony and reception on May 22 at the Library's iconic Stephen A. Schwarzman Building.

The Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism was established in 1987 through a gift from Joseph Frank Bernstein, in honor of journalist Helen Bernstein (now Helen Bernstein Fealy). The gift also endows the position of the Helen Bernstein Librarian for Periodicals & Journals, who curates The New York Public Library’s internationally renowned Periodicals Division. The division houses one of the largest collections of past and present newspapers, magazines, and journals from around the world. Librarian Karen Gisonny currently holds the position.

The Quotable W. E. B. Du Bois

0
0
W.E.B. Du Bois
W.E.B. Du Bois

W. E. B. Du Bois, the African-American thinker and activist whose writings influenced generations of freedom fighters, was born on February 23 in 1868, 149 years ago. Over the course of his long life, Du Bois wrote several books, most notably The Souls of Black Folk and Black Reconstruction in America, and he was the founding editor of The Crisis, the magazine of the NAACP and the oldest black publication in the world, for nearly 25 years. While nearly a century and a half has passed since Du Bois' birth, many of his writings still feel as relevant today as they did in the early 20th century. Here are some quotes from Du Bois, coupled with our images of him from the Photographs and Prints Division at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.

W.E.B. Du Bois
W. E. B. Du Bois in the office of The Crisis.

"Either the United States will destroy ignorance or ignorance will destroy the United States." -- "Niagara Movement Speech," 1905.

W. E. B. Du Bois with the Fisk University class of 1888
W. E. B. Du Bois with the Fisk University class of 1888.

"In 1956, I shall not go to the polls. I have not registered. I believe that democracy has so far disappeared in the United States that no 'two evils' exist. There is but one evil party with two names, and it will be elected despite all I can do or say." -- "Why I Won't Vote," The Nation, 1956.

W.E. B. DuBois with his wife Nina and daughter Yolande ca. 1901
W. E. B. Du Bois with his wife Nina and daughter Yolande ca. 1901.

"Daily the Negro is coming more and more to look upon law and justice, not as protecting safeguards, but as sources of humiliation and oppression. The laws are made by men who have little interest in him; they are executed by men who have absolutely no motive for treating the black people with courtesy or consideration; and, finally, the accused law-breaker is tried, not by his peers, but too often by men who would rather punish ten innocent Negroes than let one guilty one escape." -- The Souls of Black Folk, 1903.

W. E. B. Du Bois at age four
W. E. B. Du Bois at age four.

"The cost of liberty is less than the price of repression." -- John Brown: A Biography, 1909.

W.E.B. Du Bois as a young man.
W. E. B. Du Bois as a young man.

"There is always a certain glamour about the idea of a nation rising up to crush an evil simply because it is wrong. Unfortunately, this can seldom be realized in real life; for the very existence of the evil usually argues a moral weakness in the very place where extraordinary moral strength is called for." -- The Suppression of the African Slave Trade to the United States of America, 1638-1870, 1897.

Kwame Nkrumah and his wife, Fathia, presenting a gold watch to W.E.B. DuBois on the occasion of his 95th birthday, Feb. 23, 1963
Kwame Nkrumah and his wife, Fathia, presenting a gold watch to W. E. B. DuBois on the occasion of his 95th birthday, Feb. 23, 1963.

"Believe in life! Always human beings will progress to great, broader, and fuller life." -- "Last Message to the World," 1957.

If you want to learn more, search for more images of Du Bois from the Schomburg Center's collections, or browse the complete list of his works in the Schomburg Collection, which includes the W. E. B. Du Bois papers. Got any other quotes from W. E. B. Du Bois? Let us know in the comments!

 

Musical of the Month: The Scottsboro Boys

0
0
The Vineyard Production of The Scottsboro Boys. Photo © Carol Rosegg
The  Off-Broadway Production of The Scottsboro Boys at the Vineyard Theatre. Photo © Carol Rosegg 

There have been few musical theatre songwriting teams as prolific as John Kander and Fred Ebb.  From 1965 until 2004, the pair worked on around a dozen Broadway musicals (depending on how one counts concerts and speciality shows), and had at least four more musicals in various stages of development when Ebb passed away suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 76.  Three of these then unproduced musicals, Curtains, The Visit, and The Scottsboro Boys, have since opened on Broadway, and the fourth, an adaptation of Thornton Wilder’s The Skin of Our Teeth, has been presented in regional productions around the country.

