New York State Library Announces November Public Programs

The New York State Library announces its upcoming programming for November, including webinars and events related to history and genealogical services. The following upcoming free programming requires registration and is available in person or offered online, as shown per each listing. 

Northeast Summit on Climate Adaptation for Library Facilities (Webinar) 
Wednesday, November 8 
9:30 AM - 12:30 PM 

This Webinar is in partnership with Northeast State Libraries: New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine. This kick-off summit is the first alliance of all Northeast State Libraries in support of adaptive resilience solutions for libraries facing the effects of climate change on their buildings and communities. The focus will be on facilities adaptation and include practical takeaways, concrete steps, and suggestions for improvement. Each session will be inclusive of libraries at all budget levels. Routine repairs, incremental upgrades, and manageable changes will be covered, as libraries work together to plan for improvements for the future of climate adaptation. This program is for public libraries in the northeast coastal regions.  
 
The keynote presenters will be Rebekkah Smith Aldrich, Executive Director of the Mid-Hudson Library System (NY) and the Co-Founder and current President of the Sustainable Libraries Initiative (SLI), and Matthew Bollerman, Chief Executive Officer of the Hauppauge Public Library (NY) 

Register for the Northeast Summit on Climate Adaptation for Library Facilities 

The Urgency of Indigenous Values (Webinar) 
Wednesday, November 8 
12 PM - 1 PM 

Philip P. Arnold uses a collaborative method derived from the “Two-Row Wampum” (1613) and his 40-year relationship with the Haudenosaunee to address the urgent need to support Indigenous Peoples, understand their values, and offer a way toward humanity’s survival in the face of environmental catastrophe. Arnold outlines Indigenous traditions of habitation and gift economies in contrast with settler-colonial values of commodification, where land and all aspects of material life are reduced to monetary use-value. Fifteenth-century Doctrines of Discovery used Christian theology to subjugate and annihilate Indigenous Peoples through environmental devastation, land theft, and forced assimilation. Designed to initiate conversations in the classroom, the academy, and other communities, this book pairs concepts of Indigeneity and religion around their competing values systems, thus transforming our understanding of both categories. 

The webinar will be presented by Philip P. Arnold, an Associate Professor of the Religion Department and core faculty in Native American and Indigenous Studies at Syracuse University, as well as Founding Director of the Skä·noñh—Great Law of Peace Center. 

Register for The Urgency of Indigenous Values 

Onsite Walking Tour of the Local History and Genealogy Resources at the New York State Library 
Friday, November 10, 11 AM - 12 PM and Friday, November 24, 1 PM – 2 PM 

The New York State Library is a treasure chest of resources for those tracing their family histories. Join us for an onsite tour highlighting published genealogies, local histories, church records, Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) records, United States and New York State Census records, newspapers on microfilm, city directories, and more.  
 
Cara Janowsky, an Associate Librarian at the New York State Library, will lead the tour. Each tour is limited to 12 individuals, and registration is required. 

Register for the November 10 Onsite Walking Tour of the Local History and Genealogy Resources at the New York State Library 

Register for the November 24 Onsite Walking Tour of the Local History and Genealogy Resources at the New York State Library  

Revolutionary Things 
Thursday, November 30
1 pm – 2 pm 

During the late eighteenth century, a wide range of objects associated with the American, French, and Haitian revolutions crisscrossed the ocean. Furniture and ceramics; clothing and accessories; and maps, prints, and public amusements—all circulated among diverse actors who wrestled with the political implications of these items. In this presentation, we will examine the unique ways that transatlantic revolutionary things shaped how people understood contested concepts like equality, freedom, and solidarity. We will also explore how these objects became a means through which individuals—enslaved and free, women and men, poor and elite—promoted, and sometimes tried to thwart, the realization of these ideals on the ground. 

Ashli White, Associate Professor of History at the University of Miami, will be the presenter. 
 
Register for Revolutionary Things 

Visit the State Library's website for a complete list of upcoming programs, including webinars, events, and onsite genealogy walking tours. Additional programs will be added to the website as they are confirmed. 

If any reasonable accommodation is needed (complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act), contact the Office of Cultural Education at least one week prior to the program date by emailing NYSLTRN@nysed.gov or calling (518) 474-2274.  

The New York State Library is part of the Office of Cultural Education within the New York State Education Department. The New York State Library celebrated its bicentennial in 2018. The Library serves three major constituencies. The Regent Joseph E. Bowman Jr. Research Library, established by law in 1818, collects, preserves, and makes available materials that support State government work. 

The Library's collections, now numbering more than 20 million items, may also be used by other researchers onsite, online, and via interlibrary loan. The Talking Book and Braille Library (TBBL) lends braille, audiobooks, magazines, and special playback equipment to residents of the 55 upstate counties of New York State who cannot read printed materials because of a visual or physical disability.  

The Division of Library Development partners with 72 library systems to bring library services to millions of people who use New York's academic, public, school, and special libraries. Library Development also administers State and Federal grant programs that provide aid for library services.  
 
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