Posts by Austin, Adult Librarian

October Genealogy Workshops

October Genealogy Workshops

Benvenuti Italiani! Italian Genealogy Research and Dual Citizenship Wednesday, October 20th 7:00–8:00 p.m. Click here for the Zoom link. Determine if you are eligible to obtain dual citizenship. Find out what documents you need and how to obtain them, including Italian records. Uncover potential roadblocks and resources to get around them. Learn how to get started and what to expect in the dual citizenship process. Sarah Gutmann returns with another informative presentation. Genealogy Research in Cemeteries Tuesday, October 26th 7:00–8:00 p.m. Click here for the Zoom link. Cemeteries often get a bad rap, especially around Halloween. But for the genealogist,
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October 13, 2021 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Library News.
Tags: genealogy, genealogy workshop, genealogy workshops in westchester, and genealogy workshops in White Plains.

English Conversation Group

English Conversation Group

New schedule: Every other Wednesday* 2:00–3:00 p.m. *Note the new day and frequency ESL speakers, come practice your English conversation skills in this fun, supportive virtual setting! Feel free to bring your own conversation topics. For more information on joining, click the date(s) you would like to attend: September 29th October 13th October 27th A key element to learning a new language is to practice, and our English Conversation Group (ECG) provides exactly that opportunity. If you speak English as a second (or third, or fourth!) language, you're welcome to come and converse with other people, both language learners and
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August 1, 2021 10:00 am | by | 4 Comments
Categories: Events, Featured, Homepage, and Library News.
Tags: english as a second language, english conversation group, and ESL.

Explore Japanese Culture: Sushi

Explore Japanese Culture: Sushi

Food Series Wednesday, August 11th 7:00–8:00 p.m. Click here for the zoom link. Did you know there are many kinds of sushi in Japan? Do you know why wasabi and ginger are served on the side? From its origins to how it has become a celebratory dish of choice, to its evolution in Japan, we will show you sushi in all its forms. We will also show how you can prepare some forms of sushi easily at home. That’s right, you can be a sushi chef right at home! Come join us to learn all you need to know about
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July 26, 2021 8:44 am | by | 1 Comment
Categories: Library News.
Tags: cooking, cuisine, events, Explore Japanese culture, food, and sushi.

The Westchester County Jail Riots of 1981

The Westchester County Jail Riots of 1981

Thursday, July 8th 7:00–8:00 p.m. Click here to register. Jails and prisons that offer little in the way of rehabilitation. Drug laws that unfairly target people of color. These conditions plague today’s criminal justice system. Forty years ago, they were also the focus of complaints by Westchester County Jail inmates, leading them to stage an unprecedented uprising. Seth Kershner, a researcher at the University of Massachusetts, discusses the July 1981 uprising at Westchester County Jail–three riots in three days that caused one million dollars in damage. Although inmates hoped to amplify complaints about racism in the county’s criminal justice system,
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June 29, 2021 12:13 pm | by | 1 Comment
Categories: Library News.
Tags: criminal justice, local history, local history programming, prison system, and Westchester County Jail Riot of 1981.

Genealogy Workshop: African Americans in Records

Genealogy Workshop: African Americans in Records

African Americans in Public Records Prior to 1870 Monday, June 14th 7:00–8:00 p.m. For information on attending, click here. In this presentation, genealogist Cynthia Maharrey covers: Things to consider before and during your research General information about African American genealogical records An abbreviated case study Examples of records from Reconstruction to the 1840s that hold genealogically significant information concerning free and enslaved African Americans
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June 10, 2021 9:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Library News.
Tags: african american genealogy, Black History, genealogy, local history, and records.

May Genealogy Events

May Genealogy Events

Getting the Most Out of Your Ancestry.com DNA Results Monday, May 17th 7:00–8:00 p.m. Click here for the zoom link. DNA test results offer so much more than just finding out your ethnicity percentage. Gain a greater understanding of how you inherit you DNA and the difference between your genetic family tree vs your genealogical family tree. Find out how to analyze DNA matches and explore the benefits of Ancestry.com Thrulines. Presented by Sarah Gutmann. A Rosenberg is a Rosen is a Rose: How and Why Our Ancestors Changed their Names Monday, May 24th 7:00–8:00 p.m. Click here to register.
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May 17, 2021 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Library News.
Tags: ancestry, Ancestry.com, events, genealogy, history, library events, and programs.

