Category: Director Notes

Dear Residents,
I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself to the community. After two decades in the library field in school, public, and academic settings, I am very excited to be the new Executive Director, and I look forward to serving the community in the years ahead.

Our annual Budget Vote and Trustee Election will be held at the Library on Tuesday, April 5. Please come to the Library to cast your vote, enjoy a performance by some of our very talented elementary school musicians, and attend a reception for our equally talented young artists, whose work will be on exhibit.

The proposed budget for the 2016-2017 fiscal year has a zero percent increase, which complies with the New York State tax cap. Although total expenditures will remain the same as last year, we will be increasing the funding of key service areas, including our Children’s Easy Reader, Fiction, and Nonfiction book collections, and our Children’s, Teen, and Adult Programs.

Please stop in to take advantage of the wonderful resources and programs we offer for all ages. I look forward to seeing you at the Library!

Sincerely,
Dr. Roger Podell

Dear Residents,
I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself to the patrons of the Cold Spring Harbor Library. After two decades in the library field in school, public, and academic settings, I am very excited to be starting my new position as Executive Director, and I look forward to serving the community in the years ahead.

Please stop in and take advantage of our beautiful facility and the wonderful resources and programs we offer for all ages. We also have some exciting Signature Events coming up after New Year’s, including Cinderella on January 31 and Jedi Academy on February 27.

My thanks to the Board of Trustees for entrusting me with leading the Library into 2016 and beyond. I look forward to seeing you at the Library!

Sincerely,
Dr. Roger Podell

Dear Residents,
Every day is filled with opportunities to explore, experience, and expand our horizons. Your library is continuously innovating programs and anticipating your interests.

We hope that you will be able to attend our upcoming Signature Event performances for all ages! The Queazles, a 60s tribute band, will be playing hits from the Beatles, Beach Boys, Four Seasons, and Dave Clark Five on Sunday, November 15 at 3:00 p.m. Celebrate the holiday season with “Nutcracker in a Nutshell,” as performed by the Long Island Ballet Theatre, on Sunday, December 6 at 2:30 p.m.

We have added Launchpads in the Children’s Library. Launchpads are individual, preloaded learning tablets for you to borrow and take home. These learning tablets are geared to children ages 3-5 and 5-7. Come to the library and browse our brand-new collection, including ABC, Learn with Me!, Number Magic!, Prehistoric Playground!, and many other titles.

This holiday season, we are pleased to be a U.S. Marine Corps Toys for Tots drop-off location. When you visit the library, please bring a new, unwrapped toy for a needy child on Long Island. This act of generosity will bring joy to both the giver and receiver.

Once again, the Library Foundation has inserted a donation envelope into the year-end issue of the newsletter. Funds from the foundation enable your public library to offer special events throughout the year. Save the capital gains, and consider donating appreciated securities. A stock transfer form may be found on our website, www.cshlibrary.org. All donations are tax-deductible and really make a difference.

My very best wishes for a safe and happy holiday season,
Diane Scinta
Interim Library Director

Dear Residents,
What a summer it has been! We enjoyed your daily visits and hearing about your vacation adventures. The Children’s Library welcomed hundreds of children who participated in our Summer Reading Program, and we loved hearing about their favorite summer reads.

In the upcoming months, the library will host many educational and cultural events. For adults, we are now offering a Saturday morning Pilates class in addition to our Monday evening class and, beginning in September, a Canasta practice club. New for children is “Little Ones Learn & Play,” a short storytime and open play for children from birth to 18 months, where you’ll have the opportunity to meet new parents, babies, and toddlers from the neighborhood. In October, we will hold our annual Family Scarecrow Craft, which is a great time for your whole family to work together and build a life-sized scarecrow to display for the season.

Look for new online access to hoopla digital, a service offering thousands of movies, television shows, music albums, eBooks, comics, and audiobooks, all available to borrow for instant streaming or temporary downloading to your smartphone, tablet, and computer. Hoopla digital is free, and only requires your library card to access. If you want hands-on instruction, just call the librarians at (631) 692-6820 for an appointment.

September is Library Card Sign-up Month! Your library card comes with privileges that go beyond easy checkouts and online renewals. It also gives you access to many of our online resources, from Ancestry.com, to World Book, to downloadable eBooks, audiobooks, and now streaming media.

