The New York Public Library Podcast features your favorite writers, artists, and thinkers in smart talks and provocative conversations. Listen to some of our most engaging programs, discover new ideas, and celebrate the best of today’s culture.

Listen on Apple Podcasts | Listen on Google Play

Sheelah Kolhatkar is a staff writer at The New Yorker and a former hedge-fund analyst. Her first book is Black Edge: Inside Information, Dirty Money, and the Quest to Bring Down the Most Wanted Man on Wall Street. It tells the story of Steven A. Cohen and his involvement in the largest insider-trading scandal in U.S history.

The book is one of the five finalists selected for NYPL's Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism. Kolhatkar dropped by the Library to discuss how she wrote this real-life thriller, what Cohen is up to today, and why people outside of the financial world should be paying attention. 

How to listen to The New York Public Library Podcast

Subscribing to The NYPL Podcast on your mobile device is the easiest way to make sure you never miss an episode. Episodes will automatically download to your device, and be ready for listening every Tuesday morning

On your iPhone or iPad:
Open the purple “Podcasts” app that’s preloaded on your phone. If you’re reading this on your device, tap this link to go straight to the show and click “Subscribe.” You can also tap the magnifying glass in the app and search for “The New York Public Library Podcast.”

On your Android phone or tablet:
Open the orange “Play Music” app that’s preloaded on your device. If you’re reading this on your device, click this link to go straight to the show and click “Subscribe.” You can also tap the magnifying glass icon and search for “The New York Public Library Podcast.” 

Or if you have another preferred podcast player, you can find “The New York Public Library Podcast” there. (Here’s the RSS feed.)

From a desktop or laptop:
Click the “play” button above to start the show. Make sure to keep that window open on your browser if you’re doing other things, or else the audio will stop. You can always find the latest episode at nypl.org/podcast.

"There are two things I’ve got a right to, and these are, Death or Liberty – one or the other I mean to have. No one will take me back alive; I shall fight for my liberty, and when the time has come for me to go, the Lord will let them kill me." - Scenes in the Life of Harriet Tubman by Sarah Hopkins Bradford

Most kids hear about Harriet Tubman while in school, as part of the curriculum on slavery in America. We learn of a woman nicknamed "Moses", after the biblical figure, who led hundreds of enslaved African Americans to freedom.

In recent years Harriet Tubman made history again, although for an entirely different reason. In April 2016, Secretary of the Treasury Jacob Lew announced that Tubman will be replacing Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill.

This is significant because she will be the first woman and first African American to appear on United States currency. While she has become a very well known figure, there is more to her story than what we are usually taught.

Early Life

Born Araminta Ross in 1820 Maryland, Tubman was one of eight children. Her parents, Benjamin Ross and Harriet Green, were full-blooded Africans and believed to belong to the Ashanti tribe of West Africa, known for being warriors. Though most of her siblings were sold, Araminta managed to stay with her parents for much of her young life. By the time the prospect of being sold did come up, the owner of her family, Edward Brodas, died.

It was during this time that Araminta discovered she was, in fact, free—her mother had been freed by a previous owner but was never told. However, Araminta never pursued the issue because a lawyer informed her too much time had passed and her freedom wouldn't be upheld in court. (source: Biography in Context)

When she reached adulthood, Araminta decided to take her mother's name, Harriet. She also married a free man named John Tubman around this time, hence 'Harriet Tubman' was born.

Despite being married to someone free, Mrs. Tubman still retained her slave status. She was "rented" out to another owner who did allow her to work away from his plantation for a price of $50 a year. Around 1849, two of Harriet's brothers heard they were all likely to be sold into the Deep South as part of the domestic slave trade, during which slaves were often sold into territories as areas were settled and labor was needed. Fearing an even worse way of life, Mrs. Tubman and her brothers ran away.

A reward of $300 was issued for their return (an example of such a notice is pictured at right). Fearing repercussions, Mrs. Tubman's brothers returned within a few days; Mrs. Tubman, not feeling safe, decided to leave for good. For unknown reasons, her husband did not join her, yet she made it to Philadelphia (a center of abolitionist activity) via the Underground Railroad. (source: African American Experience)

Work with The Underground Railroad

The Underground Railroad was the name for the network of escape routes for slaves, the people who helped them, and the system itself which was loosely organized in the beginning. Through this "railroad", thousands of enslaved Americans were able to make their way to Canada and northern states of the U.S. in the years before the Civil War. The exact year in which the system began is unknown, but it is believed the Quakers started it in 1787. By the time Mrs. Tubman made her escape in 1849, escape via the Underground Railroad had become a frequent practice and it involved a much larger network of people. (source: African American Experience)

Unfortunately, in 1850, Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act which made the northern states just as dangerous as the South. The law made it possible for the testimony of any white person to be used as a means of sending any black person, free or not, to the South and into slavery.

For this reason, Mrs. Tubman began visiting the Philadelphia Vigilance Committee, an organization formed by James Miller McKim and William Still, to help fugitive slaves. Still kept careful records of those who passed through the committee's office and published them in 1872 as The Underground Rail Road. Through this group, Harriet began her role as a "conductor" on the railroad. By 1857, she had helped free dozens of slaves (not the hundreds often touted in history books; Tubman believed the figure was closer to 70), including her own parents and other family members. In later years, Tubman would remark with pride that she never lost a passenger and never lost her way. (source: Biography in Context)

Civil War Service

Though most famous for her role in the Underground Railroad, Mrs. Tubman also had another, equally important role: unofficial military servicewoman! During the Civil War, she assisted the Union Army as a nurse, scout, teacher, and guide. After the passing of the Emanicipation Proclamation, she played yet another important role, helping slaves relocate. Most were moved to contraband camps, which were originally established to provide shelter to fugitive slaves during the Civil War, but continued as a refuge after the law was passed to abolish slavery. Mrs. Tubman would later servce as a nurse and teacher to many of the Gullah people, slaves who had been abandoned in South Carolina's Sea Islands. (source: African American Experience) 

Mrs. Tubman's experience leading slaves through the Underground Railroad came in handy during the Civil War when the Union Army requested her assistance with scouting expeditions. Working with groups of former slaves, she hunted down enemy camps and reported on the movements of Confederate troops. Her most important task came to a head in July of 1863: At that time, she accompanied Colonel James Montgomery and about 150 black, soldiers to raid a gunboat on the Combahee River in South Carolina. The purpose of the raid was to liberate slaves who were either unable or too scared to find their way to Union lines. Inside information procured by Tubman enabled the Union gunboats to surprise the rebel forces. (source: Library of Congress)

Mrs. Tubman's execution of this raid is important not only because it yielded such great success, but also because she was a woman, a civilian, and a former slave who managed to orchestrate and carry out a full-scale military operation alongside decorated officers. She wasn't familiar with the South Carolina territory so, to implement her plan, she had to use her wits and the help of others familiar with the area. Mrs. Tubman recruited scouts from nearby camps of freed slaves to help gather intelligence, knowing that, as an outsider, it would be difficult for her to gain the trust of the slaves because she was from a different area and did not speak the Gullah language of people located there. (source: New York Times)

Once the operation had enough information to proceed, they pulled ashore at night, only to be met by fire from slave owners and Confederate soldiers who discovered their plans. Despite this, they still were able to liberate more than 700 slaves, only increasing Tubman's legendary status.

She went on to work similar missions with the famed Massachusetts 54th Infantry (the first military unit consisting of black soldiers raised in the North) and spent the final years of the war tending injured soldiers. In the 1970s, a black feminist organization known as the Combahee River Collective named themselves after the raid in honor of Mrs. Tubman's brave work. (Source: America: History and Life)

After the Civil War, Mrs. Tubman settled in Auburn, New York with her parents. While there, she continued to be an important force, fighting for racial justice as well as women's rights. She was a featured speaker at the National Association of Colored Women's inaugural meeting, where she was introduced as "Mother Harriet". She was a huge supporter of women gaining the right to vote and was known to work alongside such greats as Susan B. Anthony.

Later Years

Wanting to fulfill another dream of founding a home for the aged and poor, Mrs. Tubman bought 25 acres of land, deeded the land to the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, and established the Harriet Tubman Home for Aged and Indigent Negroes.  (Source: Biography in Context)

During this time, Mrs. Tubman also managed to work on an autobiography with writer Sarah Bradford, originally called "Scenes in the Life of Harriet Tubman" (it is in the Library collection with the more recent title, Harriet Tubman, the Moses of Her People). She remarried in 1869, after finding out her husband had done so already, to a Civil War veteran named Nelson Davis. Although younger than his wife, Davis passed in 1888.

