Archives for collection

Library Launches Documenting COVID-19 Collection

We're living in unprecedented times. Many of us are working from home and adapting to shared living spaces, childcare demands, and social isolation. Others have had health challenges or find themselves unemployed. Meanwhile, we hear examples of adaptation and education, creativity and bravery. Our lives have continued in new ways. For these reasons, the Library—with your help—is creating a new collection: Documenting COVID-19: White Plains Experiences. The Library wants to hear about you, what you're doing, how you're doing, what you see outside your window. Contributions to the Library’s collection can be anything, from a three-line poem to a 200-page
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Categories: COVID-19, Director's Corner, eNewsletter, Featured, Homepage, Homepage Kids, Homepage Teens, Kids, Library News, and Teens.

White Plains Collection Now Online!

We are happy to announce the launch of the White Plains Collection on the Digital Culture of Metropolitan New York!  This project was a partnership between the White Plains Public Library, the Metropolitan New York Library Council, and Culture In Transit. The White Plains Public Library is a prime site for community memory and we hold a rich set of materials in the White Plains Collection. We have fascinating and informative photographs of buildings, people, events, and landscapes. Many are part of special collections like the John Rosch Collection, featured here. Rosch owned a photography studio in White Plains and
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Categories: Library News, Local History, and Research.

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.

Battle of White Plains Commemorations Have Their Own History and Purpose

On Sunday, October 26, I attended the White Plains Historical Society's 238th Anniversary Commemoration of the Battle of White Plains at the Jacob Purdy House. Drawn by the promise of reenactors, mulled cider, and the chance to meet some White Plains citizens who are fascinated by history, I arrived before the ceremonies. This gave me the chance to walk around in the Purdy House (whose ceilings are higher than I expected) and talk with soldiers who had set up camp on the property. Present were members of the 6th Connecticut Regiment, who refer to themselves as a Living History Organization;
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Categories: 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.

The Sami Rohr Library of Recorded Yiddish Books

Yiddish, a language without a country, has an estimated five million speakers throughout the world. Recently, the language has seen a resurgence of interest, particularly among younger generations looking to reconnect with their heritage. Also, the number of speakers is increasing with the growth of Yiddish language programs in universities and adult education settings. In his Nobel Prize for literature speech of 1990, Isaac Bashevis Singer said we haven't seen the end of Yiddish. He was correct. To help preserve Yiddish literature in its original tongue, Sami Rohr has commissioned a set of thirty “talking” books. Produced by the National
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Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage, and Library News.

Non-Fiction Comics

When it comes to non-fiction books created in a comics style, the term “graphic novel” becomes a misnomer, although it is certainly still used. I prefer to say “graphic non-fiction.” Are you surprised that non-fiction material has been covered by comics? The one “graphic novel” to win the Pulitzer Prize was in fact non-fiction – Maus by Art Spiegelman. (In 1992 alone this book won Pulitzer, Eisner, and Harvey awards and Los Angeles Times' book prize for fiction. (!) This book tells the story of the artist's father's experience in the Holocaust as a Polish Jew and the artists' coming
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Categories: Authors & Books, Homepage, and Library News.

From Comic Book to Movie

Have I convinced you to try comics yet? What you may not realize is that many popular movies are based on comics and graphic novels. (Wikipedia has a list that spans the globe. For English-language comics-into-movies only, go here.) If you loved “V for Vendetta,” “Ghost World,” “Road to Perdition” or “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” you may want to check out the comics that started it all: V for Vendetta by Alan Moore (DC Comics, 2005) Ghost World (Special Edition) by Daniel Clowes (Fantagraphics, 2008) Road to Perdition by Max Allan Collins (Pocket Books, 2002) The League of Extraordinary
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Categories: Authors & Books, Homepage, and Library News.

Our Collection: Something for Everyone

Ever wonder how books, DVDs, eBooks and other items are selected for your library? First, the White Plains Public Library, with staunch support from the City, is fortunate to have a healthy materials budget–even in these fiscally strained times. This allows us to build and maintain a large, up-to-date collection–with plenty of copies of high-demand titles such as “Gone Girl” by Gillian Flynn. Second, we have many librarians–each with different interests, expertise, and points of view–involved in chosing materials for you. They read reviews, follow the media, and are guided by your concerns and requests. This ensures a varied and comprehensive collection:
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Categories: Authors & Books, Homepage, and Library News.