Best regards,
Diane Scinta
Interim Library Director

Dear Residents,
Summer offers many opportunities to get to know one another. Our librarians have planned summer reading club events for all ages. For adults, there will be book discussions, workshops, classes, and lectures. The Youth Services Librarians have planned over 50 free programs for children and families based on our superhero theme of “Every Hero Has a Story.” Miss Kate, our Teen Services Librarian, has been planning an exciting lineup of programs and activities for teens, and teen volunteers will once again assist with the Children’s Summer Reading Club. Our volunteer program is very important to our students and to us.

This August, we will celebrate our ninth anniversary here at 95 Harbor Road. Your support of programs and use of our building are a true testament to how much you value your public library. I hope to catch you often this summer enjoying a book, newspaper, or magazine in the Reading Room, a wonderful retreat from the heat!

So when your find yourself looking for the perfect summer read, ask a librarian for a recommendation or check out our website to see what’s “New to Our Collection.” Have a safe and enjoyable summer!

Best regards,
Diane Scinta
Interim Library Director

Dear Residents,
On April 14 we held our annual Budget Vote and Trustee Election. Your votes of support tell us that we are providing the services you expect, and your confidence in our ability to assist our residents means so much to us. I must thank Library Trustee Sandra Capek-O’Grady for once again procuring funds from BNY Mellon Wealth Management to sponsor all of the programs on Election Day.

The MakerBot Replicator 3D printer will be back in the Children’s Room during the month of June. If  you missed the printer the last time it was here, plan to stop by and see this amazing machine at  work. Do you have something you would like to print and take home? A form will be available at the Children’s Desk for special print requests for CSH patrons.

On Wednesday, May 20, we will be holding a lifesaving Narcan training session. This program is  co-sponsored by the Long Island Council on Alcoholism & Drug Dependence, and participants over the  age of 18 will receive a Narcan kit. Community members are invited to attend this informative  demonstration, which will empower individuals with the knowledge of how to save a life.

We are looking forward to our summer reading clubs for children, teens, and adults. Our annual  Summer Reading Club Kickoff Carnival is scheduled for Thursday, June 25, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.  There will be a petting zoo, and the CSH Lions Club will be selling raffle tickets for a kayak. Each year, the CSH Lions Club donates a portion of the proceeds from their September Fishing Derby to children’s library events. We are grateful for their support.

Best regards,
Diane Scinta
Interim Library Director

Dear Residents,
As Manager of Youth Services here at Cold Spring Harbor Library for the past 14 years, I am excited for the opportunity and look forward to serving the Cold Spring Harbor community in my new role as Interim Library Director.

Since 1999, I have had the privilege of watching your children grow from toddlers attending storytimes into young adults volunteering at the library and going off to college. It was such a pleasure to meet many of you and get to know you, your children, and your teens through the years. I loved speaking with you both in the library and outside the library, at school events and other community forums.

The annual Budget Vote & Trustee Election will be held at the library on Tuesday, April 14. The proposed budget for fiscal year 2015-16 includes a very modest increase, which complies with the New York State tax cap. Events for all ages are planned, including a very special visit by students in our Scientific Research Program. The student scientists will be in the library after school to tell us about their discoveries.

This budget will enable us to expand our print, eBook, audio, and DVD collections, decreasing the time residents wait for new or popular items. Attendance at library-sponsored programs for all ages has also been growing and, if approved, the new budget will enable us to offer more cultural, environmental, and educational programs.

With warm regards,
Diane Scinta

Dear Residents,
What’s next? For many, January is a reflective time: a period of evaluation and a fresh start. In mid-January 2015, I will begin the next chapter of my career. As so many of you know, I arrived in CSH in February 1999, when the library occupied 7,000 square feet in the Goosehill School. By 2000, the Library Friends Foundation was established, a relationship was developing with the NYS Parks Department to construct a new library in the newly created CSH State Park, and community meetings began in earnest to “IMAGINE” your library. Does anyone still have an IMAGINE T-shirt? Did you host one of many educational events in your home? Were you a donor to the capital campaign? By 2006, we had raised over $4 million, passed a bond issue, constructed our new 26,700 square foot library building, and opened the doors. Free Wi-Fi, a mobile app, an engaging website, and popular meeting rooms make your library the anchor for the community.

