Archives for all ages

Adam Kent to Perform at 16th Annual Clarice Wilson Memorial Concert

Please join us on Sunday, April 26 at 2:00 PM to hear accomplished local pianist Adam Kent. On the program are works by composers especially esteemed by the Library's former music specialist Clarice Wilson, as well as classics of the Spanish repertory and George Gershwin’s ever-popular “Rhapsody in Blue.” Come enjoy works by Schubert, Mozart, Bach/Busoni, Gershwin, and others. A reception will follow. The White Plains Library Foundation welcomes your donations to the Clarice Wilson Memorial Fund, in memory of Clarice Wilson, Music Specialist at the Library from 1974-1999. Mrs. Wilson supported gifted, young musicians at the start of their
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Categories: Events and Homepage.

Heart Gallery Showcase

The Westchester County Department of Social Services is sponsoring an exhibit of photos of children needing loving adoptive homes in their annual Heart Gallery Showcase. The exhibit will be on view through April but the need for homes continues year round. For more information, contact Paul Tavolacci at 914-995-5303.
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Categories: Events, Homepage, and Library News.

hoopla: Streaming movies, tv, music and audiobooks

Did you know you can get thousands of movies, television shows, music albums and audiobooks for mobile and online access through a partnership with hoopla digital? White Plains Library card holders can download the free hoopla digital mobile app on their Android or iOS device or visit hoopladigital.com to begin enjoying thousands of titles – from major Hollywood studios, record companies and publishers – available to borrow for instant streaming or temporary downloading to their smartphones, tablets and computers. hoopla digital has a simple sign-up and attractive, easy-to-use interface, so it’s easy to get to your listening and viewing experience. There’s also no waiting to borrow popular movies, TV
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Categories: Homepage and Library News.

Cooper Hewitt Passes Now Available to Borrow

The Library is excited to announce the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum is now available as part of our Museum Pass Program.  We have two passes to the Museum and each pass admits two adults and any children under 18. The Museum is located at 2 East 91st Street, New York, New York. Their hours are Sunday-Friday 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m.-9 p.m. The Cooper Hewitt closed its doors in 2011 and underwent a major renovation and name change. They reopened in December 2014 with the goal of offering a new visitor experience: Cooper Hewitt’s renovation provides the opportunity
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Categories: Homepage.

Fourth Annual Harlem Fine Arts Show Comes to White Plains

The premier showcase for modern and contemporary art from the African Diaspora will be held on Tuesday, March 3rd at 6:00 p.m. at the White Plains Public Library. This year’s show will honor Mary Frances Perkins and Max Rodriguez. “The City of White Plains is once again thrilled to be a host location for this important fine arts show as it branches out from its home location in Harlem,” said White Plains Mayor Tom Roach. This year's theme is “Artists and Authors” and attendees will have an opportunity to view and purchase works by emerging and professional artists and renowned
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Categories: Events, Homepage, and Library News.

What’s the buzz? Library Foundation hosts Adult and Teen Spelling Bee fundraiser to benefit The Trove!

Join us Friday, February 27, 7 p.m. at the HIGHLANDS MIDDLE SCHOOL AUDITORIUM for our first-ever Adult & Teen Spelling Bee. Have some fun watching teams of adults from community organizations and book groups and teens from White Plains High School test their spelling skills! Doors open at 7 p.m., Bee starts at 7:30 p.m. Snow date Friday March 6. Admission $5 payable at door. Kids under 6 free. Raffle drawing and refreshments available for purchase. Proceeds will support new technology for The Trove, our amazing children's library, celebrating its 10th birthday this year. Our celebrity emcee is Lawrence Otis
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Categories: Events, Homepage, and Library News.

Klezmer on a Sunday Afternoon

Bring the whole family and enjoy a delightful program of spirited klezmer music on Sunday, January 25 at 2 p.m. The Westchester Klezmer Program is an intergenerational klezmer band program in Westchester County, New York. It is among the largest programs of its kind in the country, if not the world! Westchester Klezmer Program musicians participate by learning and rehearsing klezmer music and then performing at various community based events. Westchester Klezmer Program last played White Plains Library in 2010. Come enjoy their music again. This concert is made possible through the generous support of the Friends of the White Plains Library.
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Categories: Events, Homepage, and Library News.

