Monthly Archives January 2017

Local History: Richard Crandell Collection

Local History: Richard Crandell Collection

We regularly receive donations to the White Plains Collection, but there are just a handful of people who made large donations of materials or funds. John Rosch and Renoda Hoffman, both official city historians, donated or created some of the most important items in our collection. Richard Crandell, while never officially the city historian, also had a huge impact on the promotion and dissemination of local history and added some vital pieces to the WPC.   In 1954, Crandell published This Is Westchester: A Study of Suburban Living, a book that illuminates some of Westchester's history. Mostly, however, the book
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January 30, 2017 4:02 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Local History.
Tags: architecture, kirmess, local history, richard crandell, white plains collection, white plains history, and white plains hospital.

Board Meeting Documents for February 1st, 2017

Board Meeting Documents for February 1st, 2017

Approved Library Board Annual Meeting Minutes – 02 01 17 02-01-17 Combined Agenda Documents 02-01-17 Library Board Agenda Agenda Item #1 – 01-11-17 Regular Library Board Minutes Agenda Item #2 – Budget Report 01 25 2017 Agenda Item #3 – Claim List 11 Agenda Item #3 – Claim List 12 Agenda Item #4 – Adult Services Report – January 2017 Agenda Item #4 – Assistant Directors Report January 2017 Agenda Item #4 – Children's Services Report – January 2017 Agenda Item #4 – Collection Management Report January 2017 Agenda Item #4 – Community Outreach Report – January 2017 Agenda Item
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January 27, 2017 4:12 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Trustee Documents.

Black History StoryWalk® Features Steamboat School

Black History StoryWalk® Features Steamboat School

Children at the White Plains Public Library are invited to take a walk along The Trove's 2017 Black History StoryWalk®. This year's walk is based on the book, Steamboat School: Inspired by a True Story, written by Deborah Hopkinson and illustrated by Ron Husband. In this story, the teacher, Reverend John Berry Meachum, and his students refused to accept discrimination based on skin color. Meachum opened the “Floating Freedom School” in the middle of the Mississippi River in response to the Missouri law in 1847 that stated that “No person shall keep any school for the instruction of negroes or
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January 27, 2017 10:06 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Kids and Local History.
Tags: Black History, children, storywalk, and The Trove.

Local History: Bronx River Parkway

Local History: Bronx River Parkway

If you ever walk along the Bronx River Parkway and want to supplement your experience with some local history, check out the White Plains Collection. Below are some examples of materials that illuminate more than just the history of the parkway. We have documents about the building of the parkway and the economic impact of the parkway. One could also trace the history of “green spaces” in American planning or how publicly funded projects supported the growth of the suburbs.                                        
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January 20, 2017 5:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Local History.
Tags: bronx river, bronx river parkway, highways, local history, maps, nature, planning, suburbs, white plains collection, and white plains history.

Local History: Anti-Communism

Local History: Anti-Communism

The renovations at the library meant that we had to move the White Plains Collection to a storage area in another part of the library. In the course of the move, I came across a binder I had never seen before. It had label on the front that said it contained the “Westchester Spotlight 1955-1974.” Since that publication was not familiar to me, I opened the binder. The contents of the binder bring to life a complicated and troubling history.     The Westchester Spotlight was a counter-subversive newsletter published by the Westchester County Committee on Un-American Activities, part of
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January 13, 2017 4:43 pm | by | 2 Comments
Categories: Local History.
Tags: 1940s, 1950s, aclu, american civil liberties union, anti-communism, communism, ku klux klan, local politics, local-history, paul robeson, peekskill, westchester spotlight, white plains collection, and white plains history.

Local History: Why Data Isn’t Boring

Local History: Why Data Isn’t Boring

Data is not boring, especially if you are interested in establishing historical truth. In the past year, Americans have been exposed to an immense amount of data about age, health, economic status, and opinions. A number we hear a lot about these days is 77,7440–the votes in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin that helped Donald Trump win the electoral vote even though Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by about 2.8 million votes. With increasing levels of partisan skepticism influencing news consumers and creators alike, outlets like FiveThirtyEight and Vox can offer refreshingly empirical perspectives to those who enjoy studying history.
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January 7, 2017 11:22 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Local History.
Tags: census, data, data journalism, data vizualization, demographics, Employment, human resources, local-history, religion, statistics, white plains collection, and white plains history.

Board Meeting Documents for January 11th, 2017

Board Meeting Documents for January 11th, 2017

Approved Library Board Meeting Minutes – 01 11 17 01-11-17 Combined Agenda Documents 01-11-17 Library Board Agenda Agenda Item #1 – 12-14-16 Regular Library Board Minutes Agenda Item #2 – Budget Report December 2016 Agenda Item #3 – Claim List 10 Agenda Item #4 – Adult Services Report – December 2016 Agenda Item #4 – Assistant Directors Report December 2016 Agenda Item #4 – Childrens Services Report – December 2016 Agenda Item #4 – Collection Management Report December 2016 Agenda Item #4 – Community Outreach Report – December 2016 Agenda Item #4 – Library Systems Report – December 2016 Agenda
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January 6, 2017 4:56 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Trustee Documents.