Tubman continued to show her tenacity by living to the age of 93, dying on March 10, 1913 from pneumonia. She spent the last two years of her life living in the very home she created to help others less fortunate. Although she was never properly acknowledged for her extensive military service, Mrs. Tubman was given a military funeral service by the Civil War Veterans of Auburn.

Harriet Tubman proved herself as not just a person of great character but also a humanitarian who tirelessly worked for the greater good. Whether it was for African Americans or women, she wasn't content living in a world that did not treat everyone equally. While there were many choices in the mix regarding which woman would ultimately be on the face of our currency, the one most representative of the the American spirit was surely the woman known as Moses.
 

Books for Kids

Harriet Tubman by Marion Dane Bauer

Harriet Tubman: A Woman of Courage by Time for Kids

Harriet Tubman: Riding the Freedom Train by Rose Blue & Corinne J. Naden

Harriet Tubman: Leading the Way to Freedom by Laurie Calkhoven

See the full list here

Books for Adults

Harriet Tubman : Imagining a Life by Beverly Lowry

Harriet Tubman: The Road to Freedom by Catherine Clinton

Harriet Tubman; the Moses of Her People by Sarah Bradford

Bound for the Promised Land: Harriet Tubman, Portrait of an American Heroby Kate Clifford Larson

Historical Databases

The African American Experience: Full-text digital resource exploring the history and culture of African Americans, as well as the greater Black Diaspora.

Slavery and Anti-Slavery: A Transnational Archive: A historical archive of several million cross-searchable pages of books, serials, supreme court records and briefs, and key manuscript collections from the United States, Great Britain, and France, concerning debates of slavery and abolition, the Transatlantic Slave Trade, the Institution of Slavery, and the Age of Emancipation. Provides a context for further research through links to chronology, biographies, bibliographies, and websites.

African American Newspapers, 1827-1998: Hundreds of U.S. newspapers chronicling a century and a half of the African American experience from more than 35 states. A collection feature of America's Historical Newspapers.

America: History and Life with Full Text: Indexes the scholarly literature of the history and culture of the United States and Canada, from prehistory to the present. With full-text coverage of hundreds of journals and books, and selective indexing for journals dating back nearly 60 years.

Other Resources

"Harriet Tubman Ousts Andrew Jackson in Change for a $20", New York Times

Harriet Tubman Historical Society

"Harriet Tubman: Former slave who risked all to save others", BBC News

"Harriet Tubman; Civil War Spy, Daring Soldier", Liberty Letters

"Harriet Tubman's Great Raid" New York Times

"Harriet Tubman's Daring Raid, 150 Years Ago", History

Want to know more about the man Tubman almost replaced on the $10 bill? Check out my post on Alexander Hamilton.

Welcome to The Librarian Is In, the New York Public Library's podcast about books, culture, and what to read next.

Listen on Apple Podcasts | Listen on Spotify | Listen on Google Play

Frank and Gwen's discussion with Dan Kois on "Angels in America" continues (an epic conversation in two parts!) Plus: a trip to The New York Public Library of Performing Arts on the Upper West Side, where Doug Reside, Curator of the Billy Rose Theatre Division, gives us a tour of NYPL's theater collections and pulls out some "Angels" ephemera to help put the play in its historical context.

Visit the Library for the Performing Arts, in person or online, and don't forget to check out The World Only Spins Forward and all the Library's Angels materials!

​​---

Immigrant Heritage Week is a city-wide celebration that honors the experiences and contributions of immigrants in New York City established in 2004 and coordinated by the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs. The New York Public Library joins in on the celebration by featuring free events through the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island. We are highlighting a selection of databases that can be used for genealogy research. To access these databases, all you need is a vald New York Public Library card. Some of the databases are accessible at home, while some can only be used in a Library location.

Speacial thanks to Alexandra Gomez, Candice Walcott, and Yolande Shelton for collaborating on creating this World Languages list.

Find My Past 
Find My Past includes genealogicial records from the United States, along with England, Ireland, New Zealand, and other smaller record sets from around the globe. Researchers can also access the PERiodical Source Index (PERSI) via this database.  PERSI provides access to millions of entries from historical and genealogical publications. Keep in mind that the 1939 registers and the newspaper packages on FMP are not included in library subscriptions. For access to newspapers, please browse NYPL's collection of historical titles. 

Fold3
Historical primary documents featuring U.S. city directories, naturalization records, and Revolutionary War Pensions. Collections include: History and Genealogy Archives, African American Archives, Native American Archives, Revolutionary War Archives, US Bureau of Investigation Case File Archives, and World War II Archives. Formerly known as Footnote.com.

Heritage Quest
This genealogical database allows researchers to search U.S. Federal Census records, digitized family and local history books, Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application Files and the Freedman's Bank Records (1865-1874), maps, and a wealth of other historical collections and research guides. 

The New York Times (1851-1993) with Index
Searchable full-text and page images from The New York Times archive with the option to search by subject headings (index covers 1851-1993). 

America's Historical Newspapers
Searchable full-text and page images of newspapers from across the country including early newspapers, 1690-1922; America's Urban Centers Newspaper Collection, 1807-1880; African American Newspapers, 1827-1998; Ethnic American Newspapers from the Balch Collection, 1799-1971; Caribbean Newspapers, 1718-1876; and Hispanic American Newspapers, 1808-1980.

Biography and Genealogy Master Index
Indexes biographical listings in print dictionaries and encyclopedias covering millions individuals, both living and deceased, from every field of activity and from all areas of the world. A good resource for researching those who are less well-known or famous.

Directory of Professional Genealogists
Directory of Genealogy Professionals who are members of the Association of Professional Genealogists. Search options include location and specialization.

Columbia Gazetteer of the World
A unique world enclopedia of geographical places and features with over 170,000 entries. It can be searched by place name or full-text.

Gateway to North America: People, Places, and Organizations of 19th-Century New York
A collection of historical directories, member lists, and other name-rich sources, focusing on New York City during the long 19th century.  Documents are fully text-searchable and originate from the print collection of the New-York Historical Society.  Other categories of documents include maps, illustrated advertisements, burial lists, and gazetteers. The list of titles available in this database is available here.

Marquis Who's Who on the Web
A current and retrospective biographical database of notable individuals worldwide across multiple fields and disciplines. Includes all biographical data resources published by Marquis, with content updated daily. For a related database, see World Who's Who.

New York State County Histories
Full-text searchable 19th century histories of counties in all of New York state.

The PERiodical Source Index (PERSI)
This resource, accessible through the Find My Past database, indexes thousands of historical and genealogical publications, and contains over 2 million entries from these sources. Coverage is centered on publications from the United States and Canada, though periodicals from Britiain, Ireland, and Australia are also included. Researchers should keep in mind that print copies of many of the regional publications indexed in this database are held by the Library and can be located via the catalog or by speaking with a librarian.

ProQuest Historical Jewish Newspapers
Simultaneous search of the The American Hebrew & Jewish Messenger (1857-1922), The American Israelite (1874-2000),  Boston Advocate (1905-1909), The Israelite (1854-1874), The Jerusalem Post (1950-1988), the Jewish Advocate (1905-1990) and The Jewish Exponent (1887-1990),  and Palestine Post (1933-1950).

ProQuest Historical Newspapers
Searchable full-text and page images of all ProQuest Historical Newspaper databases, which include titles related to New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Baltimore, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., the American Jewish Newspaper Series, and the United Kingdom.  The coverage for certain titles extends up to the present, but does not include the most recent 6-12 weeks, depending on the title.

World Biographical Information System (WBIS) Online
Contains short biographical information and citations on millions of people worldwide from the 8th century B.C. to the present

PressReader
Provides access to current newspapers from around the world in full-color, full-page format.  Includes over 2,000 U.S. and international titles. Formerly called PressDisplay.  Registering as a user with the site is optional and allows for personalized, saved settings.

If you’ve just seen director-star John Krasinski’s thriller A Quiet Place, you’re probably still walking on tiptoe. The story about a family struggling to survive in a post-apocalyptic world filled with creatures that hunt by sound makes everyone in the audience think twice before touching their popcorn too loudly. The edge-of-your-seat suspense, tense atmosphere, and empathetic characters all work to deliver a heart-pounding horror/thriller that has easily earned its place among classics such as John Carpenter’s The Thing and Ridley Scott’s Alien.

If all that adrenaline has left you craving more, our librarians at NYPL have just what you need! Here are seven book recommendations for fans of A Quiet Place. Lucky for us, reading is silent.

