NYS Library Blog

The NYS Library invited library workers from libraries and library systems of all sizes and types across New York to participate in a collaborative seven-month journey towards digital equity. During the Academy, the cohort learned about the essential aspects of digital equity, including engaging in effective community assessments, designing and implementing patron services, broadband and technology planning, and funding opportunities.

Over seven months, the group came together for virtual meetings facilitated by library technology expert Carson Block and Division of Library Development staff. To celebrate the hard work and community established by the Academy participants, the course wrapped up with three in-person meetings in different locations around the state. Participants heard from guest speakers, shared lessons learned, and completed a vision exercise to guide their work going forward. The support of our digital equity expert, NYS Library staff, and the peer group built over the months will help these libraries, library workers, and library systems continue to improve digital equity in communities across the state. 

Celebrated author and scholar of early America Dr. Kathleen DuVal returns to the NYS Library this summer to discuss her latest book, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Native Nations. The NYS Library will host this free online book talk on Thursday, July 17, at 12 PM.

The NYS Library is delighted to welcome Kathleen Duval back for her second book talk at the NYS Library. In 2022, Kathleen spoke about her 2015 book, Independence Lost: Lives on the Edge of the American Revolution. 

About Native Nations

A millennium ago, North American cities rivaled urban centers around the world in size. Then, following a period of climate change and instability, numerous smaller nations emerged, spreading egalitarian government structures, diplomacy, and complex economies across North America. For centuries afterward, Indigenous people maintained an upper hand and used Europeans in pursuit of their own interests. Centering on Indigenous nations, Native Nations shows how the definitions of power and means of exerting it shifted over time, but the sovereignty and influence of Native peoples remained a constant—and will continue far into the future.  

About Kathleen DuVal

Kathleen DuVal is a history professor at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She is a Guggenheim Fellow and the author of Native Nations: A Millennium in North America, which won the 2025 Pulitzer Prize in History, the Bancroft Prize, the Mark Lynton History Prize, and the Cundill History Prize. Her other books include Independence Lost: Lives on the Edge of the American Revolution, The Native Ground: Indians and Colonists in the Heart of the Continent, and the U.S. history textbook Give Me Liberty! She has published in the William and Mary Quarterly, the Journal of the Early Republic, The Atlantic, Time magazine, and the New York Times, and she is a regular book reviewer for the Wall Street Journal. 

Join the Event!

We hope you can join us in welcoming Dr. DuVal back to the NYS Library for another exciting and informative talk. Register for Native Nations: A Millennium in North America.

If you require any reasonable accommodation in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, please call 518-474-2274 at least one week prior to the program date.

Visit the NYS Library's Events Calendar 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.  

This year marks the 140th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty's arrival in New York Harbor. 

The Statue of Liberty was originally conceived in Paris as a bold and generous gift from the French people to the United States, commemorating the centennial of the American Revolution and celebrating the enduring friendship between the two nations. 

Initiated by French abolitionist Édouard de Laboulaye and brought to life by sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, with engineering by Gustave Eiffel, the statue was also intended as a powerful symbol of freedom and democracy. By 1884 the towering figure was complete. 

Workers packed Lady Liberty into 214 wooden crates—about 350 individual pieces in all—and loaded them onto the French naval transport Isère for the long Atlantic voyage.

New Yorkers awoke on June 17, 1885, to the thrilling sight of the Isère sailing past Sandy Hook and up into the harbor. Even partly hidden in crates, the statue’s colossal scale captured imaginations.

Yet for all the fanfare, one awkward fact remained: there was no pedestal ready to receive her.

Under the gift agreement, France would fund the statue, while Americans were responsible for the pedestal. Fundraising began in 1876 but soon stalled due to economic and political setbacks. By the mid-1880s, some even proposed relocating the statue if New York couldn't meet its goal. Then Joseph Pulitzer stepped in. In 1885, his newspaper, the New York World, launched a campaign inviting donations of any size, promising to print every name. Over 120,000 people, many giving just pennies, answered the call, raising the final $100,000 needed to complete the base.

Another effort to fund the Statue of Liberty’s pedestal involved selling mini replicas of the statue to the public. These small statues became popular souvenirs and a creative way to raise money, allowing everyday Americans to feel personally connected to the project and its message of freedom.

With money secured, crews hurried to complete the granite base within Fort Wood on Bedloe’s Island (now Liberty Island). Reassembly of the statue began in the spring of 1886; by October 28 President Grover Cleveland stood beneath the veiled figure to dedicate “Liberty Enlightening the World.”

Emma Lazarus’s sonnet “The New Colossus,” later affixed inside the pedestal, gave poetic voice to Liberty’s welcome, “Give me your tired, your poor…,” linking the monument forever with America’s promise of refuge and opportunity. 