The three posthumously produced musicals each received a Tony nomination for Best Musical, but none recouped their original investment on Broadway. Perhaps like Chicago, which didn’t become a mega-hit until the record-breaking run of the 1996 revival, they were ahead of their time and are simply waiting for the right moment to speak to an audience ready to hear their message.  Although each merits such reexamination, The Scottsboro Boys feels particularly timely, and so I'm making it February’s Musical of the Month.

The Scottsboro Boys tells the true story of nine black teens ranging in age from 12 to 19, who, in 1931, were accused of raping two white woman on a freight train traveling across the American South.  The case against the teenagers was extremely flimsy, and one of the alleged victims eventually recanted. The trials were reported in newspapers across the country and polarized the nation. Many in the North, including actors, religious organizations, and the U.S. Communist Party raised funds for their defense, but all except the youngest of the “Scottsboro Boys” (as they came to be known) were sentenced to death by the electric chair. After several appeals (escalating, eventually, to the United States Supreme Court), all avoided the death penalty, but each spent time in harsh prison conditions under the cloud of the death sentence.  

The case inspired poems and a verse drama by Langston Hughes and has some similarities to part of the plot of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird (although Lee denied that the events had any direct influence on her work).  In 2000, bookwriter Fred Thompson and director/choreographer Susan Stroman brought the idea of the Scottsboro trial to Kander and Ebb as a possible subject for their next musical.  Ebb reportedly latched onto the idea with great passion and began writing lyrics rapidly.  A first reading was held in August of 2004, a month before Ebb would pass away.  The show was shelved until 2010 when Off-Broadway’s Vineyard Theater launched a production that would transfer to Broadway.

Confronting racism in the criminal justice system and the way in which race is performed in society was central to the creators' vision for the show. The Scottsboro Boys is titled Minstrel Show in early drafts in the Fred Ebb papers preserved at the Library for the Performing Arts, and indeed, the show, from it’s earliest incarnation, employs the racist conventions of a minstrel show (although the characters are played by black actors rather than by white men in blackface). A white man, the Interlocutor (generally a kind of “straight man” to the silliness of the minstrels), begins by instructing the black men to “be seated” and then enjoining them to tell the story of the Scottsboro Boys. The ensemble performs the stereotypical and offensive schtick common to the minstrel form until the character of Haywood Patterson (one of the first of the accused to tell his story to a journalist in the aftermath of the event) breaks with the style and asks, in all seriousness, “This time, can we tell the truth?” The rest of the action alternates between the conventions of the minstrel show and a more serious, representational style. Through the vehicle of the minstrel show, the musical interrogates the high stakes performance these very young men had to enact for the mostly white audiences both in courtrooms and, through the press, for the politically powerful groups in the North that would support their cause.  

In its original production, some felt the performance of a minstrel show, no matter the ethnicity of the performances or the theatrical context, irresponsibly revived an inherently racist theatrical form. Protestors from a group called “The Freedom Party” picketed outside the theatre during the show's run. The production received mixed reviews, and closed after 29 previews and just over a month of regular performances in the fall. The show did, however, gather a fairly devoted group of admirers, and there was an attempt to get them to commit to buying tickets for a spring revival just before the Tony Awards, but the project failed to generate enough enthusiasm to convince investors to sign on. A West End London production played a limited run from November of 2014 through February of 2015 and won the Olivier award for Best Musical that year. The musical is now licensed by Music Theatre International which reports three new productions across the country this spring.

The historical story of the Scottsboro Boys feels especially timely. The musical is challenging and certain to provoke discussion among those willing to seriously consider the questions it forces audiences to ask. The creators have very generously allowed us to post the full libretto of the current version of the show as part of this blog series for research purposes, and I hope many will take the opportunity to read the text, listen to the cast recording, and discuss their reactions.

This copy of the libretto of The Scottsboro Boys was provided by librettist David Thompson and is published here with the permission of the Thompson, John Kander, and the estate of Fred Ebb for research use only.

Download the libretto: PDF

Please note: You may not reproduce or repost this or perform this musical in any context without permission from the creators or the licensing agency: Music Theatre International.