Battle of White Plains, the Movie

Battle of White Plains, the Movie

In anticipation of our country’s 250th birthday in 2026, we have uploaded “The Battle of White Plains,” the movie, to our YouTube Channel. The 25-minute black and white film, which re-enacts the battle, was made over two weekends in the fall of 1977 near Silver Lake. It debuted at the White Plains Public Library on June 1, 1978. According to Joe Ryan, founder and president of the Living History Education Foundation, who played a Continental soldier in the movie, “The film was created on a limited budget with a lot of local volunteer help. It provided valuable experience for those
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March 8, 2021 3:04 pm | by | 2 Comments
Categories: Featured, Homepage, Library News, and Local History.
Tags: film, local history, Observances and Celebrations, revolutionary history, The Battle of White Plains, U.S. History, white plains, and white plains history.

100 Years of Suffrage: Slide Show

100 Years of Suffrage: Slide Show

On August 18, 1920, a twenty-three year old representative in the Tennessee state legislature cast the deciding vote to ratify the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which states “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.” Tennessee became the 25th state to ratify the amendment, giving it the three-fourths of the states needed to become the law of the land. This was the culmination of over 70 years of work by thousands of women in the U.S. to win
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August 18, 2020 1:55 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Featured, Homepage, Library News, and Local History.
Tags: local history, slide show, video, and Women's Suffrage.

Hoopla Staff Picks: American Songbook & Broadway

Hoopla Staff Picks: American Songbook & Broadway

Possibly our most dynamic digital resource, Hoopla includes a variety of different formats from books to movies and music. In order to highlight some of these, we've gathered staff recommendations of just a few formats you can stream and download with your library card. Below are some album recommendations from Adult Services & Local History Librarian Austin Duffy and Adult Services Librarian Sharon Rothman. The Great American Songbook picks from Austin: Bing Crosby. Bing Sings the Great American Songbook. Short, breezy covers of classics like “Manhattan” and “I’ve Got A Crush On You.” Nancy Wilson. The Great American Songbook. Elegant,
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May 6, 2020 11:20 am | by | No Comments
Categories: eNewsletter, Featured, Homepage, and Library News.
Tags: hoopla, music, staff picks, and staff recommendations.

Absentee Ballot for NY Primary

Absentee Ballot for NY Primary

Do you want to vote in the June 23 primary but fear going to your polling place because of COVID-19? Now you can vote by absentee ballot even if you don’t meet the usual conditions (being out of town, having a temporary or permanent illness, etc.). Recently Governor Cuomo issued an executive order that makes it easier for New Yorkers to vote by absentee ballot for any elections on or before June 23. To get an absentee ballot, you have to fill out and submit an application first. The New York State Board of Elections is mailing all eligible voters
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April 29, 2020 1:25 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: eNewsletter, Featured, Homepage, and Library News.
Tags: absentee ballot, vote, and voting.

Meet Libby

Meet Libby

If you’re just starting out with library ebooks or audiobooks (and for the rest of this post, “books” will mean both), you may have planned to download OverDrive onto your tablet or smartphone. Well, don’t. Use the new Libby app instead. Libby is actually created by OverDrive (the company) as well, but it is so much simpler to install and borrow books with than the old app.  With Libby, it takes just one tap to borrow and download the book—there’s no need to choose a format. Libby also has many new features you can play with, like tags to create
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July 3, 2017 4:17 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Featured, Homepage, and Technology.

Local History: 1960 Thanksgiving Day Parade

Local History: 1960 Thanksgiving Day Parade

Here are some pictures of a Thanksgiving Day Parade on November 25, 1960 in White Plains. The parade route ran along Main Street, Martine Avenue, and Mamaroneck Avenue. These photographs are from the Peter Kanze Collection, detailed in a previous blog post.                                                                                
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November 18, 2016 10:00 am | by | 2 Comments
Categories: Local History.
Tags: Alexander's, city hall, isaac leven, local-history, Main Street, Mamaroneck Avenue, Martine Avenue, parades, peter kanze, thanksgiving, and white plains history.

Local History: Urban Renewal Collection

Local History: Urban Renewal Collection

The Urban Renewal Collection is a set of documents, photographs, newspaper clippings, and publications that tell part of the story of urban renewal in White Plains between the mid-1950s and the late-1970s. All of the information in this post is drawn from sources in that collection and the White Plains Collection more broadly. In White Plains we throw around the phrase “urban renewal” rather casually, but it actually first referred to a specific set of laws, projects, and changes. The phrase “urban renewal” was codified in the Housing Act of 1954. Ironically, the Housing Act of 1954 actually increased the
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November 11, 2016 10:00 am | by | 4 Comments
Categories: Local History.
Tags: 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, city planning, local-history, Urban Renewal, urban renewal collection, white plains collection, and white plains history.