Post-Apocalyptic Dystopia

1. Bird Box by Josh Malerman

Recommended by Rosa Caballero-Li

Something is out there… something terrifying that must not be seen. One glimpse and a person is driven insane. No one knows what it is or where it came from. Five years after it began, Malorie and her two young children are forced to leave the abandoned house they’d been hiding in, searching for safety, but the journey ahead will be terrifying: twenty miles downriver in a rowboat—blindfolded—with nothing to rely on but her wits and the children’s trained ears. One wrong choice and they will die. And something is following them. But is it man, animal, or monster?

Psychological Horror

2. The Grip of It All by Jac Jemc

Recommended by Erica Parker

All newlyweds Julie and James want is to settle into their house in the country, but the house has different plans for them.The architecture—claustrophobic, riddled with hidden rooms within rooms—becomes unrecognizable, decaying before their eyes. Stains are animated on the wall—contracting, expanding—and map themselves onto Julie’s body in the form of bruises; mold spores taint the water that James pours from the sink. Together, the couple embark on a panicked search for the source of their mutual torment, a journey that mires them in the history of their peculiar neighbors and the mysterious residents who lived in the house before Julia and James.

Isolation/Survival

3. The Silence of the Dead by Simone St. James

Recommended by Anne Rouyer

In 1919, Kitty Weekes falsifies her background to obtain a nursing position at Portis House, a remote hospital for soldiers left shell-shocked by the horrors of the Great War. The patients suffer from nervous attacks and tormenting dreams, but something else is going on at Portis House. It’s known that the former occupants left abruptly, but where did they go? And why do the patients all seem to share the same nightmare, one so horrific that they dare not speak of it? When a medical catastrophe leaves patients even more isolated, they must battle the menace on their own, caught in the heart of a mystery that could destroy them.

4. Stranded by Bracken MacLeod

Recommended by Amanda Pagan

Battered by an apocalyptic storm, the crew of the Arctic Promise find themselves in increasingly dire circumstances as they sail blindly into unfamiliar waters and an ominously thickening fog. One by one, the men fall prey to a mysterious illness. Deckhand Noah Cabot is the only person unaffected by the strange force plaguing the ship and her crew. Dismissing Noah’s warnings, the captain of the ship presses on until their ship becomes encased in thick, unbreakable ice. When the fog clears, revealing a faint shape in the distance that may or may not be their destination, Noah leads the last of the able-bodied crew on a journey across the ice and into an uncertain future where they must fight for their lives.

Classic Horror and Suspense

5. The Fall of the House of Usher by  Edgar Allan Poe

Recommended by David Nochimson

Edgar Allan Poe, poet and master of the short story, wrote tales of mystery and the macabre that still leave readers wide-eyed and tense more than 150 years after the author’s death. Poe’s mastery of atmosphere, suspense, and unexpected twists make his works a must-read for any horror reader. Here is a collection of 14 of the author’s best-known short stories, including “The Fall of the House of User”, in which a visitor to a gloomy mansion finds a childhood friend dying under the spell of a family curse.

6. I am Legend by Richard Matheson

Recommended by Amanda Pagan

Robert Neville may well be the last living man on Earth… but he is not alone. An incurable plague has mutated every other man, woman, and child into bloodthirsty, nocturnal creatures who are determined to destroy him. By day, he is a hunter, stalking the infected monstrosities through the abandoned ruins of civilization. By night, he barricades himself in his home and prays for dawn. But how long can one man survive like this?

7. The Thing on the Doorstep and Other Weird Stories by H. P. Lovecraft

Recommended by Amanda Pagan

Aliens, demons, and monsters—Lovecraft has it all! Unpredictable is the best way to describe his short stories and novellas. One thing you can count on: A Lovecraft story will leave you sleeping with the lights on, and make you think twice before visiting New England. His influence on the horror genre cannot be overstated as his haunting use of suspense, atmosphere, and eerie twists leave his readers gasping in terror.

A very special thank you to my fellow librarians who gave their input and helped putting this list together!

(All summaries adapted from the publisher, except The Fall of the House of Usher and The Thing on the Doorstep.)

Following  in the footsteps of her electrician father, Betsy Ritch-Reed began an apprenticeship with the Independent Electrical Contractors (IEC) in the early 1980s. As part of her on-the- job training, she assisted on specialized projects for the military in a pre-fabrication shop at Fort Benning, Georgia. After completing the Independent Electrical Contractors apprenticeship program, she worked as a licensed electrician for 11 years. In 1996, she took over her father's business, Ritch Electric Co. Inc., in Columbus, Georgia. Today she oversees more than two dozen employees.

Her 22-year-old grandson, Blaine Reed, has also followed in the family footsteps and has nearly finished the four-year IEC apprenticeship. The program involves paid on-the-job training under the supervision of an IEC contractor, as well as 576 hours of classroom instruction on topics such as residential wiring,  electrical theory, how to interpret the National Electrical Code, and grounding and electrical design.  Upon completion,  graduates are certified as an electrician by the IEC and can apply their trade throughout the country. 

The outlook for electricians is bright, acccording to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which projects the occupation will grow nine percent between 2016 and 2026. The IEC estimates there is a shortage of nearly 100,000 electrical workers across the country.  You can learn about how to become an electrician via the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook.

To learn more about how electrical apprenticeships have launched careers for three generations of this Georgia family, read Generations of Apprenticeship Power Career Success, a Department of Labor blog post written by Eric R. Lucero, deputy director in the department's Office of Public Affairs in Atlanta, Georgia.

Employment Programs

Bronx 2018 Job Fair: Thursday, May 3, 2018, 11:00 AM-3:00 PM, at Bronx County Public Administration Building, 851 Grand Concourse, 1st floor (Rotunda). This event is sponsored by the Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation & New York State Department of Labor. Meet with 25 businesses, hundreds of job opportunities available.  Candidates are strongly encouraged to pre-register online: www.labor.ny.gov/Bronx2018jobfair.

Special Recruitment for NYC CoolRoofs Entry Level Construction Laborers. This is a City Initiative that supports local job seekers through a paid and transitional work-based learning experience to cool New  York City rooftops with a white, reflective coating that reduces building energy consumption and citywide greenhouse gas emissions. Participants work in teams to complete cool roof installations for individual buildings, perform the physical labor involved with coating a rooftop, and receive skill-building and professional development training and support to identify and advance along a career path. For more information, please e-mail Oneka Andrews at oandrews@grantassociatesinc.com and include "CoolRoofs" in the subject line; or, visit the Bronx Workforce 1 Industrial and Transportation Career Center at 90 Lincoln Avenue, 3rd floor, Bronx, NY 10451. 

Friends of the High Line's Internship Program is a paid 14-week program that offers interns the opportunity to kick start their career within their dream profession, while receiving work readiness and career planning services at the Park in the Sky. Apply now.

NYC Building Violation Jobs Available: Building Violation Professionals will be trained and paid $10 per hour, with the possibility to grow and help expedite correction and remediation of building violations, for residential and commercial buildings. You can register here or email info@buildingviolation.com for job requirements and qualifications. For more information, contact Building Violation LLC, 2000 Ocean Avenue, Suite 1-D, Brooklyn, NY 11230, at (866) 545-4440.

Get paid to take care of an elderly or disabled family member. Qualify Family Care will pay you $15 an hour to help care for your Medicaid-eligible family members, friends, or neighbors. No certification or background check is required. For more information, call 718-475-4735.

Platform by Per Scholas trains local talent using custom curriculum designed by Cognizant Technology Solutions, to ensure students are equipped with the tech skills they need to get hired by the Fortune 500 company. Over the course of eight to 12 weeks, Platform classes, Quality Engineering, and Application Support Management will introduce students to advanced computational thinking, business competencies, programming languages, and related topics necessary to fill IT positions at Cognizant. All eligible graduates will have the opportunity to interview with Cognizant. Classes begin monthly. Apply now. 

LaGuardia Community College is recruiting for its next TechHire-Open Code class, which starts in May 2018. Students learn programming fundamentals, product development, and web development, to prepare for jobs as front-end web developers. Training will take place at LaGuardia and in General Assembly's Web Development Immersive program. To see if you are eligible, and begin the application process, apply here now.

The Cooper Union Retraining Program for Immigrant Engineers at CAMBA assists underemployed or unemployed immigrant engineers and IT professionals in gaining access to higher-paying  jobs through training and job placement assistance. The program includes night and weekend courses in information technology and chemical, mechanical, electrical, and civil engineering, taught by Cooper Union faculty and field experts. Since its inception in 1987, the Retraining Program for Immigrant Engineers has placed 3,000 immigrant engineers into careers.

NYC Career Center Events and Recruiting

Overcoming Invisible Barriers Workshop: Monday, April 23, 2018, 12:30 PM-2:30 PM, at Flushing  Workforce 1 Career Center, 138 60 Barclay Avenue, 2nd floor, Flushing, NY 11355. Identify and reduce barriers to your job finding (ex. age, lack of goal).