 

NYPL #FridayReads: The When You're a Jet Edition February 24, 2017

0
0

During the week, it can be tough to stay on top of everything. On Fridays, though, we suggest kicking back to catch up on all the delightful literary reading the internet has to offer. Don’t have the time to hunt for good reads? Never fear. We've rounded up the best bookish reading of the week for you.

Carol Lawrence and Larry Kert running down the street in promotional photo for West Side Story.
Carol Lawrence and Larry Kert running down the street in promotional photo for West Side Story.

We Read...

African and African American folk tales, the greatest books by Amy Tan, and the five finalists of the Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism. This is what happens when you animate West Side Story rehearsal photos. Have you seen the sets Edward Gorey made for Dracula?  We have George Washington's beer recipe. How did Sherlock Holmes got his name? We're getting caught up on South African literature. What you don't know about Casanova: a psychosexual therapist and a biographer talk. 

Stereogranimator Friday Feels:

//stereo.nypl.org/gallery/index
GIF made with the NYPL Labs Stereogranimator

TGIF:

What did you read?

If you read something fantastic this week, share with our community of readers in the comment section below.

Job and Employment Links for the Week of February 26

0
0

The U.S. Department of Labor blog  (January 31, 2017) Make Your Mark in Health Care with a Science or Engineering Job .  Teri Morisi, a branch chief at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, introduces somes of the science and engineering occupations impacting health care.  All pay median wages above the median wage for all occupations ($36,200) and are projected to have job openings through 2024.  All of  these jobs need at least a bachelor's degree for entry.  You can explore all of these occupations and many more in the Occupational Outlook Handbook.

The U.S. Department of Labor blog (February 13, 2017) Shape the Future With a Teaching Career.  Allen Chen, an economist at the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, states that teachers give students the knowledge and tools to succeed both in school and beyond the classroom.  It is a smart career choice, too:  Most teaching jobs pay above the median for all occupations ($36,200), and the Bureau of Labor Statistics  projects there will be more then 2 million job openings between 2014 and 2024 for teachers at all levels.

Brooklyn Woods is actively recruiting for their Free  Woodworker Job Training Program. Orientations are held every Wednesday at 10 am sharp.  Please bring a photo ID.  Be prepared to fill out an application and to take a math, reading and measurement test.  Orientation lasts 2 hours.  If you have questions, call 718-389-3636.  

ACS Career Training Institute offers training skills in bookkeeping, accounting, medical office, medical administration and office administration.  Internship and job placement assistance included.  Please call 718-661-9771 ext. 102.

The NYCHA Resident Training Academy (NRTA) offers Janitorial  and Construction training tracks.  Recruitment is now open for Construction Training and Janitorial Training. Please call 718-289-8100.

The Chinese-American Planning Council Workforce Development Division offers education, training, placement, and post placement support services to job seekers.  Job training programs include BuildingWorks Pre-ApprenticeshipTraining, Hospitality Careers and LVMH Fundamentals in Luxury Retail Training.

Job Finding Club on Tuesday, February 28, 2017, 2 - 4 pm at Flushing Workforce 1  Career Center, 138-60 Barclay Ave. 2nd floor, Flushing, NY 11355.  This is a weekly support group focusing on obtaining job goal(s).  Please call 718-321-6316 or 718-661-5012.

Career Development workshop:  Transferring Skills on  Thursday, March 2, 2017, 12:30 - 2:30 pm for all interested jobseekers and dislocated workers to identify transferable skills and target them to new jobs, at Flushing Workerforce 1 Career Center, 138-60 Barclay Ave. 2nd floor, Flushing NY 11355. 

Job Postings at New York City Workforce 1.  Job Search Central

Apprenticeship Opportunities in New York City.

Brooklyn Community  Board 14: Available jobs

The New York City Employment and Training Coalition (NYCE&TC) is an association of 200 community-based organizations, educational institutions, and labor unions that annually provide job training and employment services to over 750,000 New Yorkers, including welfare recipients, unemployed workers, low-wage workers, at-risk youth, the formerly incarcerated, immigrants and the mentally and physically disabled. View NYCE&TC Job Listings.

Digital NYC is the official online hub of the New York City startup and technology ecosystem, bringing together every company, startup, investor, event, job, class, blog, video, workplace, accelerator, incubator, resource, and organization in the five boroughs. Search jobs by category on this site.