Together, we have written a moving history of community engagement. Your generosity and support of your library have been and will continue to be a source of pride, and a shining example of what can happen when we listen to each other and identify our shared values, wishes, and dreams. Only an opportunity to build another library could have enticed me away from a place I have grown to love. This library, I truly believe, represents the very best in all of us. I wish you all good health and good fortune.

Happy New Year,
Helen M. Crosson

Dear Residents,
Change is the constant. There is no status quo in our lives. Every day is filled with opportunities to explore, experience, and expand our horizons. Your library is continuously innovating programs and anticipating your interests.

We are adding iPads in the Children’s Library. Now, the little ones can access the best entertaining and educational apps for their personal enrichment. Look for the list of apps the librarians have selected. Also, stop by later this month and see a 3D printer in action. The regional library system purchased the 3D printer to circulate throughout Suffolk County. Curious about the technology? Come to the library for a demo on Wednesday, November 19 from 4:00-6:00 p.m.

Our new Signature Events have been very well attended. The computer classes for adults are very popular, with lots of raves from the participants. Stop by the Information Services Desk and tell the librarians your suggestions for future computer classes. Next up are two cultural events. First, the Serenade Duo will make a return visit on Sunday, November 2 at 2:00 p.m. Second, a premier holiday event for all ages, “The Nutcracker Act II,” will be here at the library on Sunday, December 7 at 3:00 p.m.

We joyfully seek partnership opportunities with cultural and educational organizations. For over a decade, the last page of every newsletter has included events and services. Visit our website to learn more about the growing Museum Passes program and the next Community Conversation, a moderated discussion about the Common Core, which will be held at the South Huntington Public Library on November 12 at 7:00 p.m. A panel of regional experts will educate the audience and then take your questions.

Once again, the Library Foundation has inserted a donation envelope into the year-end issue of the newsletter. Funds from the foundation enable your public library to offer special events for all ages. Save the capital gains, and consider donating appreciated securities. A stock transfer form may be found on our website. All donations are tax-deductible and really make a difference. Thank you.

My very best wishes for a safe and happy holiday season. I hope to catch you reading.

See you very soon!

Dear Residents,
The summer sun is beaming through my window as I write this greeting. We are enjoying your daily visits and hearing about your vacation adventures. Here, we continue to welcome hundreds of schoolchildren in the Children’s Library as we prepare for the upcoming school year.

During the next 10 months, your librarians will present many educational and cultural events. Our “Signature Events” include a series of computer classes, from basic to intermediate, for adults and seniors, which will be led by Sharper Training Solutions, and, on Sunday, September 14, there will be an exceptional hands-on cultural experience with Tonito Valderrama and his Nest of Hope.

Lloyd Harbor resident Myron Cohen will entertain us on Sunday, October 12 with his latest musical, The Psychic Murder Case. For those interested in art history, we have events for all ages covering Monet to Tiffany, including children’s programs with local resident and museum educator Tami Wood.

Your use of the CSH Mobile app and the library’s website continues to grow each year. Look for new, free online access to Consumer Reports and thousands of eBooks and downloadable audiobooks. If you want hands-on instruction, just call the librarians for an appointment.

September is Library Card Sign-up Month. This year, we will celebrate by featuring our newly trademarked logo on our new library card. Your card comes with privileges that go beyond easy checkouts and online renewals. Your library card may now be linked to our mobile app for use at the Circulation Desk, too! Now you can truly leave the keys in the car and still borrow items using the CSH Mobile app on your smartphone.

For mobile app and PC users, the barcode number may be changed to an easy-to-remember username and password. Most online resources, from Ancestry.com, to World Book, to eBooks can be accessed with this username. (No need to memorize the 14 digit barcode. That brain space can be given to so many other things). If you can never remember the book you just finished reading, visit www.cshlibrary.org, select “View Your Patron Record,” log in, and turn on “Reading History” to begin keeping a list of all the items you borrow, which only you may access. For instructions on these services visit bit.ly/1nXxb5v or ask a librarian.

See you very soon!