The 140th milestone of Lady Liberty's arrival serves as a poignant reminder that living up to the nation’s founding ideals requires ongoing commitment and a willingness to reevaluate how we treat those seeking the very promise the statue was meant to extend.

Further Reading:

For more information about the statue’s design and construction process in detail, check out The Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi. The booklet shares insights into the engineering feats required to build the statue and Bartholdi’s hopes for its impact on the world

Check out the Oration at the Unveiling of the Bartholdi Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World, delivered by politician and former U.S. Representative Chauncey M. Depew on October 28, 1886. In his speech, Depew praises the statue as a powerful symbol of freedom and human progress, welcoming it as a beacon of hope to people around the world, especially immigrants arriving in America. He also reflects on the importance of self-government, civil liberties, and the shared values that connect nations committed to liberty.

Social Work Perspectives in the Library is written by Antonia Bruno, Excelsior Service Fellow for the NYS Library in the Office of Cultural Education.

My Role in the Library

As a social worker in a public library, I worked directly with patrons that needed support fulfilling their basic needs including housing or shelter, food, healthcare, and employment. Connecting patrons to outside agencies to assist with mental health needs, financial services, and other support services was vital to the program and required that I hold a broad understanding of the support services local to the community. In parsing through the avenues to support these basic needs, housing support proved to be the most difficult resource to find. Whether a patron was looking for housing on their own or shelter services, their mental and physical health was negatively impacted due to their housing insecurity.  

Barriers and Success in Resource Acquisition

I worked alongside the patrons as their social worker, and we consistently faced roadblocks to resources. This is an unfortunate truth for most social work practice. Compromise was a recurring factor when working with vulnerable communities as a direct service provider. These compromises were not minor trade-offs – often folks chose to compromise one need to acquire another. These compromises may be shared by librarians with their experience conducting reference interviews with patrons inquiring about resources related to housing or shelter, food, healthcare, or employment. Systemic injustices, strict requirement rules to obtain services, and a lack of local resources result in an inevitable compromise.  

Yet, there were instances when support was easier to acquire: completing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Medicaid, and Unemployment applications is straight forward, and many folks were able to acquire these benefits more easily than other benefits. Those moments were beacons of hope, reminders that help is available.  

Social Worker vs Librarian Roles

Social work practice in the library opened avenues for individuals who don’t acquire the technology skills necessary to create accounts and complete online applications on their own, and it relieved library staff of the duty to assist folks applying for services. As a social worker on staff, I was able to follow through with the application process when assisting patrons, something library staff were unable to do because of lack of expertise and confidentiality concerns. Both the social work and librarianship professions play a vital role in patrons acquiring basic needs, growing intellectually, and connecting socially to strengthen communities.

Community in the Library

To offer social services assistance in public libraries is to expand the library’s community. The services I offered in the library were specialized, and the library expanded beyond social service assistance for these patrons. Patrons who may have come to the library looking to fulfill their basic needs, learned they could use the library as a third space or a safe haven for the day – to sign up for arts and crafts workshops, cooking classes, and tech tutorials. They could use this space to socialize and discover their interests and goals beyond meeting their basic needs. Library social work is especially unique for this reason – the collaborative effort offers patrons a space to connect with different social service-related needs, while also integrating patrons into their respective communities.

How Does Your Library Create Community?

Food for thought: List the many ways that your library creates community for its patrons. Reflect and share this list with your colleagues and continue to build upon it to expand certain program areas and create new ones! Think about what that list might look like if your library worked with a social worker. 

The New York State Museum’s Beech-Nut Circus Bus, shared as part of their new Look at This series, inspired us to use New York State Library resources to discover materials about the Beech-Nut company.

Beech-Nut Newspaper Advertisements

Using electronic resources offered by the NYS Library, we found a variety of Beech-Nut newspaper advertisements from the late 1800s and early 1900s. Newspaper databases, like America's Historical Newspapers, America's Newspapers: New York, or Newspapers.com: World Collection, are available for the public to access on-site using the NYS Library's computers available on the 7th floor. Remote access is available for registered borrowers with a valid New York State Library card beginning with a P.

This advertisement from the December 30, 1894 issue of the New York Herald uses the promise of commissions to incentivize sales of Beech-Nut products to grocers, noting that "only men with first class reputations need apply."

The Buffalo News from March 28, 1916, advertises the Westfield Domestic Science and Household Appliance Exposition at Elmwood Music Hall, noting that a Miss Kashner will be demonstrating Beech-Nut foods at the Beech-Nut booth. A drawing of a jar of Beech-Nut brand sliced bacon is pictured in the bottom left corner, while a woman tilts a pan of bacon as if demonstrating how to prepare it.