St. Nicks Alliance Workforce Development provides Free Job Training and Educational Programs in Environmental Response and Remediation Tec (ERRT). Commercial Driver's License, Pest Control Technician Training (PCT), Employment Search and Prep Training and Job Placement, Earn Benefits and Career Path Center. For information and assistance, please visit St. Nicks Alliance Workforce Development or call 718-302-2057 ext. 202.

Brooklyn Workforce Innovations helps jobless and working poor New Yorkers establish careers in sectors that offer good wages and opportunities for advancement. Currently, BWI offers free job training programs in four industries: commercial driving, telecommunications cable installation, TV and film production, and skilled woodworking.

CMP (formerly Chinatown Manpower Project) in lower Manhattan is now recruiting for a free training in Quickbooks, Basic Accounting, and Excel. This training is open to anyone who is receiving food stamps but no cash assistance. Class runs for eight weeks, followed by one-on-one meetings with a job developer. CMP also provides Free Home Health Aide Training for bilingual English/Cantonese speakers who are receiving food stamps but no cash assistance. Training runs Mondays through Fridays for six weeks and includes test prep and taking the HHA certification exam. Students learn about direct care techniques such as taking vital signs and assisting with personal hygiene and nutrition. For more information for the above two training programs, email: info@cmpny.org, call 212-571-1690, or visit. CMP also provides tuition-based healthcare and business trainings free to students who are entitled to ACCESS funding.

Nontraditional Employment for Women (NEW) trains women and places them in careers in the skilled construction, utility, and maintenance trades. It helps women achieve economic independence and a secure future. For information call 212-627-6252 or register online.

Grace Institute provides tuition-free, practical job training in a supportive learning community for underserved New York area women of all ages and from many different backgrounds. For information call 212-832-7605.

Please note this page will be revised when more recruitment events for the week of February 26 become available.

 

Booktalking "Killing It!" by Sheryl O'Loughlin

0
0
entre

The author gives a unique, more personal look at the world of starting and running a business. She does a fantastic job of addressing the topic in a personable way.

Love your work. You cannot really be an entrepreneur and work 70+ hour weeks for years without being passionate about what you do.

You can have companionable love for your business partner. You spend so much time together, and you have a shared goal and purpose.

Working with investors takes a special touch. It is important to be honest about your goals and values. If they are not similar, the partnership may not work.

Maintaining a romantic relationship while running a demanding business can be challenging. Be sure to attend to each other's needs. Handling children and having friendships can also be relationship challenges. There are many aspects of entrepreneurship in this work that I have not seen addressed in other books. 

Killing It!: An Entrepreneur's Guide to Keeping Your Head Without Losing Your Heart by Sheryl O'Loughlin, 2016

The title of this book is quite provocative.

 

Where to Start with John Steinbeck

0
0

Feburary 27 just so happens to be the birthday of John Steinbeck, the Pulitzer and Nobel Prize-winning author whose vivid, imaginative writing brought tales of Southern California to life in several novels and short stories. Steinbeck is widely considered one of the greatest American novelists who ever lived, but, as with many early 20th-century heavy hitters, readers often don't find an occasion to delve into his work outside of a high school English class. Well, Steinbeck's 115th birthday is as good an occasion as ever to jump in: we'll help you get started with Steinbeck, with these titles available at your local library.

The Grapes of Wrath, 1939

The Grapes of Wrath

This realist novel is probably Steinbeck's most famous work; it netted him the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1940 and is considered by many to be among the most influential American novels. The Grapes of Wrath tells the story of a family of impoverished farmers during the Great Depression who lose their livelihood and are forced to trek from Oklahoma to California, looking for work and trying to survive. Upon its release, Steinbeck was lambasted for his sympathetic attitude towards the poor, and was even accused of having communist sympathies. Nevertheless, the book has retained its relevance for decades and remains widely discussed and read in schools across the country. If you missed out on reading The Grapes of Wrath, you should definitely give it a shot!

Of Mice and Men, 1937

Of Mice and Men

Steinbeck's second most famous book is probably Of Mice and Men, which tracks a similar narrative to The Grapes of Wrath. This book, which was conceived as a hybrid between a play and a novella, tells the story of two farmhands, George and Lennie, and is based off some of Steinbeck's own experience as a migrant worker during the Depression. Lennie is good-natured and hardworking, but his mental disability exposes him to prejudice, and his friend George tries to protect him from the world while they struggle to make enough money to buy their own land.

