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By admin, on May 10th, 2012 The Friends’ monthly lunchtime program is going to be great this month! Next Wednesday, author and land conservationist Laura A. Ten Eyck is coming to the State Library to talk about Thacher Park and the Indian Ladder Region.
Here are some details and a description of the program:
John Boyd Thacher State Park and the Indian Ladder Region
Date: Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Time: 12:15pm – 1:15pm
Location: 7th floor Librarians Room, New York State Library
Stunning views of the Hudson-Mohawk Valleys and the Adirondack and Green Mountains, one of the world’s best fossil-bearing formations, and a rich history going back to Native American and early Dutch times: the John Boyd Thacher State Park and the Indian Ladder Region in the Helderbergs has it all. In this program, sponsored by the Friends of the New York State Library, writer and land conservationist Laura A. Ten Eyck will talk about the history of the area and its development from wilderness to farm fields to tourist attraction and now a state park. Her lecture will be based on her book, John Boyd Thacher State Park and the Indian Ladder Region (Arcadia Publishing, 2011), coauthored with local historian/author Timothy J. Albright. Registration is recommended.
By admin, on April 4th, 2012 The Friends are sponsoring a lunchtime program at the State Library next week on April 10, 2012. The program is free and open to the public, but we would appreciate it if you could register either online or by phone at 518-474-2274.
Here is the description of the program:
History Through the Land: Using 21st-century Technology and 18th-century Maps to Create New Maps of Rensselaer County Communities
Date: Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Time: 12:15pm – 1:15pm
Location: 7th floor Librarians Room, New York State Library, 222 Madison Avenue, Albany
People move or die, but the land is always there. Even if your house is only 50 years old, the history of the land on which it rests tells a story. Most early settlers had many acres of land which were subdivided into today’s building lots and developments. In a program sponsored by the Friends of the New York State Library, researcher Glenn Hankle will speak on the early surveys made by Van Allen, Gilbert and other persons hired by Van Rensselaer to divide Van Rensselaer’s East Manor. This program is sponsored by the Friends of the New York State Library. All are welcome to attend and registration is required.
Come along and enjoy your lunchtime with us. As always, this promises to be a great program!
By admin, on February 8th, 2012  The State Library has a really neat exhibit going on right now in the display cases on the 7th Floor of the Cultural Education Center. Since 1871, the Library has been a Patent and Trademark Resource Center. This means that they have almost every piece of information that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has ever published.
To celebrate Black History Month, the Library pulled from that information a collection of drawings and documents from some of the earliest African-American inventors.
Some very interesting stories emerge–such as that of Granville Woods. Often referred to as the “Black Edison” Woods had over 30 patents in his lifetime (1856-1910). These patents centered mostly around railroad technology. One, for a telegraph system that would work from train stations to moving trains and vice versa, came under scrutiny when Thomas Edison claimed it was his invention. Woods won the case for this patent, among others that Edison brought against him.
Other inventors featured include Lewis Lattimer, inventor of the water closet and the incandescent lamp, and Sarah E. Goode, first African-American woman to receive a U.S. patent and inventor of a cabinet bed that folded into a desk when not in use to maximize space.
For more information on the exhibit please visit the New York State Library’s website, and if you’re in the area please come up and take a look yourself!
By admin, on January 19th, 2012  We’ve got another awesome lunchtime event on the calendar next week on Wednesday, January 25.
Author William Staats will discuss his new book “Three Centuries on the Hudson River: One Family–One Dutch House.” He will talk about Hoogebergh, a 1696 family homestead on the east bank of the Hudson River about five miles south of Albany, and share stories of the eleven generations of the Staats family who have lived there.
I’ve looked at his book, and Mr. Staats is an intriguing and amusing story teller with many stories to tell about his family home. This talk promises to be a good one!
Here are the details:
Date: Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Time: 12:15 p.m. – 1:15 p.m.
Place: Librarians Room, New York State Library, 7th Floor of the Cultural Education Center, 222 Madison Avenue, Albany
Hope to see you there!
By admin, on January 5th, 2012 It’s a bit early to jump into tax season, but for those of you who like to start early the New York State Library has both federal and state tax forms available to you.
The forms are in the Library on the 7th floor of the Cultural Education Center. Take the elevators up to the 7th floor and look to the right of the reference desk. They are right there on the table, free for the taking.
Currently, the Library is missing the instruction booklet for Federal Tax form 1040, but they expect to receive it in a couple of weeks. I’ll post updates when they receive the booklet.
For more information on these forms and changes to the tax system visit the State Library’s website.
Remember also that you can access your forms online instead by visiting the IRS website for federal forms and the NYS Department of Taxation and Finance for state forms.