This advertisement for Beech-Nut Coffee is from a July 1925 issue of the Daily Sentinel, published in Rome, New York. The ad has a drawing of an assortment of Beech-Nut food at the top with text below describing Beech-Nut Coffee.

Coffee sort of belongs to breakfast and breakfast sort of belongs to Beech-Nut. Isn't Beech-Nut Bacon the very soul of breakfast? And what more fitting companion for Beech-Nut Bacon than Beech-Nut Coffee, a rich and glowing coffee with a fragrance that gives cheer to the early morning?

Bartlett Arkell's Celebration of Grocery Clerks

A 1925 book from our collections, titled Grocery clerks who have become successful; a few interesting sketches compiled for the benefit of grocery salesmen, compiled, published and distributed by Bartlett Arkell, president of the Beech-nut packing company, was compiled, published and distributed by Bartlett Arkell, President of the Beech-Nut Packing Company. The publication offers stories of individuals who began their working lives as grocery store clerks and who went on to find great success in other fields—the most notable being Abraham Lincoln.

At the start of their careers as grocery clerks, Frank D. Bristley and David Flynn earned three dollars a week. H. C. Bohack had a salary of seven dollars a month plus board. John S. Rossell, working for his father, “received no wages, but his father was very proud of him...” Rossell wanted for nothing, the text clarified, and he went on to become president of the Security Trust and Safe Deposit Company in Wilmington, Delaware.

The book tells of Sir Thomas Lipton (founder of Lipton tea), who left Scotland to come to America and spent five years traveling and working, from New Orleans to South Carolina to New York. He saved enough money to return to Scotland and start a grocery store. As the book states: “four shillings a week at the age of eleven, a millionaire before he was thirty. His is a grocery store clerk’s career with a vengeance.”

Other stories focus on the lessons learned rather than financial gain. Enos K. Sawyer earned six dollars a week at the beginning of his career but stated that “the monetary consideration should be of secondary importance.” To him, the value of a grocery clerk job was the opportunity to familiarize oneself with business fundamentals and to seek further training and specialization for greater long-term success. The public nature of a grocery clerk also provided valuable “insight into human nature which is denied to most young men.” This is the overall spirit of the book: that a foundation in one's early working life as a grocery clerk would instill skills needed to achieve great success later.

Further Research: Our Catalog and the Historical Document Inventory

Our catalog points to a collection titled Beechnut Corporation records, 1912-1960, identified in our catalog as part of the Historical Document Inventory (HDI). The HDI was a statewide project overseen by the New York State Archives from 1978-1993 to identify historical materials throughout New York State. Collection items in our catalog designated HDI are not located at the NYS Library and can be found in one of approximately 1,250 repositories throughout the state.

Though no longer maintained, the HDI list is still a valuable resource for locating valuable collections across NYS. It is recommended that researchers contact the individual repositories before planning a visit to ensure accurate and up-to-date information. The HDI note in our catalog for this Beech-nut collection, for example, is from 1982 and directs users to the Canajoharie Library and Art Gallery. Since the completion of the HDI project in 1993, the institutions are now known as Arkell Museum at Canajoharie and the Canajoharie Library. The Beech-nut collection can be found at the Arkell Museum. 

 

This year Summer Reading at New York Libraries will focus on all manner of artistic expression and creativity at your local public library. The inspiring theme and slogan of Color Our World™ is sure to bring many fun and creative programs and events for all ages to libraries around New York State. 

The NYS Library recently partnered with muralist, educator, and community impact strategist Jade Warrick to create a toolkit resource that libraries can use to develop and create murals in their own libraries. The toolkit provides an overview of the mural project process, with a wealth of helpful information including a step-by-step curriculum, materials lists, best practices, and links to additional helpful resources. Here's a preview:

7 Reasons Why Murals Matter in Libraries:

1. Encourage engagement and belonging
2. Enhance community identity
3. Foster environmental awareness
4. Improve accessibility and inclusion
5. Promote Literacy and Learning
6. Support Public Art and Local Artists
7. Transform underutilized spaces

We want to share this informative guide with libraries and communities to help them take advantage of the toolkit and consider planning a mural project for their own library community this summer or in the future! Download the Mural Toolkit for Libraries from the NYS Library's Digital Collections.

Wishing you a wonderful summer of reading and creating!

Written by Matthew Laudicina, Manuscripts and Special Collections Unit

As the both the city of Saratoga Springs and the greater horse-racing community brace for the return of the Belmont Stakes to the Saratoga Race Course for the second year in a row, we here at the NYS Library wanted to take a moment to reflect on the history of horse racing in the Spa City (and share some fun historical images while doing so!).