Recruiting Event - Ronald McDonald House: Tuesday, April 24, 2018, 10 AM-2 PM, for Family Support Associate (five openings), House Manager (five openings), Operations Associate / Van Driver (five openings) at NYC Workforce 1 Career Center, 215 West 125th Street, 6th floor, New York, NY 10027. 

Brooklyn Mini Job Fair: Wednesday, April 25, 2018, 10 AM-1 PM at Brooklyn Workforce 1 Career Center, 250 Schermerhorn Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201.  Participating  businesses:  Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens, Flatbush Development Corporation, Greenpoint YMCA of Greater New York, MTA NYC Transit, SCO Family Services. Must bring at least six (6) copies of your resume and a photo I.D., and be prepared for an interview.

Benefits of Exploring Job Zone Workshop: Wednesday, April 25, 2018, 2:15 PM-4:15 PM at Bronx Workforce 1 Career Center, 400 East Fordham Road, 8th floor, Bronx, NY 10458. Participants will learn and explore how to use Job Zone, an interactive resource to help manage their careers. Two slots available. Must call for appointment, (718) 960-7901.

Recruiting Event - Sid Wainer & Son: Thursday, April 26, 2018, 11 AM-2 PM for Produce Delivery Driver (five openings) at Bronx Workforce 1 Career Center, 400 E. Fordham Road, Bronx, NY 10458. Make an appointment by sending an e-mail to alberto.venture@labor.ny.gov. When attending the recruitment event, bring a recent abstract from NYS DMV, a valid Driver's License (Class D), and an up-to date resume.

Spanish Speaking Resume Writing Workshop: Thursday, April 26, 2018, 12:30 PM-2:30 PM at Flushing  Workforce 1 Career Center, 138-60 Barclay Avenue, 2nd floor, Flushing, NY 11355. Organize, revise, and update your resume.

Acing the Interview Workshop: Thursday, April 26, 2018, 2 PM-4:30 PM at Bronx Workforce 1 Career Center, 400 East Fordham Road, 8th floor, Bronx, NY 11458. This workshop will help job seekers prepare for inerviews, demonstrate how to conduct oneself during the interview, and review the follow-up required to get a job. (Duration: two-and-a-half hours).

Individual Resume Review/Career Advisement Workshop: Friday, April 27, 2018, 9 AM-11 AM at Bronx Workforce 1 Career Center, 400 East Fordham Road, 8th floor, Bronx, NY 10458.

Job Postings and Assistance

Job Postings at New York City Workforce 1.

Apprenticeship Opportunities in New York City.

Available jobs via Brooklyn Community Board 14.

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, 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 free training in Quickbooks, Basic Accounting, and Excel. This training is open to anyone receiving food stamps but no cash assistance. Classes run 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 receiving food stamps but no cash assistance. Training runs Mondays through Fridays for six weeks, and includes test prep and 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 on the above CMP training programs, email info@cmpny.org, call 212-571-1690, or visit the CMP website. CMP also provides tuition-based healthcare and business training 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 that this page will be revised when more recruitment events for the week of April 22  become available.
 

How does the Library make sure it has enough copies of the books New Yorkers want to read?

When a highly-anticipated book is released, the Library gets a lot of copies. Sometimes hundreds! As time goes by and more people read the book, its popularity and circulation go down and we don't need to have as many copies on our shelves to meet demand. 

Other times, a book may be taken out of circulation if it becomes a little too fragile for borrowing.

This is why the NYPL Shop has started the ex-Library book program!

It all starts at BookOps, the book-sorting facility that NYPL shares with the Brooklyn Public Library. When a book isn't needed for our current collection, it's eligible to become an ex-Library book. The NYPL Shop selects titles that are in good condition, and that Library lovers are likely to be interested in, like classics, and bestselling fiction and nonfiction, for both adults and children.

These well-loved books have traveled throughout the nation’s largest public library system (92 branches!), have been borrowed many times, and are ready for a forever home.

Ex-Library books range in price from $3 to $10, and are hardcovers and paperbacks, chapter books and picture books, fiction and nonfiction. An Ex-Library book is the ultimate NYPL souvenir: a way to take a piece of the Library home with you for the price of a used book. Best of all, many of the books still have protective covers and NYPL markings.

As always, all proceeds go right back to The New York Public Library to help us purchase more books for you to borrow and enjoy.

Visit the Shop to get yours!

Sign up for our newsletter and receive 10% off your order! You’ll also get exclusive offers and updates delivered right to your inbox.

Did you know the NYPL's Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy is home to hundreds of "family histories", ranging from memorial tribute essays to epic multi-volume familial tomes? Found in the Library's catalog (search subject: "Families -- United States -- Genealogy") family histories are defined by Webster's Dictionary as a "record of one's ancestors". These can be requested with a NYPL Library card—most bear call numbers that start with "APV…", and many are available free online from Hathi Trust, the Internet Archive, and the online library of FamilySearch.org. In 2017, it was my privilege to investigate the collection. All the expected things are there—traditional coats of arms and titles with the word "genealogy", of course—but there were also daily doses of surprise.

These books and serials are endlessly valuable to genealogists, but they also hold value for those researchers interested in the impact of J. B. Lippincott, those who want to learn about American publishing and bookbinding in the Industrial Era, anyone curious about the Eugenics movement, and those interested in amateur Victorian illustration, biographies, and more.

In no particular order, here are five things I didn't expect to find in Family Histories:

Important Publishers and Artists

By contemporary standards, we might consider a lot of family histories to be "self-published"—that is, not distributed in large numbers, or tied to the name of a famous publisher. Perhaps, but family histories were sometimes lavish affairs, released by publishing powerhouses like Philadelphia-based J. B. Lippincott & Co. (known for American fiction, poetry, textbooks, and medical journals) and illustrated with large engravings and interstitial images by American artists like Edward Stratton Holloway, who also served as Lippincott's Art Advisor.

Grafton Press was a major genealogical publisher, and to have your family story printed there was a status symbol. It would be interesting to see if anyone writes about that publishing house's history (hint, hint, readers).

Ex libris: Bookplates, Former Owners, and Provenance

Who doesn't love a good ex libris?* In addition to providing a timeline of the Library's collection stamps (like the examples shown: Astor Library, ca. 1870, Tilden Library, ca. 1895; The New York Public Library, ca. 1899), family histories also exhibit a variety of bookplates. These can be essential to provenance research, that is, helping writers and scholars track the ownership history of a book and understanding library accessions, which means adding to collections (de-accessioning is the act of removing items from a collection.

One standout, amongst several favorites:

Above: Dedication, from the author, women's rights activist Deborah F. Wharton,  for Edward Hopper's copy of Genealogy of the Wharton family of Philadelphia. 1664 to 1880.

*Also, let it be said that we love Frederick Wiseman's film of the same name, particularly the beautiful shots of Room 121! (Find it on Kanopy with your Library Card!)

Ghosts of the Eugenics Record Office

The Eugenics movement casts a long shadow in American history. This comes from the catalog record for the Library's collection of related questionnaires and other documents: "The Eugenics Record Office [(ERO)] was founded in 1910 by Charles Benedict Davenport for the study of eugenics and human heredity. It was located at Cold Springs [sic] Harbor, New York. The E.R.O. closed in 1944."

The E. R. O. was also home to a library, which included family histories, many donated by their authors. When the E.R.O. closed, the library was disseminated, and NYPL acquired some of their family histories. Recognizable by their bookplates, some histories also bear pages embossed with "E. R. O." —Not all of this is noted in catalog records, dear readers; you'll have to search for it!

For one interested in learning more about Eugenics (and the books from the ERO Library), there are numerous titles to supplement your research, including Eugenical News and the Eugenics Record Office Bulletin.

Decorative Papers and Endpapers

There's a Facebook group called "We Love Endpapers", and one does not have to look far to find similar groups obsessed with sharing beautiful bookplates, decorative papers, and more, with members from all over the world. I did not expect family histories to include things I learned about in Rare Book School, but they do! There is paper embossed with spiderwebs (shown), a kind of artificial parchment which was manufactured for a short time, and made using a method similar to that for creating butter stick wrappers:

And endpapers (those decorated insides of a book's front and back covers) in matte and coated brown, yellow and green tones, just like the ones in the first editions of famous mid-nineteenth century American literature (though no pink/orange endpapers, like Moby-Dick, alas):

And stamped endpapers, too! All of these are great representatives of a particular time in American publishing history, when the physical process of bookbinding changed due to innovations of the Industrial Era, more books were being printed, and literacy was on the rise.