“This Month on Martine” eNewsletter Debuts

Recently, we sent our inaugural e-newsletter, “This Month on Martine,” to Library patrons who have shared their email addresses with us.  A monthly publication, it will feature upcoming Library events as well as news about Foundation-sponsored programs. We're attaching a pdf copy of the first issue so you can get an idea of what it looks like–the email version will have links to the Library calendar, feature articles, and more.  If you'd like to be on the email list for our next issue, please contact lhollahan@whiteplainslibrary.org. December Newsletter
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Categories: Events, Homepage, and Library News.

Hoopla Launch Event planned for this Saturday

We are excited to announce the public availability of thousands of movies, television shows, music albums and audiobooks, all available for mobile and online access through a new partnership with hoopla digital. White Plains Library card holders can download the free hoopla digital mobile app on their Android or iOS device or visit hoopladigital.com to begin enjoying thousands of titles – from major Hollywood studios, record companies and publishers – available to borrow for instant streaming or temporary downloading to their smartphones, tablets and computers. hoopla digital has a simple sign-up and attractive, easy-to-use interface, so it’s easy to get to your listening and viewing experience.
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Categories: Authors & Books, Homepage, Library News, and Technology.

Hoopla: Streaming Movies and Music Now Available

We are excited to announce the public availability of thousands of movies, television shows, music albums and audiobooks, all available for mobile and online access through a new partnership with hoopla digital. White Plains Library card holders can download the free hoopla digital mobile app on their Android or iOS device or visit hoopladigital.com to begin enjoying thousands of titles – from major Hollywood studios, record companies and publishers – available to borrow for instant streaming or temporary downloading to their smartphones, tablets and computers. hoopla digital has a simple sign-up and attractive, easy-to-use interface, so it’s easy to get to your listening and viewing experience.
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Categories: Authors & Books, Events, Featured, Homepage, Library News, and Technology.

New Westchester Symphony performs Seasonal Favorites Sunday, Dec. 14, 3 p.m.

Join New Westchester Symphony Orchestra in a free concert of seasonal favorites including Anderson's “Sleigh Ride,” Tchaikovsky's “Waltz of the Flowers,” Williams' “Greensleeves,” a Hanukkah sing-along and Handel's Hallelujah chorus.  White Plains resident Raphael Forte, tenor, and conductor Benjamin Niemczyk, baritone, will perform Bizet's opera duet “Au Fond du Temple Saint.” More information at www.newsymphony.org. Refreshments following the concert. This program is free but seating is limited. To ensure the comfort and safety of patrons, tickets will be given out 30 minutes before the program starts. Sponsored by the White Plains Library Foundation, 914-422-1495. The New Westchester Symphony Orchestra (NewWSO) offers amateur
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Categories: Events and Homepage.

Heart Gallery Showcase

The Westchester County Department of Social Services is sponsoring an exhibit of photos of children needing loving adoptive homes in their annual Heart Gallery Showcase. The exhibit will be on view through October 10 but the need for homes continues year round. An opening reception will be held in the Library Auditorium on Wednesday, October 9 at 2:00 p.m. Keynote speaker for the event is Darryl McDaniel, a pioneer of hip hop culture and one of the founding members of the hip hop group Run–D.M.C. For more information, contact Paul Tavolacci at 914-995-5303. The reception and exhibit are free and
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Categories: Events, Featured, Homepage, and Library News.

Celebrate Diwali with Us!

Learn about Indian culture in this children's program! Join us to celebrate Diwali with our Indian community. Also known as “Festival of Lights”, Diwali is a Hindu festival that celebrates the triumph of good versus evil. The Library will hold a celebration on Sunday, October 27 at 2:00 p.m. Enjoy Indian dancing, crafts, and food generously donated by Royal Palace Restaurant. Thanks to the Kumar Family for all their help organizing this event. (Photo By Ashish Kanitkar [CC-BY-SA-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons)
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Categories: Events, Featured, Homepage, and Library News.