The Pearl, 1947

The Pearl

Rather than his typical stomping grounds of Southern California, Steinbeck set The Pearl in Mexico, where a pearl diver, Kino, can't afford to pay the town doctor to save his sick infant son. Fortuitously, Kino finds an enormous pearl to cover the cost of the medicine, but the gem quickly brings more trouble than Kino bargained for. This slim novella, based on a Mexican folktale, is a spare and tragic tale of the price we pay for greed.

Cannery Row, 1945

Cannery Row

On a lighter note, Cannery Row is an impressionistic novel about the colorful cast of characters that inhabit a poor neighborhood of Monterey known as Cannery Row. Through a series of vignettes, we meet Dora, the proprietor of the neighborhood brothel; Doc, the marine biologist who collects and preserves fish from the Pacific Ocean; and Mack and his gang of poor friends, who roam the neighborhood stirring up trouble and merriment in equal measure. It's more comical than his other work, so if you want to dig into some exciting, colorful prose without the heavy tragedy typical of Steinbeck, then this is the novel for you.

East of Eden, 1952

East of Eden

Perhaps best remembered as the loose basis for the film of the same nameEast of Eden is about the moral struggles of two families in Salinas Valley, California: the tortured Trasks and the stable Hamiltons. One of Steinbeck's later works, it was widely read upon its release, and though critical reception was mixed, it is considered a masterpiece today. Fun fact about the film: it was the first major screen role of James Dean, and the only movie he starred in that was released during his lifetime.
 

What's your favorite Steinbeck read? Shout it out in the comments, if you don't mind!


More of West Side Story

0
0

Earlier this week I posted some animated GIFs created from digitized images from our West Side Story archives. Below, enjoy more mesmerizing images, made possible through a Theatre Division grant to digitize every photographic negative we could find from the 1957 production of West Side Story. If anyone is interested in financially supporting the digitization of similiar photographs from another show, please email me at dougreside@nypl.org.

Dance rehearsal.  Photos by Friedman-Abeles
Dance rehearsal.  Photos by Friedman-Abeles
Jerome Robbins directs the rehearsal for Dance at the Gym. Photos by Martha Swope.
Jerome Robbins directs the rehearsal for Dance at the Gym. Photos by Martha Swope.
Dance rehearsals.  Photos by Martha Swope.
Dance rehearsals.  Photos by Martha Swope.
Jerome Robbins rehearses Dance at the Gym.  Photos by Martha Swope.
Jerome Robbins rehearses Dance at the Gym.  Photos by Martha Swope.
Rehearsal for West Side Story. Photo by Friedman-Abeles.
Rehearsal for West Side Story. Photo by Friedman-Abeles.
Rehearsal for West Side Story. Photo by Friedman-Abeles.
Rehearsal for West Side Story. Photo by Friedman-Abeles.
Victoria Mallory and Kurt Peterson in rehearsal for West Side Story (Photo by Friedman-Abeles)
Victoria Mallory and Kurt Peterson in rehearsal for West Side Story. Photo by Friedman-Abeles.

Digital Stylist: Oscars Edition

0
0

In advance of Oscar Sunday, we dove into our Digital Collections to play fashion consultant for some of the nominees for the 89th Academy Awards. Using the Creators Studio images from our Art and Picture Collection, we’ve chosen a specific look for each of the amazing Best and Supporting Actress nominees.

=============================

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

Isabelle Huppert,Elle - With a penchant for sleeves and sleek silhouette, this beaded floor-length sheath seems custom-made for the French underdog, Isabelle.

Isabelle Huppert
Image courtesy WireImage.com
Image ID: 5231471

Ruth Negga, Loving - With a bold  color and a dash of whimsy, this beaded and fringed dress would compliment Ruth’s personal style perfectly.

Ruth Negga
Image courtesy gettyimages.com
Image ID: 5231447

Natalie Portman, Jackie - Favoring the 60s simple sophistication of our former first lady- and accounting for her pregnant state - this organza gown seems made for Natalie.