Genealogical Trees and Maps

On the shelf, some books in the Milstein Division can look similar because the Library once had its own bindery (see the gold lettering on doors in the Schwarzman Building's Ground Floor), where staff re-bound books after the original covers and spines wore thin. So, I was surprised that there were family trees in a variety of shapes behind the blue and green library bindings. Here are a few favorites:

Trees that look like, well … trees:

Two-color radial charts

Pedigrees with portraits!

A Family Whirlpool

Maps of familial lands

And leaves of seven Pennock family generations, printed by John T. Bowen, the same lithographer who printed the first octavo edition of Audubon's The Birds of America.

Conclusions

To be fair, my investigations covered the alphabet from L to Z, and I only looked at titles published before 1923, so I can't say what additional treasures the rest of the collection holds. And there are so many other exciting items—a family newsletter started by a teenager in his parents' attic on the printing press the parents bought "to give him a hobby"; countless newspaper clippings, lovingly saved by anonymous librarians; hand-written notes; letters to Library luminaries—that one could argue the collection warrants more examination! Your turn, readers. What will you find in the family histories?

Further Reading

• Search the catalog suggestion: Subject: "[Surname] history"
• Genealogy -- Authorship.
• Genealogy -- Authorship -- Handbooks, manuals, etc.
• Genealogy -- Authorship -- Style manuals.
• Writing your family history class (offered throughout the year)
• Books about writing your family history
• Books about:
  • Family trees (in the catalog as "genealogical trees")
  • Decorative paper.
  • Decorative paper -- Specimens.
  • Endpapers
  • The five-volume series, The History of the Book in America
  • Bookplates
  • Eugenics

Climate change, according to the U.N. secretary general, is now the biggest threat to humankind.

So, where do we—as readers, as Americans, as citizens of the world—go from here?

We’ve put together a list of nonfiction books published in the last few years that shed light on some of the biggest challenges to the planet’s ecosystem. These books, written by scientists and journalists, chronicle the ongoing crisis of climate change and can arm readers with information, understanding, and maybe even inspiration to try to make change. These books go deep, and they demonstrate why Earth Day matters now more than ever.  

The Water Will Come: Rising Seas, Sinking Cities, and the Remaking of the Civilized Worldby Jeff Goodell
Goodell, a Rolling Stone reporter, organized this book into a dozen chapters set in different locations around the world to highlight the alarming effects that rising sea levels have on each place.

 

A Farewell to Ice: A Report from the Arcticby Peter Wadhams
Melting glaciers pose a multifaceted threat to the planet. Wadhams, a polar researcher for nearly 50 years, combines math and hard science with experience and opinion to form a compelling polemic against climate change.

The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural Historyby Elizabeth Kolbert
Kolbert, a prominent science journalist, examines the five previous extinctions and traces the outline of the sixth, current, human-caused crisis that she predicts will decimate life on Earth. This Pulitzer Prive-winning book is compelling and readable, destined to become a classic.

The Ends of the Worldby Peter Brannen
Another “sixth extinction” book that looks back into history and pairs well with Kolbert’s examination. The  subtitle of this book—“volcanic apocalypses, lethal oceans, and our quest to understand Earth's past mass extinctions”—says it all.

Countdown: Our Last, Best Hope for a Future on Earth? by Alan Weisman
In this a follow-up to Weisman’s groundbreaking A World without Us, published in 2007, the author visits more than 20 countries searching for solutions to climate change, overpopulation, and the imbalance in the Earth’s ecosystem.

Hot, Hungry Planetby Lisa Palmer
Climate change has a direct impact on food security, which Palmer names as a global crisis. She approaches the problem from a public policy angle, detailing an interconnected system that’s already stretched to the breaking point by food shortages and growing populations.

The Death and Life of the Great Lakesby Dan Egan
As the world’s largest body of freshwater, the Great Lakes’ importance extends far beyond the northern United States. Egan reported on the Lakes for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for a decade.

Atmosphere of Hope: Searching for Solutions to the Climate Crisis by Tim Flannery
Let’s end on a hopeful note: Check out ideas to combat climate change, such as seaweed farming and seeding the stratosphere, from a former head of the Australian Climate Change Commission.

---

Julia Foulkes is the curator of the exhibit Voice of My City: Jerome Robbins and New York, opening on September 26.  Her book, A Place For Us, discusses the historic placement of the stage musical and film West Side Story in New York City during a time of urban renewal. It also frames the musical in the American and global landscape, transcending feelings of mistrust during the Cold War through its universal themes. 

Jerome Robbins saved everything. Or so it seems. The Jerome Robbins Dance Division holds a voluminous amount of his correspondence, notes, contracts, bills, diaries, sketches, paintings, awards, photographs, and film footage that record an extraordinary life of expression and accomplishment. When invited to mount an exhibition in honor of the 100th anniversary of Robbins’ birth, on October 11, 1918, I was thrilled—and dismayed. Where to begin? What might help me choose items for display from so many possibilities?

A specific theme helped. The exhibition examines Robbins’ relationship with New York, his home and his muse. The city served as a laboratory for Robbins, where he observed people, buildings, traffic—how movement in space could carry meaning and beauty. His keen attentiveness to the world around him came through in acute staged portrayals of the city ranging from the Broadway and Hollywood hit West Side Story to the ballet Glass Pieces. Showcasing creative works with ties to New York was an obvious goal. 

Beyond artworks to feature, though, I was eager to formulate principles that might also guide me in knitting together a long, prolific, and complicated life. I started with the assumption that although Robbins is a superstar in dance, many people might not know him at all. He died 20 years ago and choreographers are less likely to be remembered than composers or actors. Leonard Bernstein, for instance—also 100 this year—has far wider name recognition even though some of Bernstein’s greatest hits were created in collaboration with Robbins, such as Fancy Free and West Side Story. The challenge would be to introduce people to Robbins who might not know him and also show other sides to him for those who may have known him or his choreographic work well.

Which brought up another question: what does it mean to know someone only through his ballets, either by watching them or dancing in them? Increasingly, this is the primary way that we know Robbins. It seemed worthwhile, then, to try to show how these artworks emerged both from a particular person and a particular time and place. Fancy Free, Robbins’ break-out ballet of 1944, for example, came about because of his determination to choreograph an "American" ballet and his witnessing of the constant presence of sailors in the midst of World War II. So the exhibition gives a viewer a chance to see New York in the 1940s—primarily through photographs of where Robbins resided at particular moments in his life—and then trace how Robbins took the ubiquity of sailors around him to write an outline of a story, argue back-and-forth in letters with Bernstein about the music and Oliver Smith about the stage design, and dance in the ballet. The rare footage of Robbins dancing a solo in Fancy Free is then paired side-by-side with a later rendition of that same solo, danced by Christopher d’Amboise in 1981. We see the original and what made it—and then we see what changes and stays the same in how the ballet lives on. This is New York during World War II but also a story of camaraderie and competition among friends—one that has only become even more virtuosic as balletic technique has changed since the time it was created.                     

Finally, I saw the exhibition not just as an opportunity to praise Robbins—although there is much to praise—but to open up the city around us to his practice of turning living into creating. What might we create after observing how people spend their time in Central Park? (Footage of which is featured in the exhibition.) When a building that we lived in is razed for a new high rise, how might that experience become the setting for a story of young love? (West Side Story: Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet in the age of urban renewal.) What kind of movement and relations could be staged if inspired by the situation of all our friends living on the same block in the city, mingling social and artistic ambitions and anxieties? (See Interplay.)

Robbins was a consummate artist but he was also a tortured man, bedeviled by doubts and insecurities—these are on display in the exhibition as well. Even starting in his childhood, with an exacting mother, Robbins questioned his purpose, his abilities, and his place in the world. Being Jewish and sexually attracted to men only exacerbated these anxieties. While this constant questioning and pursuit of excellence may have fueled his ambition and talent, it also caused conflict with others.

It is hard to recommend him as a model to follow, given the pain he endured and inflicted. The point, then, is to focus not on just who he was and what he made—but on what he inspires. May we go out into the city around us with the same curiosity and attention and make something of it.

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts

Tim Gunn is the Emmy Award-winning former producer of Project Runway, where for 16 seasons he mentored contestants with charm and care. But when he isn’t busy making it work, chances are he has his nose in a book. In a live conversation series presented in collaboration with the National Book Foundation, Gunn spoke about some of the most powerful books in his life, the reads that have stayed with him since his early teens. His conversation partner: fellow avid reader—and best-selling novelist— Min Jin Lee, whose most recent book, Pachinko, was a finalist for the National Book Award and one of the New York Times’ “10 Best Books of 2017.”

Gunn is also the author of serval books which you can check out here.