Honoring the Incomparable Ethel Waters

Jazz vocalist Shirley Crabbe (shown at left) joins us on Sunday, May 19 at 2:00 p.m. to perform a one-woman show featuring 12 songs made famous by America's first black superstar, Ethel Waters. Seasoned with stories drawn from Ms. Waters' autobiography, His Eye is on the Sparrow, this show celebrates the music and life of Ethel Waters. The show features several of Ms. Waters' signature songs and innovative arrangements such as: “Throw the Dirt,” “Sweet Georgia Brown,” “Am I Blue,” and “(What Did I Do To Be So) Black and Blue.” Scott Albin of JazzTimes.com said, “…you are immediately struck by
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Categories: Events, Featured, Homepage, and Library News.

Then and Now — A Virtual Exhibit

Then and Now is an online exhibit in celebration of the American Library Association's Preservation Week, observed by libraries nation wide, April 21-27. Preservation Week was created in 2010 because some 630 million items in collecting institutions require immediate attention and care. Eighty percent of these institutions have no paid staff assigned responsibility for collections care; 22 percent have no collections care personnel at all. Some 2.6 billion items are not protected by an emergency plan. As natural disasters of recent years have taught us, these resources are in jeopardy should a disaster strike. Personal, family, and community collections are
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Categories: Events, Featured, Homepage, and Library News.

Chess with White Plains Chess Master Joshua Colas

Test your chess skills against a Master, on Saturday, April 27, 2-4 p.m., for students in grades 3-8. White Plains High School freshman Joshua Colas is the youngest African-American chess master in history. He will talk about how he got started playing chess and about his experiences in international competitions. Then he'll play simultaneous games against up to 15 opponents! Everyone is welcome to listen to Joshua and watch the matches. Registration is only for those who want to play chess (grades 3-8). Registration opens April 15, please call The Trove at 422-1476. Sponsored by the White Plains Library Foundation.
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Categories: Events, Featured, Homepage, and Library News.

Soles 4 Souls

You may have noticed the box for shoe donations in the Library lobby. The City of White Plains is participating in the Soles 4 Souls campaign through Monday, April 29. Your gift of footwear is important to children and adults around the world. Footwear can help eliminate the spread of disease through the foot as well as help children obtain an education as many schools have footwear requirements to attend. When you take time to recycle your footwear, you are in fact changing lives. Help us make a difference by donating new or used shoes of any kind. Learn more
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Categories: Featured, Homepage, and Library News.

Head Start Art Fair in The Trove — A Community Celebration

Come to the Head Start Art Fair, a wonderful exhibit in The Trove! Over the next four weeks, art created by children and parents who participate in the White Plains Early Childhood Programs of Family Services of Westchester will be on display along The Trove's Tree Trail. There will be new art each week. Begun in 2006 at the Slater Center by Head Start teacher Pat Foendoe, (“Miss Pat,”)  the Fair has grown to include artwork from the other centers in White Plains – Bethel, Eastview, North Street, Rochambeau in addition to Slater. This year, 2013, is the first time
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Categories: Featured, Homepage, and Library News.

Our new customer service policy. Why bother?

You've seen them in banks, stores, and on consumer websites. But why would a library bother creating a customer service policy? For the same reason that any organization that works with the public has adopted one: to let its customers know how they can expect to be treated, in this case, by the White Plains Public Library. It also provides library staff and managers with clear benchmarks for how we should perform, from the state of the library building (a clean facility in good repair) to every single customer interaction—whether online, on the phone, or in-person. But most importantly, a
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Categories: Director's Corner, Featured, Homepage, and Library News.

Mini Golf in the Library: "Tee Off for Education"

On Saturday, March 16, experience the Library in a “hole” new way, as the Library is transformed into a miniature golf course!  Kids and adults get to play in two separate events, a free family fun afternoon and an adults-only evening fundraiser “19th hole” party.  Families and kids ages 3-11 can drop by anytime from 1-4:30 p.m. to play mini golf, and see the Balloon Man create amazing balloon animals.   To ensure the comfort and safety of patrons, timed tickets will be given out on a first-come, first-served basis, beginning at 12:30 pm, in the Museum Gallery.  Refreshments will be
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Categories: Events, Featured, Homepage, and Library News.