Author Archive

Retro Game Night is BACK at Emma Clark Library!

Setauket, NY – July 17, 2017 –

Thanks to the success of last year’s Retro Game Night, Emma Clark Library is once again going back in time on Throwback Thursday, August 3 from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

Like last year, local Three Village resident, Gale Putt, has generously loaned the library various classic gaming systems which she and her late husband Jay collected over several decades.
Re-experience games you played as a child, or those that your parents have told you about…the Vincent R. O’Leary Community Room will become a haven for gamers! Additionally, the Technology Center will have modern games such as Wii U. and Minecraft. There will also be a Super Mario Bros-themed craft for the younger children.

Last year’s gaming systems at the event included the Odyssey 2 (1978), Intellivision (1979), various Atari systems (1977 – 1986), Coleco Vision (1982), various Nintendo systems (1985 – 2001), Sega Genesis 16 (1989), and Virtual Boy (1995), and games included Pick Axe Pete, Gorf, Pepper II, Star Strike, Star Wars, E.T., Space Invaders, Pong, Star Raiders, Sonic the Hedgehog. This year’s games are TBA.
This is the perfect family event, and it’s open to all (residents and nonresidents). There is no need to register, so drop on over to the library for some old school gaming fun!

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”

2 New Museum Passes to be Added to Emma Clark Library’s Collection

Setauket, NY – July 10, 2017 –

Starting in August, two new circulating museum passes will be added to Emma Clark Library’s collection: Cooper Hewitt and New York Transit Museum in New York City.

The museum pass program at Emma Clark started in 2013. It has grown to 22 museums and cultural institutions. Just last year alone, local families enjoyed 1,151 free museum visits through this service.

The following is a list of museums currently in the program:
• Brooklyn Botanical Garden (New York)
• Children’s Museum of the East End (Bridgehampton)
• Cradle of Aviation Museum (Garden City)
• Fire Island Lighthouse (Fire Island)
• The Frick Collection (New York)
• Guggenheim Museum (New York)
• Heckscher Museum (Huntington)
• Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum (New York)
• Long Island Children’s Museum (Garden City)
• Long Island Museum (Stony Brook)
• Maritime Explorium (Port Jefferson)
• Museum of the City of New York (New York)
• Museum of Modern Art (New York)
• Nassau County Art Museum (Roslyn Harbor)
• New York Botanical Garden (New York)
• Old Bethpage Village (Old Bethpage
• Old Westbury Gardens (Old Westbury)
• Parrish Art Museum (Water Mill)
• Vanderbilt Museum & Planetarium (Centerport)
• Walt Whitman Birthplace (Huntington)
Visit www.emmaclark.org/museumpass for more information or to reserve a pass.

“Little Free Library” will once again stand tall at West Meadow Beach this Summer

Setauket, NY – June 26, 2017 –

Following the success of the Little Free Library at West Meadow Beach last summer, Emma Clark Library has once again erected the structure, made from recycled materials and maintained by teen volunteers for the summer.

As before, there’s no need for a library card or to return a book – this is a “take a book, leave a book” concept hosted by Emma Clark. Library staff and the public contributed books for the sole purpose of the Little Free Library (books are not owned by Emma Clark – don’t return your library books here!). The Little Free Library is located under the pavilion at the beach. There is no need to live in Three Village to share in this give and take project, as long as you are a visitor at West Meadow Beach.

“We see the Little Free Library as a great way to promote literacy and bring the library out into the community,” says Ted Gutmann, Director of Emma Clark Library, “Our hope is that the Little Free Library will help spread the joy of reading and discovery of new books.”

The Town of Brookhaven and Nicole Pocchiare, Environmental Educator, have once again graciously given their consent to host the Little Free Library at the beach. Councilwoman Valerie Cartright attended the installation to show her support of this outreach service to the community.

“I am so pleased that Emma Clark Library has provided West Meadow Beach with a Little Free Library again this year, “ stated Councilwoman Valerie M. Cartright. “Easy accessibility of books during summer, the participation of coordinated student volunteers and the dedication of library staff helps makes our beach a delightful destination.”

As the Little Free Library states on their website, “Little Free Libraries are hand-crafted structures filled with constantly changing collections of books donated and shared by people of all ages and backgrounds.” Their mission is to promote a sense of community, reading for children, and literacy for adults and libraries around the world. Little Free Library was founded in 2010 by Todd H. Bol in Hudson, Wisconsin and established as a nonprofit organization in May 2012. The organization has won numerous awards including the Innovations in Reading Prize from the National Book Foundation, the Movers and Shakers Award from the American Library Association, and the Literacy Award from the Library of Congress. Countless media outlets including USA Today, The Washington Post, and The Huffington Post have named Little Free Library as a global movement. An estimated 9.3 million books are exchanged through Little Free Libraries a year.

The 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 across the United States and 70 countries worldwide. Emma Clark Library is proud to bring this social project to the neighborhood.

Emma Clark Library is thrilled to once again present The Little Free Library at West Meadow Beach. It simply enriches the already welcoming feel here in Three Village.

Two Summer Traditions Back at Emma Clark Library

Setauket, NY – June 14, 2017 –

The weather has finally heated up, school is almost out, and Emma Clark Library has 2 great traditions back in full swing!