Click here to find out how to subscribe and listen to the Library Talks podcast.

What makes BridgeUP unique?

The New York Public Library's BridgeUP program is an innovative out-of-school-time program for NYC teens. Students who apply for BridgeUP early in high school become part of a community that guides them throughout their high school careers and helps them prepare for college.

We offer our BridgeUP "scholars" a blend of long-term mentorship, academic support, and access to tools that encourage them to reach their potential and find their passions.


This free program is designed to foster a passion for learning in our students through academic support, college prep, "Passion Projects," and "Magic Grants."

Academic Support

BridgeUP is available to students Monday through Thursday at the New York Public Library's 96th Street, Countee Cullen, Allerton, and Bronx Library Center branches.

On any of these weekdays, students can find academic help and Regents prep support in their BridgeUP classrooms. Our college-level tutors are proficient in all high school subjects, and BridgeUP staff communicates directly with scholars' parents and teachers to create a specialized plan to keep our scholars' grades and confidence high.

With an experienced New York Public Librarian right outside the door, BridgeUP scholars also have access to all the research materials they need to become successful students.

College Prep

From SAT Prep to college essay help, from financial aid education to assistant filling out FAFSA forms, BridgeUP scholars get the support they need to get into college. Our one-of-a-kind College-Prep Boot Camp gives students a chance to practice writing college essays, study for the SAT and ACTs, visit college campuses, and find out which programs will encourage their passion and help them reach their goals.

Passion Project
 

At BridgeUP, there’s nothing we want more than to inspire our students and help them recognize their passions and strengths. BridgeUP’s yearly "Passion Project" is a student-driven group project designed to let our students explore their interests by creating something unique as a group.

In the past, our projects have included planting urban gardens, creating podcasts, writing and designing graphic novels and magazines, painting murals, producing music CDs, and more. Our scholars come together at the annual BridgeUP Passion Project Expo to share their work and support each other.

Magic Grants

Each year, BridgeUP scholars are eligible to earn up to $1,300 in "Magic Grant" money. To do so, BridgeUP scholars need to have good attendance and show enthusiasm for, and dedication to, the BridgeUP community. With Magic Grants, students can participate in art classes, test prep courses, summer camps, or other activities they are interested in. Need a guitar for the music classes you're taking? We got it covered.

Want to learn more about BridgeUP? Visit our website and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Want to be a BridgeUP scholar? Download a BridgeUP application now!
 

New York City continues the global movement toward becoming a more environmentally sustainable city with a styrofoam ban going into effect by January 1, 2019, and plastic straws possibly being added to the banned list. This legislation promotes the movement toward a future free from single-use products such as plastic utensils, containers, and styrofoam products.

With more than eight million metric tons of plastic thrown into the ocean annually, and the plastic in the ocean set to increase tenfold by 2020, single-use plastic waste is becoming the biggest epidemic of our time. A whopping 91% of plastic isn't recycled at all.

New York City will be one of 15 other cities that have passed similar legislation. Banning plastic straws and styrofoam may be a step towards ending the circulation of single-use plastic, but will it be enough to recover from decades of plastic pollution? Can we live in a world without plastic?

Learn more about plastic and what it’s doing to the world and our bodies, discover more about plastic alternatives, and see how to reduce the plastic in your life with these reusable sources! 

Living plastic free

Life Without Plastic: The Practical Step-by-step Guide to Avoiding Plastic to Keep Your Family and the Planet Healthy

By Chantal Plamondon and Jay Sinha

Life Without Plastic strives to create more awareness about BPA-based products, polystyrene and other single-use plastics, and provides readers with ideas for safe, reusable, and affordable alternatives.

Plamondon and Sinha show readers how to analyze their personal plastic use, find alternatives, and create easy replacements in this step-by-step guide. Get your family healthier, spread consciousness, and radiate positive plastic-free energy by taking action to help the environment.
 

Plastic-free: How I Kicked the Plastic Habit and How You Can Too

By Beth Terry

Like many people, Beth Terry didn’t think an individual could have much impact on the environment. But while laid up after surgery, she read an article about the staggering amount of plastic polluting the oceans and decided, then and there, to kick her plastic habit.

Now she wants to teach you how you can too. In her quirky and humorous style—well known to the readers of her popular blog, My Plastic-Free Life—Terry provides personal anecdotes, stats about the environmental and health problems related to plastic, and personal solutions and tips on how to limit your plastic footprint. 
 

Give a Sh*t: Do Good. Live Better. Save the Planet: A Practical Handbook

By Ashlee Piper

This book provides instructions for making simple changes at home and at work that will improve your health, minimize your carbon footprint, and make life better for the planet.

Plastic Purge: How to Use Less Plastic, Eat Better, Keep Toxins Out of Your Body, and Help Save the Sea Turtles!

By Michael SanClements

SanClements puts together the most up-to-date and scientifically rigorous information available to explain how plastics release toxins into our bodies and the effect it has on us. Written with a casual, pop-science voice he provides easy-to-follow prescriptive advice for how to use less plastic, thereby reaping the benefits such as eating a healthier diet and living with less clutter.

 

 An ocean of plastic

A Plastic Ocean (2016)

Trashed (2014)

Jeremy Irons sets out to discover the extent and effects of the global waste problem as he travels the world to beautiful destinations tainted by pollution. This is a meticulous, brave investigative journey that takes viewers from skepticism to sorrow, and from horror to hope.

Irons showcases the individuals, activists, corporate and advocacy groups around the world who are working to affect change and reform the current model.

 

The history of plastic

American plastic: a cultural history

By Jeffrey L. Meikle

In 1994, my college history professor, Dr. Terry Finnegan, asked a simple question: Why study history?  His answer: Because we want to know the future. The unknown brings anxiety. The present is ephemeral and gives us no direction. Only by looking into the past can we find some direction in how to cope with similar circumstances that we find ourselves looking at, as we collectively wade in the unknown.  

As a librarian, I enjoy browsing the New York Public Library collections online and wander the stacks at various NYPL locations. I recently found an exciting book on the shelves of the Riverside Library entitled Astoria: John Jacob Astor and Thomas Jefferson's Lost Pacific Empire," by Peter Stark. It tells of the genesis of the Oregon Trail, as Astor planned and organized a two-pronged expedition to start a colony in the Pacific Northwest—and it recalls my professor's answer to the question "Why study history?"

Stark writes a brisk, exciting history of the vision shared by Astor and Jefferson, of a possible new sister democracy to the United States that would revolve around the Pacific fur trade, and how it was affected by nature, global politics and, above all, humans ability to manage in the exposed elements of the world.

Astor, a German immigrant to New York City, quickly began his ascent to wealth through fur trading in upstate New York and Canada, and wanted to develop the Pacific Northwest. He devised a plan that would have a series of ships sail around South America and land at the mouth of the Columbia River, still one of the most dangerous passages in the world. Meanwhile, an overland group of hunters, trappers, botanists, and interpreters traveled on land, roughly following Lewis and Clark's route to the Pacific. 

Stark describes how Astor carefully chose the people to led this ambitious expedition and gave thorough instructions as to whom he wanted in charge. All of his planning and funding were thrown up against luck, fate, and the decisions people must make under extreme and certainly life-threatening circumstances, with deadly consequences for others.

Astoria is well-written and Stark moves crisply through the events without being bogged down in esoteric details, leaving you in awe at the scope of the adventure on both land and sea. 

Stark also brings to the reader’s attention some of the elements that influence the minds of the participants. For instance, rumors of the ferocity of Blackfeet Native Americans led overland party leader Wilson Price Hunt to take a more southern route to the Pacific, leading his party through the Snake River and nearly dying of exposure during the winter of 1811 at Hells Canyon. 

I also love how this great adventure can teach us about the future. Astor and Jefferson had the vision to see the future of the United States would lead to the Pacific, and adventurers like Wilson Price Hunt had the courage to try and make that vision a reality. This is similar to those who dream of colonizing space: How and when will humans be able to land on others planets, and what will be some of the obstacles they will encounter?  Suddenly, reading about people and their crazy dreams 200 years ago becomes relevant.
 

Think of Emily Bronte’s famous gothic romance, Wuthering Heights, and you’re likely picturing sprawling English moors, heavy gray winds, and bleak skies. But with each new edition of Wuthering Heights, which has been in continuous print since it was first published in 1847, there's a new cover with fresh visuals. Which of these book covers do you feel best epitomizes the novel?

This campy 2013 cover quite literally made me laugh out loud. A forlorn-looking, windswept Humphrey Bogart with his trademark cigarette hanging out of his mouth, and the caption "Here's looking at you Cathy..." What's not to love?