The Saratoga Race Course first opened on August 3, 1863, an effort spearheaded and organized by former prizefighter and future member of the U.S. House of Representatives, John Morrissey. Little did John know that he would be creating a venue and seasonal summer activity that would become synonymous with the city of Saratoga Springs.

Races at the Saratoga Course

One item in our library’s Manuscripts and Special Collections (MSC) that offers us a glimpse into some of the signage one might have seen during the early days of the operations of the Saratoga Race Course is a broadside titled “Races at the Saratoga Course.” This advertisement dated August 21, 1883, and assigned the call number BRO1418+, includes a fun illustration of horses racing at the top of the advertisement. It also informs viewers of the four races that were to be held that day, along with purse information and details on the participating racehorses.

While the festivities that will be held leading up to and at the conclusion of this year’s Belmont Stakes will no doubt be an exciting and celebratory ode to this special event, it will by no means be the first of its kind; Saratoga Springs has a well-earned reputation as a city that knows how to throw a party! One particularly fascinating collection of photographs, held by MSC under the call number PRI5722, provides a vivid example of a classic Saratogian celebration.

Battle of the Flowers

These photographs are from the Saratoga Floral Parade and Battle of the Flowers and are available to view in our Digital Collections. This celebration, created by Franklin Webster Smith, a wealthy Boston merchant and regular summer resident of Saratoga Springs, was conceived as a response to Saratoga’s growing reputation as a city of gambling and other unsavory vices. Smith’s vision for the celebration was to encourage both improvements to the city and several public events, culminating with the annual grand floral fête, which featured a parade and ball, while at the same time offering a wholesome counter to the untoward nature of the culture surrounding the Saratoga Race Course. While the festival grew to an unsustainable size and was eventually discontinued in 1902, these images allow us to peer into history and appreciate what was once a grand spectacle conducted in classic Saratoga-Style!

Many of the photos, such as item numbers 15 and 67, really capture the family-friendly nature of the celebration. Floats and carriages, all adorned with beautiful, wholesome floral décor, truly paint a vivid picture of the wholesome, vice-free intention with the floral parade. Items 11 and 19, meanwhile, show the pride, pomp, and circumstance of the glorious Battle of the Flowers, with huge floats, throngs of celebrants with bicycles in tow, and, of course, horses abound! 

We would be remiss to not also draw special attention to item 89, which shows three small children on a small flower-adorned wagon, with two small goats leading the way!

We hope that good times will be had by all at this year’s Belmont Stakes at the Saratoga Race Course, whether it’s to enjoy the action at the races, or perhaps to stop and enjoy the flowers along the way!

There’s fervor amongst fans--and New Yorkers--as the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival returns to Saratoga Springs, NY this week! Beginning June 4th and running through June 8th, the centerpiece of the event, the 157th Belmont Stakes, will take place June 7th. An integral part of the American horse racing scene, the Belmont Stakes is the eldest of the three prestigious Triple Crown races.  

New York State has a long and fascinating history of horse racing, dating back to the 17th century. Some consider it the birthplace of North American horse racing given the 1665 establishment of the Newmarket course on what is now known as Long Island.  

In celebration of New York’s many contributions to this sport and to add to the excitement around the 2025 Belmont Stakes, this blog post brings attention to the story of a beloved racehorse, Exterminator.  

Exterminator (1915-1945) was purchased by Willis Sharpe Kilmer, a Binghamton, NY businessman, as a training partner for his favored racehorse Sun Briar. Kilmer only considered Exterminator a workhorse, but when Sun Briar faced a medical issue and was unable to race in the 1918 Kentucky Derby, the owner begrudgingly substituted him. Despite the 30-1 odds, Exterminator won the race.  

Exterminator’s story does not end there. As his racing career continued, he captured more titles as well as the hearts of New Yorkers. 2018 marked the 100th anniversary of this Triple Crown race win where Exterminator surprised and inspired the world. WSKG, the Binghamton-area public broadcasting station, paid tribute by producing a local documentary that tells the full story:

‘This homely underdog would go on to become one of the most successful racehorses in American history. ‘Old Bones' looks at the legendary career of this fascinating horse, his larger-than-life owner, and the trainer that knew he could win.’

Old Bones: The Story of Exterminator runs for one hour and fourteen minutes. It does what only public broadcasting can do – create content that brings otherwise forgotten stories to life. In this case, it’s moments from history that left a mark on New York State and the world of horse racing.

The Old Bones documentary first aired in December 2018, and WSKG is graciously making the film available on-demand via its YouTube channel. So, before the big races, sit back, relax, and enjoy impeccable storytelling from public broadcasting.