5th Annual Food Drive

The 5th Annual Food Drive, run by the Teen Services Department, will be at the library for the month of July. The public is welcome to bring in a donation of toiletries or nonperishable food items, and collection boxes will be located in the lobby to the left of the Circulation Desk. Teen volunteers will be collecting the contributions, sorting them, and delivering them to various food pantries throughout the community. Some suggestions for food items include cereal, peanut butter, jelly, canned fruits and vegetables, rice, beans, tuna fish, juice, pasta, and pasta sauce. The food pantries can also use men’s and women’s socks, diapers, wipes, toothbrushes, toothpaste, shaving cream, disposable razors, shampoo, and conditioner.

If you have any questions about the food drive or would like to become a teen volunteer, you may contact Nanette Feder, Teen Services Librarian, at 941-4080 ext. 116 or email her at teens@emmaclark.org.

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Summer Reading Club – “Build a Better World” – Read More Books!
The Children’s Summer Reading Club (SRC) is a fun way to include reading and related activities in summer family time! It helps children maintain and improve reading skills, and keeps their minds active. Readers enter school in the fall ready to learn, read, and succeed.
Children from Birth – 6th Grade are invited to join. Parents may register their children online right from the library’s homepage (emmaclark.org). Starting Monday, June 26, prizes will be awarded to kids who read at least one book each week. There will be weekly prizes for each child, as well as weekly raffle basket prizes, for a total of 7 weeks. The best part about SRC is that it is flexible. Registration is on-going, and does not have to be done by a certain date. If kids are away on vacation or can’t make it to the library one week, they may still enjoy the benefits of SRC the other weeks.

The 2017 theme is “Build A Better World.” There’s a big wall in the Children’s Department for Three Village Kids to write about how they are making a difference in their lives or the lives of others in the community. Patrons are invited to view and contribute to the wall throughout the summer.

In addition, for the 3rd year, the library is hosting a friendly competition between the local elementary schools. The school that has the highest percentage of children that sign up AND finish the SRC will have their School and Year inscribed in the “Emma Cup” trophy. Minnesauke Elementary has won the past 2 years. Which school will win it this year? Will Minnesauke win again, or will one of the other 4 schools dethrone them?
There will be a big family kick-off event, Willy Wonka’s Wonkaville, on Monday, June 26 from 6:45 – 7:45 p.m. on the library lawn. Patrons may register at emmaclark.org or call 631.941.4080 if they would like to participate.

The big family celebration to close out SRC will be the National Circus Project on Friday, August 4 from 6:45 – 7:45 p.m. on the library lawn. There is no need to register for this event, but all children must be register in the Summer Reading Club.

If there are any questions about the Kid’s SRC, email kids@emmaclark.org or call 631.941.4080 ext. 123.

What about the Teens? They have a Summer Reading Club as well! Teens may register in-person at the Adult Reference Desk. The more books they read, the greater their chance of winning one of the fabulous gift baskets that are given away in August at the end of the program.

Emma Clark Library would like to thank the following businesses that support the library and our community by donating prizes for our Summer Reading raffle gift baskets:
• Adventureland Amusement Park
• Applebee’s
• Bobby’s Burger Palace
• Campus Bicycle
• Chili’s
• Crazy Beans
• Domo Sushi Japanese Restaurant
• Jamba Juice
• Luigi’s Pizzeria & Restaurant
• O Sole Mio Ristorante Pizzeria
• Panera Bread
• P.F. Chang’s
• Rolling Pin Bakery
• Setauket Village Diner *
• Splish Splash
• Staller Center for the Arts, Stony Brook University
• Starbucks
• Station Pizza
• Strathmore Bagels – Three Village Plaza
• Target – South Setauket
• Ten89 Noodle House
• Via Pizza
• Wahlburgers
*Special thank you to Setauket Village Diner for donation gift cards for all of the baskets.

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”

Unique Program Series, Thanks to Partnership between Emma Clark Library and Humanities New York

Setauket, NY – June 7, 2017 –

“You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read.” – James Baldwin

Emma Clark Library, thanks in part to a grant from Humanities New York, just offered a one-of-a-kind, four-session series based on James Baldwin’s writings. Discussions were on readings from Baldwin’s Early Novels & Stories and Collected Essays (which were supplied by the Library to residents in advance) and were held various Tuesday evenings this past spring.

“This was so interesting and eye opening – what a pleasure to be a part of such a quality program,” said participant Pam Kornhauser.

Each program had a different guest facilitator. The Library was very fortunate to have the following special guests leading the programs: Rashidah Ismaili Abubakr, poet and writer, Professor for Master’s Creative Writing Program at Wilkes University; Abena Asare, Professor of Africana Studies at Stony Brook University; Barbara Coley, retired professor of English at Suffolk Community College; and Susan Scheckel, Professor of English at Stony Brook University.

“In addition to enjoying the writing and subject matter, I loved being in the company of intelligent, passionate people,” praised patron Barbara Baron.

“I like that the facilitators made an effort to hear all voices,” added resident Mark Jackett.

Examining Baldwin’s timeless writings, which are as relevant as ever in this social and political climate, brought conversation around significant issues in our country: democracy, freedom and equality.

“It was exciting to host the four scholars, each bringing their own expertise to the readings,” remarked Carolyn Emerson, Adult Reference Librarian who spearheaded this series. “We’re really bringing the community together in these discussions.”

Humanities New York (formerly New York Council for the Humanities) provides leadership and support across the state’s intellectual and cultural sectors through grants, programs, networking and advocacy in order to encourage critical thinking and cultural understanding in the public arena.
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”