By admin, on December 12th, 2011 If you’ve been wondering what we’ve been up to lately you’d be absolutely justified in doing so. It’s been pretty quiet on the blog front.
The reason for this is that the Friends have started sponsoring more programs. We’ve had some very successful events in the last three months and if you haven’t attended any of them you’ve been missing out on some great talks! In October we had Gladys Montgomery–a real estate agent who specializes in architecturally distinctive (historic) properties–come to speak. She gave a wonderful lecture on the Great Camps of the Victorian era in the Adirondacks, complete with hundreds of pictures to illustrate life there. In November, Janny Venema, Associate Director of the New Netherland Research Center, brought to life the world of Kiliaen Van Rensselaer. Our December program, cosponsored with the New York State Writers Institute, was with Willard Sterne Randall. He read from and spoke about his new book on Ethan Allen, who accomplished much more than his legacy suggests.
If you happened to miss these programs, don’t worry. We are in the process of planning some exciting events for 2012. Stay tuned to the events calendar and this blog right here for more information.
An even better way to stay up to date with our events is to become a member. For those looking to renew their memberships for 2012 (or to become a new member), remember that can you can do so online by clicking Become a Member here or in the sidebar.
As always, if you have any suggestions, questions, or comments you may leave a comment on one of our posts or email us at nyslfriends@yahoo.com.
p.s. Our weekly blog posts will be returning with gusto in the new year. 
By admin, on November 23rd, 2011 The Friends are co-sponsoring an event with the New York State Writers Institute featuring Willard Sterne Randall. If you’re in the area on Tuesday, December 6 at 8 p.m. stop by the Huxley Theatre in the Cultural Education Center for a reading from his newest book Ethan Allen: His Life and Times.
Willard Sterne Randall is author of biographies of Colonial and Revolutionary War period figures including Alexander Hamilton, Benedict Arnold, and Benjamin Franklin.
For more information on the program see the Willard Sterne Randall poster.
By admin, on October 4th, 2011  In July 2011, Acanthus Press published a book written by Gladys Montgomery called, “An Elegant Wilderness.” In the Gilded Age, Upstate New York was the hotspot for millionaires in the United States. This book brings together pictures and stories from the Great Camps of the Adirondacks during this time.
On Tuesday October 11, 2011, Gladys Montgomery will speak about the evolution of the rustic style in architecture and decoration in the Adirondacks, why this area and style appealed to the wealthy of the 19th century, and the lifestyle at the great camps. The lunchtime event, sponsored by the Friends of the New York State Library (that’s us!), will take place at 12 p.m. in the Librarians Room on the 7th Floor of the Cultural Education Center.
By admin, on September 22nd, 2011  A week from today, Assemblyman McEneny will give a talk sponsored by the Friends on the topic of Capital Region’s cultural heritage.
Assemblyman McEneny received his B.A. in history from Siena and was Albany County Historian. Widely known as an expert teacher and speaker on local history, and author of the illustrated book “Albany: Capital City on the Hudson,” he is a wealth of knowledge on the subject of cultural heritage in Albany and its environs.
If you would like to attend the event, here are the details:
Date: September 29, 2011
Time: 1:00 p.m.
Place: Huxley Theater, 1st Floor of the Cultural Education Center, 222 Madison Avenue, Albany, NY
This event is free and open to the public; there is no need to register.
If you would like to attend a pre-talk buffet lunch ($10/person) please do register by calling 518-474-5957 or sending a message to nyslfriends@yahoo.com by 10:00 a.m. on Monday, September 26.
We hope to see you there!
By admin, on August 9th, 2011  The New York State Library’s August exhibit is on the New York State Fair, held this year in Syracuse from August 25 to September 5.
From humble beginnings in 1841 as a fundraiser for the New York Agricultural Society, the fair has grown to one of the largest in the nation, attracting 1,000,000 visitors per year. It is also the oldest fair in the nation.
The State Library has a significant number of items documenting the State Fair from its inception up until recently. Here are some of the items on display in the cases surrounding and across from the elevators on the 7th floor of the Cultural Education Center:
- Report of the Committee on Cheese, at the Fair of the New York State Agricultural Society, for 1851 (circa 1851)
- New York State Agricultural Society Annual Rosters of Members (scattered dates 1842 – 1858, MSC SC6999)
- 54th Annual New York State Fair (1894 broadside)
- New York State Fair Spelling Bee List: 5000 Words Adopted for the Spelling Contest Held Yearly in Syracuse at the N.Y. State Fair (circa 1932) -Premium List, New York State Fair: Youth Department L (1975)
- The Fair, the Great New York State Fair: Cornucopia of Good Eating (1981)
- Journey Out of the Ordinary!: The Great New York State Fair, August 25 – September 5, 2011 (2011 poster)
- See the complete display list here.
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