If I wanted to get a little technical, I might compare the Bogart/Bergman relationship in Casablanca to Catherine and Heathcliff's. Okay, Bogie's Rick Blaine is one of film history's all-time sympathetic, self-sacrificing lovers and I'm not sure you can say the same for Heathcliff. But it's still an awesome cover! 

This one, aimed at a YA audience, is not bad. First, you have the moors in the background—and you can't approach any conversation about Wuthering Heights without talking about English moorlands. Next, the faded watercolors invoke Emily Bronte's images of Heathcliff and Cathy's spirits together in the afterlife, with the space between them the distance they can't seem to cross during life.

But Wuthering Heights is a bold novel. This cover, unfortunately, is not.

This cover is adapted from a 2011 film based on the novel, a version of Wuthering Heights in which a Black actor is cast in the role of Heathcliff. Emily Bronte does describe Heathcliff as "black" and most films have interpreted this by casting Heathcliff with dark hair and eyes.

It never occurred to me that Bronte meant race in her description of Heathcliff, and it’s certainly not out of the realm of possibility. I like this interpretation of the novel because it expanded my view of the story.

This cover is just too romantic for me. Heathcliff and Cathy’s love is a strong force, but it’s also destructive, and what’s romantic about that?

Hareton and Cathy (the original Cathy’s daughter) achieve a more traditional romance, but with all the destruction that comes before it, can anyone say that Wuthering Heights is about romance? (Especially since the book’s final images are full of ghosts and graveyards.)

My point is a Wuthering Heights book cover full of roses—even with all the thorns—just doesn’t cut it.

This Spanish language (Cumbres borrascosas) cover encompasses Wuthering Heights’ major themes and it’s my favorite.

First, of course, are the dark moors. The figure standing at the top is not only isolated but nondescript, at dark shadow against a deep blue sky. Next, hovering over everything is the wavy lines of a female figure that also look like an ethereal wind. This woman has to be Cathy, the character that hovers over everything and everyone, even when she’s not there; even when she’s just a wisp of air. The man on the hill could be any of the men affected by Cathy: Heathcliff or Edgar Linton; Hareton or Linton.

Wuthering Heights is always described by words like atmospheric, gothic, and haunting, and all of those words are in this cover.

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts

Rosa Caballero-Li, manager of Ask NYPL, has all the answers! Rosa tells Frank and Gwen about the ins, outs, ups, and downs of the Library's multifaceted reference service, staffed by real-live human people. Plus: a story within a story presents some guessing game twists.

Need assistance? Have a question? Get in touch with Ask NYPL.

Rosa's Book Recommendation

Her Body and Other Parties: Stories by Carmen Maria Machado

Non-Book Recommendations

"Lots of People Love ‘To Kill A Mockingbird.’ Roxane Gay Isn’t One of Them." 

The album "Dirty Computer" by Janelle Monae

---

With the nights getting chillier as fall approaches, it’s the perfect time to snuggle up with a steamy romance novel! Historical fiction has always been a staple of the romance genre, from Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice and Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind to Kathleen E. Woodiwiss’s The Flame and the Flower.

Brave heroines in sweeping ball gowns, daring rogues in breeches, and social taboos begging to be broken… it all adds to the drama that can only come from a certain time and place.

If you need advice on how to woo a potential partner or just want to imagine yourself in the arms of a dashing duke, our librarians have rounded up recommendations for some of our favorite romance novels!

Here's the list, in no particular order, of our selection of 10 historical fiction romance novels. (Note: With the exception of A Rose in Winter, all descriptions are adapted from publisher summaries.)

Prefer modern-day romance instead? Check out our list of 10 contemporary romance novels! 
 

10 Historical Fiction Romance Novel Recommendations

An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole

Recommended by Stephanie Anderson

Elle Burns is a former slave with a passion for justice and an eidetic memory. Trading in her life of freedom in Massachusetts, she returns to the indignity of slavery in the South—to spy for the Union Army.

Malcolm McCall is a detective for Pinkerton's Secret Service. Subterfuge is his calling, but he's facing his deadliest mission yet—risking his life to infiltrate a Rebel enclave in Virginia. Two undercover agents who share a common cause—and an undeniable attraction—Malcolm and Elle join forces when they discover a plot that could turn the tide of the war in the Confederacy's favor.

A Rose in Winter by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss

After she foils her irresponsible father’s attempts at marrying her off for money, Erienne Fleming finds herself literally on the auction block about to be married off to the highest bidder. She hopes it will be Christopher Seton, the dashing young Yankee who secretly stole her heart, but when the extremely wealthy and secretive Lord Saxton, a man who was supposed to have died in the same fire that killed his family, buys her hand instead, Erienne fears the worst.

Her new husband wears a terrifying mask and cloak to cover his scarred face and body, nevertheless Erienne vows to uphold her marriage vows upon realizing his gentle true nature. Having lost her before, Christopher Seton returns with renewed passion to win back Erienne, but how will she be able to choose between her duty… and her heart?
 

The Ruin of a Rake by Cat Sebastian

After the publication of a salacious novel supposedly based on his exploits, Lord Courtenay finds himself shunned from society. Unable to see his nephew, he is willing to do anything to improve his reputation, even if that means spending time with the most proper man in London.

Julian Medlock has spent years becoming the epitome of correct behavior. As far as he cares, if Courtenay finds himself in hot water, it’s his own fault for behaving so badly—and being so blasted irresistible. But when Julian’s sister asks him to rehabilitate Courtenay’s image, Julian is forced to spend time with the man he loathes—and lusts after—most.

The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie by Jennifer Ashley

Recommended by Anne Rouyer

It was whispered all through London Society that Lord Ian Mackenzie was mad, that he’d spent his youth in an asylum, and was not to be trusted—especially with a lady. For the reputation of any woman caught in his presence was instantly ruined.

Recently widowed, Beth Ackerly finds herself inheriting a fortune that means she can finally live a life free of drama with her new fiance, but that all changes when Lord Mackenzie decides he must have her.

Breathless by Beverly Jenkins

As manager of one of the finest hotels in Arizona Territory, Portia Carmichael has respect and stability—qualities sorely missing from her harsh childhood. She refuses to jeopardize that by hitching herself to the wrong man. Suitors are plentiful, but none of them has ever looked quite as tempting as the family friend who just rode into town… and none has looked at her with such intensity and heat.

After drifting through the West, Kent Randolph has learned the value of a place to settle down, and in Portia’s arms he’s found that and more. But convincing her to trust him with her heart, not just her passion, will be the greatest challenge he’s known—and one he intends to win…

My Fair Concubine by Jeannie Lin

Yan Ling tries hard to be servile—it's what's expected of a girl of her class. Being intelligent and strong-minded, she finds it a constant battle.

Proud Fei Long is unimpressed by her spirit—until he realizes she's the answer to his problems. He has to deliver the emperor a "princess." In two months can he train a tea girl to pass as a noblewoman? Yet it's hard to teach good etiquette when all Fei Long wants to do is break it, by taking this tea girl for his own.

A Fashionable Indulgence by K. J. Charles

When he learns that he could be the heir to an unexpected fortune, Harry Vane rejects his past as a Radical fighting for government reform and sets about wooing a lovely lady. But his heart is captured instead by the most beautiful, chic man he's ever met: the dandy tasked with instructing him in the manners and style of the ton.

Harry's new station demands conformity—and yet the one thing he desires is a taste of the wrong pair of lips. 

The Duchess War by Courtney Milan

Miss Minerva Lane is a quiet, bespectacled wallflower, and she wants to keep it that way. After all, the last time she was the center of attention, it ended badly—so badly that she changed her name to escape her scandalous past. Wallflowers may not be the prettiest of blooms, but at least they don't get trampled.

So when a handsome duke comes to town, the last thing she wants is his attention. But that's precisely what she gets. Because Robert Blaisdell, the Duke of Clermont, is not fooled. When Minnie figures out what he's up to, he realizes there is more to her than her spectacles and her quiet ways. And he's determined to lay her every secret bare before she can discover his. But this time, one shy miss may prove to be more than his match. 

Bound with Love by Megan Mulry

Lady Vanessa Cambury adores her life of bucolic contentment with her partner, acclaimed portrait painter Nora White. Together, they have raised two children from Vanessa’s first marriage and built a home filled with purpose, ease, happiness, and passion—always passion. But when Nora receives word that the child she lost twenty years ago is alive and in England, ancient heartache threatens to destroy their idyll.

To salvage their love, they must come to a deeper understanding of who they are—in the world, and to one another. Nora must learn to overcome the dark shadows of her past. Vanessa must learn to put others’ needs before her own. And Nora’s stubborn daughter must find it in her heart to forgive the mother she thought abandoned her. This unconventional family must rely on the powerful links of love and mercy to bind them back together.
 

