Author Archive

Emma Clark’s Little Free Library Back at the Beach

Setauket, NY – June 23, 2023 –

If you forgot a book for your beach day, it’s not a problem. The Little Free Library, hosted by Emma Clark Library, is back at West Meadow Beach for the summer!

This “Take a Book or Leave a Book” concept is one that exemplifies recycling and community and in addition, encourages lifelong reading. Beachgoers are encouraged to grab a book and/or donate one to this structure located under the pavilion at the beach. The books are all donated by the public. This little library is possible thanks in part to many generous booklovers (books are not curated or owned by Emma Clark – don’t return your library books here!). Library teen volunteers “adopt” the library each week to ensure that it is neat, undamaged, and well-stocked.

Emma Clark Library has hosted the Little Free Library at West Meadow Beach in July and August since 2016, to inspire beachgoers to read, share, and reuse. There is no need to live in Three Village to participate, as long as you are a visitor of the beach. The Town of Brookhaven and Environmental Educator Nicole Pocchiare have once again graciously given their consent for Emma Clark to host the Little Free Library at the beach.

Councilman Jonathan Kornreich attended the re-installation and remarked, “I was thrilled to have attended the 8th annual installation of a Little Free Library at West Meadow Beach! As a firm believer of the power of reading and learning, I’m excited to see this resource available to the community again. Thank you Director Ted Gutmann, Jen Mullen, Lisa DeVerna, and Emily Ostrander from the Emma Clark Library for making this all happen.”

Little Free Libraries have become an international phenomenon since their inception in 2010, and Little Free Library was established as a nonprofit organization in 2012 in Wisconsin. According to the official Little Free Library website, there are over 150,000 registered book-sharing boxes across the United States and 120 countries worldwide. Emma Clark’s Little Free Library at West Meadow Beach is registered on www.littlefreelibrary.org and can be found on the site’s official map of all Little Free Libraries.

Emma Clark Library is happy to promote literacy outside the walls of the building and help our neighbors discover new books. Whether it be a hot summer day or a beautiful, breezy sunset, the Little Free Library simply enhances the already beloved West Meadow Beach here in Three Village.

The Emma S. Clark Memorial Library, located at 120 Main Street in Setauket and on the web at www.emmaclark.org, provides public library service to all residents of the Three Village Central School District. “The Heart of the Three Village Community”

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Vendor Selected for Emma Clark Library’s Upcoming Café

Setauket, NY – May 25, 2023 –

The Emma S. Clark Memorial Library Board of Trustees is pleased to announce that they have selected a food and beverage vendor to operate the Library’s new café which is slated to open later this summer.  The vendor selected is Level Up Kitchen, a local business currently operating out of the Flowerfield complex in St. James.  Level Up Kitchen was selected from a pool of candidates that responded to the Library’s recent request for proposal for a vendor to operate the café.

Level Up Kitchen is owned and operated by Three Village native and chef Chelsea Gomez.  Ms. Gomez graduated from Pennsylvania College of Technology with a degree in Culinary Arts in 2006, and prior to founding Level Up Kitchen Ms. Gomez was Executive Chef at the much-loved Pentimento Restaurant in Stony Brook, which closed in 2021.  Ms. Gomez is fully invested in the Three Village community, having grown up in Setauket, and she is currently raising her young family here.

Drawing on her formal culinary education, current business operations, and her many years of experience as a chef, Ms. Gomez possesses extensive knowledge of food safety and how to prepare fresh, healthy, handcrafted fare that meets a variety of dietary restrictions. She plans to include items at the Library café that include nut-free, gluten-free, vegetarian, and vegan, avoiding cross contamination with allergens. In addition, all of her employees will be Suffolk County Department of Health-certified food managers.

Moreover, Ms. Gomez places importance on sustainability, working with local farms and purveyors where possible to stimulate the local economy and provide the freshest, high-quality ingredients. She runs her businesses in an environmentally friendly manner, using biodegradable, post-consumer, and recyclable packaging and utilizing equipment that has low waste and high value, such as an energy-saving coffee machine and energy-efficient refrigerator.

Library patrons will be able to grab a quick snack on-the-go, or stay for a bite to eat and enjoy a more leisurely experience at the Library.  Construction began on the new café at the Library earlier this year and will include a new, indoor seating area adjacent to the historic 1892 reading room. Café customers will also have access to the outdoor seating terrace, which opened in August 2022 and looks out over the Library’s beautifully landscaped grounds and the historic Setauket Green. The Library and Ms. Gomez hope to have the café operational later this summer, once staff are trained and all required permits have been issued.

The Emma S. Clark Memorial Library, located at 120 Main Street in Setauket and on the web at www.emmaclark.org, provides public library service to all residents of the Three Village Central School District.

“The Heart of the Three Village Community”

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Local Music Museum Added to Library’s Museum Pass Collection

Setauket, NY – May 8, 2023 –

The Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame Museum, located right in Stony Brook Village at the Ward Melville Heritage Organization, is now a part of Emma Clark Library’s beloved Museum Pass Collection.

The Museum opened its doors at 96 Main Street in Stony Brook in November 2022 and boasts, “displays of original musical instruments, famous awards, apparel, and other memorabilia from many of Long Island’s favorite artists.” Thanks to the Library, residents may now visit this local gem for free with a Museum Pass (the museum lists regular admission prices on their website as adults at $19.50, seniors/veterans at $17, and students at $15). The Library’s pass allows free admission for 2 adults and 3 children up to age 18. In addition, this Museum Pass is “Print on Demand”, meaning Emma Clark Library cardholders may print the pass from home or any computer (no need to pick up and return a physical pass to the Library).

In 2022, there were 1,872 free museum visits, thanks to Emma Clark Library’s Museum Pass collection. The Library has over 30 museums and cultural institutions in the Museum Pass program. See them all and reserve a museum pass at emmaclark.org/museum-passes.

Founded in 2004, the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame is a 501(c) (3) organization dedicated to the idea that Long Island’s musical heritage is an important resource to be celebrated and preserved for future generations. The organization, which encompasses New York State’s Nassau, Suffolk, Queens, and Kings (Brooklyn) Counties, was created as a place of community that inspires and explores Long Island music in all its forms. To date, the organization has inducted more than 100 musicians and music industry executives, and also offers education programs and scholarships to Long Island students, sponsors the Long Island Sound Award, and features traveling educational exhibits, including a state-of-the-art mobile museum.

The Emma S. Clark Memorial Library, located at 120 Main Street in Setauket and online at emmaclark.org, provides public library service to all residents of the Three Village Central School District. “The Heart of the Three Village Community” 

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