Natalie Portman
Photo by Mark Abrahams - © management+artists
Image ID: 5231458

Emma Stone, La La Land - When you’re rumored to win and have no fashion fears, why not make a statement as you walk up to collect your award? Emma has the poise and confidence to pull off this avante-garde look.

Emma Stone
Image courtesy gettyimages.com
Image ID:  5232437

Meryl Streep, Florence Foster Jenkins - As the Grande Dame of the acting world, Meryl might be ready to show a little more drama with this elegant shoulder draping.

Meryl Streep
Image courtesy WireImage.com
Image ID: 5232303

=============================

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Viola Davis, Fences - Will this almost-assured win put Viola one award away from an EGOT? Possibly, and what better way to celebrate than looking bold and confident in this beaded beauty?

Viola Davis
 Image courtesy gettyimages.com
Image ID: 5232058

Naomie Harris, Moonlight - First-time nominee Naomie is already known as a fashionista, and what better way to stand out than in a classic column in a stark black and white?

Naomie Harris
 Image courtesy gettyimages.com
Image ID: 5231430

Nicole Kidman, Lion - Never one to shy away from some embellishment or a tricky sleeve detail, Nicole’s statuesque silhouette and penchant for the dramatic would be well-served by this dress.

Nicole Kidman
 Image courtesy gettyimages.com
Image ID: 5231456

Octavia Spencer, Hidden Figures - A master of the formal pantsuit, Octavia would stun in this subtle workwear-inspired gown with its beaded cuffs and collar.

Octavia Spencer
Image Courtesy IMDB
Image ID: 5231432

Michelle Williams, Manchester by the Sea - Michelle is noted for her love of short dresses on the red carpet, the beading on this two-tone sheath may be just enough pizzazz for her Oscar outing.

Michelle Williams
Image courtesy gettyimages.com
Image ID: 5232066

 

Booktalking " All We Have Left" by Wendy Mills

0
0
911

All We Have Left is a fictive contemplation on 9/11 and its effect on a family 15 years later.

The first chapter begins with Alia, a hijab-wearing Muslim girl who finds herself trapped in an elevator in the South Tower with an attractive young white man named Travis. The teens manage to free themselves from the elevator and join hoards of panicked people in the stairway, breathing through their clothes in order to avoid inhaling the noxious jet fuel fumes. Firefighters run up and down stairwells, yelling commands at the building's occupants—a scene of chaos and terror.

The next chapter introduces the reader to Jesse, Travis's younger sister, who endures her parents' unrelenting grief over his death 15 years earlier. Now living with only her father, he rages at both her and the TV sporadically and unpredictably. Jesse struggles with the usual teenage dilemmas, but her curiosity over her dead brother and his last hours begins to overtake her. She researches the tragedy, hoping to uncover valuable information about her sibling's final actions in the tower. 

Author Windy Mills, through powerful transitions and heavy descriptions, educates readers on Islam and the damaging effects of Islamophobia. A must-read in this current political climate.

All We Have Left by Wendy Mills, 2016

Learn More

This book was quite difficult to get through, especially since I live in NYC. However, it was insightful to learn more about Islam through a young girl's perspective. Also, I loved the cover with heart-shaped leaves and the NYC skyline that made up the tree's foliage.

From Boston's Resistance to an American Revolution

0
0

The American Revolution is usually told as a very Boston-centric story. When Parliament passed the Stamp Act in 1765, resistance was widespread, but Bostonians led the way in creating the Sons of Liberty. Textbooks often gloss over the next five years, until the story picks back up with “The Boston Massacre” in 1770.  Despite the bloodshed, tensions seemed to calm for a while. That is, until Bostonians had a “Tea Party” in 1773. Outright warfare came only about a year-and-a-half later, in the outskirts of Boston, with the famous Battles of Lexington and Concord. By then, April of 1775, the Revolutionary War was underway, a conflict that pitted thirteen united colonies against the British Empire. But how, exactly, had resistance in Boston led to a national revolution?  

That critical transformation took place in 1774, in a series of comparatively forgotten events that began in Boston, implicated much of Massachusetts and New England, and garnered support from a much wider swath of would-be Americans. First, there was the so-called “Powder Alarm.” In September of 1774, British troops under General Thomas Gage—the Royally appointed governor of Massachusetts—marched on an armory in Charlestown, just outside of Boston.  They seized a stockpile of gunpowder and some other munitions.  No shots were fired. Indeed, the British faced no opposition whatsoever.

