The Heart of the Three Village Community
Author Archive
Health and Hygiene Drive at Emma Clark Library
Setauket, NY – January 26, 2022 –
Many of us take basic personal care items for granted, but they are essential for day-to-day health. The cost of these necessities can add up and may be inaccessible to some individuals. Thus, to support the community, Emma Clark Library is running a Health and Hygiene Drive from Saturday, February 26 through Sunday, March 13. Library staff are collecting new toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss, shampoo, mouthwash, razors, shaving cream, feminine hygiene products, baby wipes, diapers, and more. These personal care items will be distributed to various local organizations that help those in need of supplies. A box will be located in the Library lobby and all (residents or nonresidents) are welcome to donate.
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”
###
7th Annual Kids Bookmark Contest Hosted By Emma Clark Library
Setauket, NY – January 25, 2022 –
Kids, get out your crayons and markers! Emma Clark Library is once again hosting a Bookmark Contest for children in the Three Village Central School District, Kindergarten through 6th grade. Winners receive the incredible honor of having their bookmarks professionally printed. Community members may then take home a copy of one or more of the winning bookmarks!
To pick up an Official Entry Form and Bookmark Template, kids may stop by the Children’s Reference Desk or download the form at kids.emmaclark.org. The entry deadline is March 31, 2022. Winners will be chosen in three categories (K – 2, 3rd & 4th, and 5th & 6th grades) and announced on Monday, May 2, 2022 to kick off Children’s Book Week. All contestants’ entries are displayed in the Children’s Department for visitors to view.
Last year’s winners were Aura Valdivia (Nassakeag Elementary) in the grades K – 2 category; Emma Yu (Nassakeag Elementary) in the grades 3 & 4 category; Joyce Lee (Mount Elementary) in the grades 5 & 6 category.
Each year the staff at the Library, along with the community, loves seeing the original and creative entries by Three Village children. The contest is fantastic inspiration to create…and of course, to read!
If you have any questions about the Kids Bookmark Contest, please email marcela@emmaclark.org or call 631.941.4080 ext. 123.
Please note: With all Emma Clark Library contests, Emma Clark employees, trustees, and their immediate family members are not eligible to enter.
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”
###
Historic Site Connected to the Culper Spy Ring Added to Emma Clark Library’s Museum Pass Collection
Setauket, NY – January 20, 2022 –
Emma Clark Library has recently added Raynham Hall Museum, located in Oyster Bay, to its very popular Museum Pass Collection. This museum complements the collection well and would be of particular interest to Three Village residents for its connection to the Culper Spy Ring, the group of George Washington’s spies during the American Revolution, which has strong roots in Setauket.
Raynham Hall Museum is the home of Robert Townsend (alias Samuel Culper, Jr.), one of the Culper Spy Ring agents. This engaging museum of history and espionage is open for docent-guided tours on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays at 1:00 and 3:00 p.m. It is open for self-guided tours, featuring an exciting, augmented reality experience on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays starting every hour from 1pm to 4pm.
Patrons who borrow a Museum Pass may receive free admission for two adults and two children (up to 17 years) for either a guided tour or self-guided tour in the education center. It also includes a 10% discount at the museum shop. This pass is a “Print on Demand”, which means there is no need to pick up or return a physical pass to the Library. Users may print the pass from any computer, even from home. To reserve a pass, Library cardholders may visit emmaclark.org/museum-passes.
The Museum Pass program at Emma Clark Library now features 34 museums, gardens, historic sites, and cultural institutions on Long Island and in New York City. The program encourages learning through experience and makes museum visits affordable for all. In 2021, there were 961 free museum visits for library patrons.
Those who borrow passes through Emma Clark’s Museum Pass program are encouraged to share their adventures on social media with the hashtag #EmmaTakesMePlaces. Emma Clark Library may be found on Facebook @emmaclarklibrary, Instagram @emmaclarklibrary, or Twitter @ESCML.
The mission of Raynham Hall Museum is to enable visitors of the nearly 300-year-old Townsend family home in Oyster Bay to experience what it meant to be prominent merchants and heroic patriots, and to become engaged in the worlds of espionage, domestic life and the decorative arts. For more information on the Raynham Hall Museum, visit raynhamhallmuseum.org.
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”
###
Historic Site Connected to Culper Spies – Visit for Free!
We recently added Raynham Hall Museum, located in Oyster Bay, to our very popular Museum Pass Collection. This museum complements the collection well and would be of particular interest to Three Village residents for its connection to the Culper Spy Ring, the group of George Washington’s spies during the American Revolution, which has strong roots in Setauket.
Raynham Hall Museum is the home of Robert Townsend (alias Samuel Culper, Jr.), one of the Culper Spy Ring agents. This engaging museum of history and espionage is open for docent-guided tours on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays at 1:00 and 3:00 p.m. It is open for self-guided tours, featuring an exciting, augmented reality experience on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays starting every hour from 1pm to 4pm.