A Daring Arrangement by Joanna Shupe

Recommended by Anne Rouyer

Lady Honora Parker must get engaged as soon as possible, and only a particular type of man will do. Nora seeks a mate so abhorrent, so completely unacceptable, that her father will reject the match—leaving her free to marry the artist she loves. Who then is the most appalling man in Manhattan? The wealthy, devilishly handsome financier, Julius Hatcher, of course…

Julius is intrigued by Nora's ruse and decides to play along. But to Nora's horror, Julius transforms himself into the perfect fiancé, charming the very people she hoped he would offend. It seems Julius has a secret plan all his own—one that will solve a dark mystery from his past, and perhaps turn him into the kind of man Nora could truly love. 
 

A school principal's day is a reflection of many complex interactions such as:

• communicating  with multiple types of stakeholders
• managing financial resources
• connecting with students
• leading professional development 
• being a collaborative team player

You may wonder how one person could accomplish all this in one day. Scott Crisp, principal at Jackson Hole High School, and a 2017-18 U.S. Department of Education School Ambassador Fellow, welcomes you into one of his days at Jackson Hole High School with a new blog post.

Scott notes that "Ensuring the safety of students and faculty is my primary responsibility, and equally important as continuing to develop and improve student learning opportunities through the latest research. This is the core of being a reflective and adaptive lead learner." 

You can learn about Scott's day as a school principal in the Department of Education blog post, A Day in the Life of a Principal, written by Scott Crisp.  

Employment Programs

The Staten Island Economic Development Corporation has launched the SI Works Program to help industrial businesses fill open positions. A job fair will be hosted on Thursday, October 11, 2018. Top jobs available include: CDL Drivers Class A & B, Warehouse Inventory & Facility Maintenance Workers, Warehouse Forklift/Pallet Operators, Bicycle Mechanics, Printing Press Mechanics, HVAC Technician, Sign/Storefront Installers, Handyman (with plumbing, carpentry, and electrical skills). To schedule your appointment time, register by emailing jay@siedc.org , with your resume attached.

Opportunities For a Better Tomorrow TechSTART program will immerse participants into the world of modern digital technology by providing the opportunity to develop in-demand computer programming and coding skills. By participating in the program, participants will cultivate critical thinking skills, learn to design websites, and achieve technological literacy. Upon completion of the 12-week program, participants will receive assistance with job placement assistance, advanced training, and /or support with college admittance. Classes are Monday to Friday 9 AM-4 PM at the  Innovation Lab at 87 35th Street, 2nd Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11232.

Opportunities For a Better Tomorrow Youth Education and Job Training Program. Get the credentials and skills you need to gain employment and thrive in your career. You will receive preparation to take the exams required to achieve certifications in Microsoft Service, Hospitality Front Desk, and/or National Retail Federation Customer Service. You will be assigned to a supervisor (counselor) who monitors your progress and offers one-on-one assistance with personal, educational, and career problems, and also helps you improve your soft skills, such as professional behavior, attire, attitude, and communication. Classes run Monday to Friday, 8:30 AM-4:00 PM. For more information, call 917-342-5279.

School Professionals, the leading provider of substitute teachers for NYC Charter, Independent Parochial Schools, and Universal Pre-K, is currently seeking Teachers, Assistant Teachers and Tutors for Pre-K through 12th grade. Qualified individuals will have a bachelor's degree or higher, and 6+ months of experience as a lead teacher, co-teacher, or tutor in a pre-K-12th grade setting. School Professionals is also seeking UPK Teachers, and Teacher Aides for Nursery and Preschool. Qualified individuals will have a high school diploma (or equivalent) or higher; 6+ months of experience as a lead teacher or teacher; 6+ months of experience as an afternoon teacher or assistant teacher, day care or summer camp counselor, or Sunday school teacher, or similar experience working with children age 2-6 years.

Under the America's Promise CUNY TechWorks Program, Queensborough Community College (QCC) offers an Applied Software Development Training Program covering web client programming, systems design and implementation, and smartphone application development. This hands-on, tech skills training program culminates in a capstone application development class focused on building students' professional programming portfolios. Credits earned can be applied towards QCC's AAS degree in Information and Internet Technology. For more information, call 718-631-6343.   

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-Apprenticeship Training, Hospitality Careers, and LVMH Fundamentals in Luxury Retail Training.

New York Drives helps students obtain their driver’s licenses so they can access advanced training for a specific career path. This program is six weeks long: the first three weeks focus on strengthening students’ professional development skills, and the last three weeks focus on part-time driving lessons. After successfully passing road tests, graduates enroll in one of Brooklyn Workforce Innovation's (BWI) sector-based training programs, leading to skilled employment, or are placed directly into jobs. Once a year, New York Drives also offers security guard training where graduates obtain their security guard certificates and license.

YearUp aligns job training with corporate partner needs and market trends to ensure that the skills students learn will be in demand. Learn valuable technical and professional skills, and gain work experience during internships at top companies. Earn a stipend throughout the program (while you train and during your internship) and complete courses eligible for college credits.

The Cooper Union Retraining Program for Immigrant Engineers at CAMBA assists underemployed or unemployed immigrant engineers and IT professionals in gaining access to higher-paying  jobs through training and job placement assistance. The program includes night and weekend courses in information technology and chemical, mechanical, electrical, and civil engineering, taught by Cooper Union faculty and field experts. Since its inception in 1987, the Retraining Program for Immigrant Engineers has placed 3,000 immigrant engineers into careers.

Discover Accounting includes state-by-state guides on becoming a CPA, salaries, and educational requirements. If you are looking for more advanced accounting topics, you'll find information in their comprehensive career guide and career comparisons.

New York City Career Center Events and Recruiting

Career Development Workshop: Monday, September 17, 2018, 12:30 PM-2:30 PM at Flushing Workforce 1 Career Center, 138 60 Barclay Avenue, 2nd floor, Flushing, NY 11355. Expand your view of qualities that you offer potential employers. For more information, call 718-661-5012. 

Recruiting Event:  Waste Connections, Inc.: Tuesday, September 18, 2018, 10 AM-2 PM for Overnight CDL B Driver (four openings) and Driver Helper (six openings) at Bronx Workforce 1 Career Center, 400 East Fordham Road, 7th Floor, Bronx, NY 10458. Waste Connections Inc. is an integrated solid-waste services company that provides solid-waste collection, transfer, disposal and recycling services in 39 states and six Canadian provinces.

Job Finding Club: Tuesday, Sepember 18, 2018, 2 PM-4 PM at Flushing  Workforce 1 Career Center, 138 60 Barclay Avenue, 2nd floor, Flushing, NY 11355. Weekly support group focusing on obtaining job goals. For information, call 718-661-5012.

Recruiting Event - Urban Resource Institute: Thursday, September 20, 2018, 10 AM-3 PM at Workforce 1 Career Center, 250 Schermerhorn Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201.  Includes Case Manager (five openings), Recreation Specialist (two openings), Shift Supervisor (four openings), Security Monitor (15 openings), Residential Specialist (10 openings), Supervisor of Children Services (two openings), Child Care Worker (four openings).

Spanish Speaking Resume Writing Workshop: Thursday, September 20, 2018, 12:30 PM-2:30 PM at Flushing Workforce 1 Career Center, 138 60 Barclay Avenue, 2nd floor, Flushing, NY 11355. Organize, revise, and update your resume.

Basic Resume Writing Workshop: Thursday, September 20, 2018, 1:30 PM-3 PM at Brooklyn Workforce 1 Career Center, 250 Schermerhorn Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201. Participants will learn the purpose of a resume, and chronological and combination resumes, and select the appropriate type for their specific needs.

Dealing with Job Loss Workshop: Friday, September 21, 2018, 11 AM-1 PM at Brooklyn Workforce 1 Career Center, 250 Schermerhorn Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201. Attendees will discuss the job loss stages of grief, a self-assessment exercise, and customer talk, and will get to express their feelings.

Job Postings and Assistance

Job Postings at New York City Workforce 1.

Apprenticeship Opportunities in New York City.

Available jobs via Brooklyn Community Board 14.

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, 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 free training in Quickbooks, Basic Accounting, and Excel. This training is open to anyone receiving food stamps but no cash assistance. Classes run 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 receiving food stamps but no cash assistance. Training runs Mondays through Fridays for six weeks, and includes test prep and 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 on the above CMP training programs, email info@cmpny.org, call 212-571-1690, or visit the CMP website. CMP also provides tuition-based healthcare and business training 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 that this page will be revised when more recruitment events for the week of September 16 become available.