The rumors New Englanders heard about the British operation, though, were much more dramatic. As news spread, this transformed into a bloodbath. Some heard rumors that a number of Massachussetts men had died defending the powder house, others that Bostonians had been shot down in the street, and others that the British shelled and even destroyed the city. New Englanders would eventually find out these reports were wrong.  In the meanwhile, the “fake news” snapped colonists into action.

BCC1
Rehoboth, MA Committee of Correspondence to Boston Committee of Correspondence, Sept. 6, 1774, Boston Committee of Correspondence records, Image ID: 5243144

For example, the people of Rehoboth, Massachusetts—a town along the Rhode Island border, and about fifty miles south of Boston--received intelligence that not only had the British “taken Possession of the Powder,” but were also “proceeding further in a violent manner.”  As the town gathered more information, “several Commanders of the militia had issued their Warrants forthwith to call their companies together” and prepared to march to Boston’s defense. This story repeated itself across Massachusetts and into neighboring Connecticut and Rhode Island. Over 4,600 militia members mustered in Worcester County, in Central Massachusetts, when they heard the false reports of British aggression.  

New England mobilized for war a full seven months before Lexington and Concord. Only there was not yet a war to fight.  A few weeks later came the “Suffolk Resolves.” The people of Boston and the rest of Suffolk County issued their nineteen-point list of grievances and resolutions, largely in reaction to the “Coercive Acts.” Passed by Parliament in response to the Tea Party, these laws closed the port of Boston to commerce, all-but-ended self-government in the Bay State, provided that British officials in Massachusetts could be tried outside of the colony in order to secure a “fair trial,” and finally required that colonists everywhere quarter—house—British troops.  

The Resolves called for some well-worn methods of resistance, like boycotts of British goods.  But they also broke new ground. The Resolves declared that a number of the Coercive Acts were“gross infractions of those rights to which we are justly entitled by the laws of nature, the British constitution, and the charter of the province.” As such, “no obedience is due from this province to either or any part of the acts above-mentioned, but that they be rejected as the attempts of a wicked administration to enslave America.” And Suffolk’s resistance made it clear they could defend themselves with force, if necessary,  In effect, the Resolves declared that colonists had a right to decide for themselves what Parliamentary legislation was binding, and what was not. If “no taxation without representation” was a narrow construction of colonists’ ability to stand up to Parliament, the Suffolk Resolves were incredibly broad.

SA1
Samuel Adams to Joseph Warren, Sept. 26, 1774, Samuel Adams Papers, Image ID: 5874551

The shocking thing is that the Suffolk Resolves proved widely popular. Colonists saw them as reasonable given British actions over the preceding year.  Writing from the Continental Congress, Samuel Adams told Dr. Joseph Warren—a Boston Revolutionary leader—that Congress gave “their sanction to the resolutions of the county of Suffolk.”  Adams confirmed that he was “assured, in private conversation with individuals, that, if you should be driven to the necessity of acting in the defence of your lives or liberty, you would be justified by their constituents, and openly supported by all the means in their power.” In September of 1774, Bostonians declared the right to resist Parliamentary actions by force, New England proved it could mobilize for a revolutionary war if necessary, and Congress endorsed it all! 

Some of this was not entirely unprecedented. Parts of Massachusetts had already effectively ended British rule earlier in the summer. Residents of Worcester County closed the courthouses, stymying attempts to enforce British law. But the Resolves gave voice to these grievances, couched them in rational political rhetoric, and were public enough to garner support.   

Brook
Minutes of the Brookhaven Committee of Safety, August 3, 1775, Image ID: 5437525

Outside of New England, similar arguments—that the Coercive Acts “are contrary to the Constitution and subversive of our legal rights as English Freemen and British subjects”—justified the ratcheting up of resistance in places like Brookhaven, New York (on Long Island). The Committee of Safety formed there committed to enforcing that the community would “adhere to the Resolutions of the Honorable Continental Congress,” which of course had endorsed the Suffolk Resolves. That Committee of Safety readied the community for war; during a subsequent meeting, the committee authorized members to procure gunpowder. 

How a Boston rebellion became an American Revolution is a story too seldom told because it is one we take for granted.  It’s a story that recentlydigitizedmaterials held by The New York Public Library help us to tell.