Patrons who borrow a Museum Pass may receive free admission for two adults and two children (up to 17 years) for either a guided tour or self-guided tour in the education center. It also includes a 10% discount at the museum shop. This pass is a “Print on Demand”, which means there is no need to pick up or return a physical pass to the Library. Users may print the pass from any computer, even from home. To reserve a pass, Library cardholders may visit emmaclark.org/museum-passes.
The Museum Pass program at Emma Clark Library now features 34 museums, gardens, historic sites, and cultural institutions on Long Island and in New York City. The program encourages learning through experience and makes museum visits affordable for all. In 2021, there were 961 free museum visits for library patrons.
Those who borrow passes through Emma Clark’s Museum Pass program are encouraged to share their adventures on social media with the hashtag #EmmaTakesMePlaces. Emma Clark Library may be found on Facebook @emmaclarklibrary, Instagram @emmaclarklibrary, or Twitter @ESCML.
Questions? Email askus@emmaclark.org
Making the Library Even Better for the Three Village Community
Setauket, NY – November 1, 2021 – Emma Clark Library has announced a project to update its building space to maximize flow and usage for the public. This exciting endeavor will include building an outdoor terrace, reimagining the flow of the Main Reading Room for more delineation between the lively and quiet areas, and adding a small café.
Work on the outdoor terrace is scheduled to begin in early December, and once completed, patrons will be able to enjoy views of the building’s historic façade and the beautiful Setauket green landscape while reading their favorite book. These past 18 months with COVID-19 have taught us all more about the importance of outdoor spaces, and it has only amplified the Library’s original intention to create such a space for the public. This new outdoor area will add approximately 800 square feet for patron use. It will be fully accessible for all – wide enough for a wheelchair with a door that is ADA compliant. The public will only be able to enter and exit this safe, enclosed space through a door into the library; therefore, there is no risk of individuals leaving with items that are not checked out.
“We are excited to open library space in new and engaging ways,” remarked Deborah Blair, the Library Board of Trustees President. “Our terrace will offer fresh air and a lovely view where patrons can sit, read, and reflect, and the café will provide refreshment. We hope these additions will enhance the pleasure of reading a good book, chatting with friends, or just taking a break.”
The architect selected for this project is John Cunniffe, a local Stony Brook resident who has experience in preserving historical accuracy. Mr. Cunniffe has done numerous projects for Three Village organizations, such as the Three Village Historical Society, the Setauket Neighborhood House, Frank Melville Memorial Park, The Long Island Museum, and the Three Village Community Trust. Urban Village Contracting, Inc., a 3V-resident-owned local company with over 30 years of quality experience, will be executing the construction. The Library will remain open during construction, as much of the work will be done outside. For the indoor work, a majority of the construction will be done during off-hours to ensure as little disturbance and inconvenience to the public as possible.
Careful budgeting has allowed this project to proceed without asking the public taxpayer for additional funding. The cost of the project will be paid from the Library’s Capital Fund along with money from New York State Aid for Library Construction (not additional tax levy).
Emma Clark anticipates that work on the Main Reading Room and café will start in 2022. The beloved, historic 1892 section will remain a quiet area partitioned from the rest of the Library by glass doors in the Queen Anne revival style, matching the architecture of the Library. There will be an architecturally sensitive glass partition between the front and back of the Main Reading Room, making it two separate spaces, with a new Reference Desk in the middle. Therefore, the front area of the Main Reading Room will be more vibrant for socializing and lively activity, while the back area will be closed off for quiet study and reading. The changes won’t affect or decrease the size of the Library’s collections.
In this front, lively area of the Main Reading Room, a small café will be added, perfect to grab a drink or bite to eat. Libraries are a community space, and cafés are a very popular addition among today’s libraries. Patrons often spend a long time in the building and at times like a quick break from studying for a snack, but also want to stay in the library. The Library would like to accommodate that. The space will include comfortable seating that will be easily cleaned and sanitized. A vendor for the café has not been selected at this time, but it is anticipated that there will be several options with regards to food choices and keeping dietary restrictions in mind (nut-free, dairy-free, gluten-free, etc.). Additionally, the new partition will make it easy to restrict food and drinks to the café area.
“Our library has evolved quite a bit over the years. When the spaces in question were designed and built 30-plus years ago, the Library was a different place. We’ve seen it become more and more of a community center for people of all ages to gather, meet with their neighbors, attend programs and the like,” explained Library Director, Ted Gutmann. “However, many of our patrons still value the Library for its ‘traditional’ offerings such as quiet study, browsing, and reading. Unfortunately, sometimes the more ‘lively’ activities and the ‘quieter’ activities don’t coexist without some friction. Although the planned changes aren’t drastic, they will address those factors by redesigning the space to make it possible for both functions to happily coexist.”
The Library Lobby, Children’s Department, and the Lower Level will remain the same.
Emma Clark Library is the oldest public library in Suffolk County in terms of continuous community service from its original location. Redesigning the space will help the Library to meet their mission and better serve Three Village, which includes improving the options for both gathering with friends and spaces for quiet work. The Library Board of Trustees and staff are committed to ensuring that the building works for Three Village – not just in the past, but for many years into the future as well.
More details and information, along with the architectural renderings, may be found at reimagine.emmaclark.org.
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”
The Heart of the Three Village Community