Further Reading

For more on the critical events of 1774, see Ray Raphael, The First American Revolution: Before Lexington and Concord (New York: New Press, 2002); Richard D. Brown, Revolutionary Politics in Massachusetts: The Boston Committee of Correspondence and the Towns, 1772-1774 (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1970); T.H. Breen, American Insurgents, American Patriots: The Revolution of the People (New York: Hill & Wang, 2010); John L. Brooke, The Heart of the Commonwealth: Politics and Society in Worcester County, Massachusetts, 1713-1861 (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1989).  On the transition from resistance to Revolution more generally, see Pauline Maier, From Resistance to Revolution: Colonial Radicals and the Development of American Opposition to Britain, 1765-1776 (New York: A.A. Knopf, 1972).  On the Brookhaven Committee of Safety, see Christopher F. Minty,“'Of One Hart and One Mind': Local Institutions and Allegiance during the American Revolution," Early American Studies 15 (Winter 2017): 99-132. 

About the Early American Manuscripts Project

With support from the The Polonsky Foundation, The New York Public Library is currently digitizing upwards of 50,000 pages of historic early American manuscript material. The Early American Manuscripts Project will allow students, researchers, and the general public to revisit major political events of the era from new perspectives and to explore currents of everyday social, cultural, and economic life in the colonial, revolutionary, and early national periods. The project will present on-line for the first time high quality facsimiles of key documents from America’s Founding, including the papers of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison. Drawing on the full breadth of the Library’s manuscript collections, it will also make widely available less well-known manuscript sources, including business papers of Atlantic merchants, diaries of people ranging from elite New York women to Christian Indian preachers, and organizational records of voluntary associations and philanthropic organizations. Over the next two years, this trove of manuscript sources, previously available only at the Library, will be made freely available through nypl.org.

This Just In: New Picture Books

0
0

Check out some of the latest picture books to hit children's room shelves at a branch near you.
 

North, South, East, West

North, South, East, West by Margaret Wise Brown (Ages 4-8 years)

Per the publisher, "A previously unpublished Margaret Wise Brown story, illustrated by a Geisel Award winner, follows the journey of a little bird who flies to the north, south, east and west before returning home again."

The simple yet sweet words and images are perfect for a Read-Aloud.


 

 

Keith Haring

Keith Haring: The Boy Who Just Kept Drawking  by Kay Haring (Ages 5-8 years)

Iconic pop artist Keith Haring comes to life for young readers in this picture book biography lovingly written by his sister.

Wonderful story about an incredible, iconic individual that teaches readers about the importance of passion and persistance.




 

Where Do They Go?

Where Do They Go?  by Julia Alvarez (ages 3-7 years)

Children wonder what happens to their loved ones after death.

Beautifully addresses the loss of a loved one.

 

 

Who Woke the Baby?

Who Woke the Baby? by Jane Clarke (ages 3-7 years)

It's early morning in the jungle and Little Gorilla is not happy. Someone has woken him up—but who was it?

This is a sweet book featuring fun repetition and the concept of cause and effect. It can also be used creatively as an interactive Read Aloud book.

 

Lucky Lazlo

Lucky Lazlo by Steve Light (ages 3-7 years)

Lazlo chooses a red rose and ventures to the theater to present it to the performer he cherishes, only to have the rose grabbed by a mischievous cat who races around backstage, passing actors dressed as characters from Alice in Wonderland.

A short and sweet lovey-dovey story. Perfect for Valentine's Day.

 

Wolf in the Snow

Wolf in the Snow by Matthew Cordell (ages 2-6 years)

Paintings rich with feeling tell this satisfying story of friendship and trust. Here is a book set on a wintry night that will spark imaginations and warm hearts, from Matthew Cordell, author of Trouble Gum and Another Brother.

One-of-a-kind book that only uses sound words. Captivating images and warm story of being lost then found.

 

Before You

 Before You by Rebecca Doughty (ages 4-7 years)

Simple text and whimsical illustrations celebrate how the love of another can change one's life for the better.

Poetic in conveying the concept of appreciation.

 

 

If you've read one of the books mentioned or plan to, feel free to tell us in the comments section below.

Viewing all 5325 articles
Browse latest View live




Latest Images